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| Young people can be leaders, if given the chance | Young people can be leaders, if given the chance |
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| Young people today need to see leaders who truly act as role models. Not the leaders you find in the House of Commons or on the front cover of a glossy magazine, but leaders who look, sound, breathe and smell like us. We need leaders who are black, white and every shade in between. We need women. We need people with disabilities, who have been homeless or unemployed. Most of all, we need leaders who are young – and in our own communities. | Young people today need to see leaders who truly act as role models. Not the leaders you find in the House of Commons or on the front cover of a glossy magazine, but leaders who look, sound, breathe and smell like us. We need leaders who are black, white and every shade in between. We need women. We need people with disabilities, who have been homeless or unemployed. Most of all, we need leaders who are young – and in our own communities. |
| But when society thinks of young social activists, it thinks of sons of rock stars climbing war monuments and heated students throwing extinguishers off buildings. The media, up to their usual tricks, filter out the good stories. | But when society thinks of young social activists, it thinks of sons of rock stars climbing war monuments and heated students throwing extinguishers off buildings. The media, up to their usual tricks, filter out the good stories. |
| It's no surprise then that young people are losing their sense of social value. One million of us are now unemployed. Career services have been axed and education maintenance allowance is long gone. Student tuition fees have trebled in a single year and now plans are emerging to hike up interest rates on graduates' student loans. | It's no surprise then that young people are losing their sense of social value. One million of us are now unemployed. Career services have been axed and education maintenance allowance is long gone. Student tuition fees have trebled in a single year and now plans are emerging to hike up interest rates on graduates' student loans. |
| Against this overwhelming tide of barriers, it is not enough for young people to believe in ourselves. Society must believe in us too. We need support – the kind of support that lets you in through the closed doors of society's institutions, teaches you that networking is not a dirty word and sends you out to do it all for yourselves, be that speaking at events, resolving conflicts or managing a project. | Against this overwhelming tide of barriers, it is not enough for young people to believe in ourselves. Society must believe in us too. We need support – the kind of support that lets you in through the closed doors of society's institutions, teaches you that networking is not a dirty word and sends you out to do it all for yourselves, be that speaking at events, resolving conflicts or managing a project. |
| This is exactly the kind of help on offer to my fellow youth activists at UpRising. The charity is part of Generation Change, a new coalition of organisations supporting youth to take social action. They know that if they invest in young people as leaders, those young people will invest in other young people. | This is exactly the kind of help on offer to my fellow youth activists at UpRising. The charity is part of Generation Change, a new coalition of organisations supporting youth to take social action. They know that if they invest in young people as leaders, those young people will invest in other young people. |
| "Society has given up on motivating young people. It has created a generational idea of what young people are like. Politicians then have an excuse to denigrate us," says 24-year-old Ifraah Samatar, who joined UpRising. | "Society has given up on motivating young people. It has created a generational idea of what young people are like. Politicians then have an excuse to denigrate us," says 24-year-old Ifraah Samatar, who joined UpRising. |
| When she was nine years old, Samatar arrived on a plane from Somalia. She could not speak a word of English. By the age of 12, she was fluent. Her mother, however, did not find it so easy, and relied on her young daughter to interpret for her in supermarkets, at the GPs, when there was a housing problem and when they had to register for voting. | When she was nine years old, Samatar arrived on a plane from Somalia. She could not speak a word of English. By the age of 12, she was fluent. Her mother, however, did not find it so easy, and relied on her young daughter to interpret for her in supermarkets, at the GPs, when there was a housing problem and when they had to register for voting. |
| Samatar was quite literally the voice of her mother. | Samatar was quite literally the voice of her mother. |
| Samatar's story is not unusual; it resonates with the young people in her community in Tower Hamlets. With 110 languages spoken in the borough, it is one of the most ethnically diverse areas in the country. The council makes provision for interpreters, but they cannot meet demand. Families will then often turn to their children to meet this need. Interpreting becomes part of the child's daily routine – and it can sometimes be overwhelming. | Samatar's story is not unusual; it resonates with the young people in her community in Tower Hamlets. With 110 languages spoken in the borough, it is one of the most ethnically diverse areas in the country. The council makes provision for interpreters, but they cannot meet demand. Families will then often turn to their children to meet this need. Interpreting becomes part of the child's daily routine – and it can sometimes be overwhelming. |
| Samatar says there was not really any support for her. "It was a real burden. Sometimes I had to leave school and the teachers did not really understand or sympathise. I supported my mother but there was never really anybody to support me," she recalls. | Samatar says there was not really any support for her. "It was a real burden. Sometimes I had to leave school and the teachers did not really understand or sympathise. I supported my mother but there was never really anybody to support me," she recalls. |
| While on the leadership programme run by UpRising, Samatar, along with three other young people, set up Inter-Voice, which supports young interpreters and recognises and celebrates the work they do. | While on the leadership programme run by UpRising, Samatar, along with three other young people, set up Inter-Voice, which supports young interpreters and recognises and celebrates the work they do. |
| UpRising was launched five years ago by the Young Foundation, a thinktank based in east London. It is funded by the government's Social Action Fund and local grant-giving organisations including City Bridge Trust, the Harpur Trust and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Yet, there is need for further investment from the private sector. | UpRising was launched five years ago by the Young Foundation, a thinktank based in east London. It is funded by the government's Social Action Fund and local grant-giving organisations including City Bridge Trust, the Harpur Trust and the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation. Yet, there is need for further investment from the private sector. |
| The rise of unpaid internships is a huge barrier for young people with less financial support to get their foot in the door of many industries. It will undeniably decrease diversity within these sectors. Added to the existing barriers to unemployment, it is time for the private sector to invest in young people – not only through jobs but by supporting our development. After all, nurturing ambitious and conscientious young leaders is in their own interest. Both Inter-Voice and UpRising – which is now recruiting for next year's youth leadership programme – are proof that society must invest in leaders at the bottom. Samatar knows this. "Before UpRising, I was quite shy. Now I truly see myself as a leader in my community. I always knew about the issues in my community but now I can act on them myself." | The rise of unpaid internships is a huge barrier for young people with less financial support to get their foot in the door of many industries. It will undeniably decrease diversity within these sectors. Added to the existing barriers to unemployment, it is time for the private sector to invest in young people – not only through jobs but by supporting our development. After all, nurturing ambitious and conscientious young leaders is in their own interest. Both Inter-Voice and UpRising – which is now recruiting for next year's youth leadership programme – are proof that society must invest in leaders at the bottom. Samatar knows this. "Before UpRising, I was quite shy. Now I truly see myself as a leader in my community. I always knew about the issues in my community but now I can act on them myself." |
| Samatar is a real role model who can inspire lots of young people not only to change their own lives but to have a genuine impact on the lives of those around them. We can find leadership on our doorsteps and within our young people – if only we are given a chance. | Samatar is a real role model who can inspire lots of young people not only to change their own lives but to have a genuine impact on the lives of those around them. We can find leadership on our doorsteps and within our young people – if only we are given a chance. |
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