Celebrating Youth Work in London
08 November 2024
Each year, we welcome Youth Work Week as an annual celebration of all things youth work. The week-long campaign, taking place at the beginning of every November, is a chance for us to shine a light on the positive impact of youth work on the lives of young Londoners.
Last night, we hosted our Celebrating Youth Work in London event to thank our members for the vital youth work they do to support young people across the capital. We gathered youth professionals from across the capital, along with key stakeholders and funders, for an inspiring evening filled with speeches, performances and networking.
It was a valuable opportunity to celebrate the impact of youth work, the people who make it happen, and reinforce our shared dedication to supporting young people within our communities.
Our Chef Executive, Pauline Daniyan, opened the event by sharing a message to recognise and appreciate the steadfast support that youth organisations across London provide to young people, our communities, and our city – despite unprecedented demand for their services.
Like you, I will always bring it back to the young people we are trying to support. When we think about what funding the sector needs, what recognition, what support, it’s not about what we need, it’s about what outcomes we can secure for London’s young people. So, this evening I am acknowledging how hard this work is, how challenging it has been and will continue to be. But also how important, how valuable, and how vital this work is. So, let’s celebrate that together.
The evening continued, as some of our members took to the stage to showcase their outstanding work alongside talented young people who captured the room with their incredible performances.
Our MC, Jonathan, from Young Urban Arts Foundation (YUAF), shared his story about getting involved with YUAF and London Youth, which ultimately led him to become a youth worker. He welcomed Stephen Loizou, Chief Executive Officer of Jigsaw4u, to introduce an extract of their recently produced mini documentary, Finding Freedom, and share what motivated them to commission it. It’s a powerful film, focusing on criminal exploitation – a subject which despite receiving wider attention in recent years, continues to pose an enormous risk to young people across South West London and beyond. You can watch the full film below.
Representing Lewisham Music, a dynamic multi-instrumentalist Princetta took to the stage to perform her original song and captured the room with a truly unique sound. For our final performance of the night, we were joined by one of YUAF’s young artists, Sura, who prepared a DJ set for the rest of the evening.
We also said a heartfelt thank you to all youth practitioners for the tireless commitment, dedication and passion they bring to their roles as they deliver positive futures for young people in a short video.
Thank you to all who joined us last night! It meant so much to us to have you there, and to be able to share this Youth Work Week celebration with you.
