Beyond Youth Voice: Young people as agents of change

At the 2024 Music Mark Conference next month, we will be joined by Julia Thomson-Smith, Immy Robinson, and Anita Holford for their session ‘Beyond Youth Voice: Young people as agents of change’. They’ve given us a sneak peek into the research and project behind the session, and what you can expect to learn.

Could you introduce each of the speakers for your session and your backgrounds? 

Julia Thomson-Smith

Julia Thomson-Smith was the Producer for MAC Makes Music and is about to be the Director of Music Education at The Music Works. Her background is in programming and producing collaborative and inclusive creative work across music, heritage and international cultural exchange settings.  

Immy Robinson

Immy Robinson is co-lead at The Relationships Project. Her background is in research and service design in the voluntary sector. 

Anita Holford

Anita Holford is a freelance communications practitioner, copywriter and fundraiser. She works with music services, hubs, national music education organisations, community music organisations,  music education businesses and others within and outside the arts, to help them grow their reach, relationships and impact. 

What was the research commissioned by MAC Makes Music about? 

In 2023, we were introduced to Shomy Hasan Chowdhury, who’s been an international activist in water, sanitation and hygiene from a young age, and is co-founder of global youth-led organisation Awareness 360.  We commissioned Shomy to speak with young activists from across the world, to get their (and her) perspectives on youth voice in music education – both the opportunity, and the challenge. She interviewed 12 musicians, educators, and youth advocates, spanning regions including the United States, the UK, Canada, Tanzania, Japan, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Latvia, Fiji, and Hong Kong.  Our final document combines Shomy’s findings, and our work with The Relationships Project. It explores themes of systems leadership; youth-powered advocacy; thinking differently about funding; taking action around diverse perspectives, approaches and partnerships; and prioritising relationships-based practice. 

We recognise the wealth of good work that has already started. We also recognise that, despite young people’s passion for both music and social justice, and their success in effecting change in other areas, the opportunity for them to influence and shape the system is non-existent. So the report isn’t a research report, a manifesto, or even a call to action. It’s more a series of reflections, and an invitation to begin a conversation, and to plan further work, together.  

And what is The Relationships Project? 

The Relationships Project is an initiative to explore, understand and embed relationships-centred practice, and create an infrastructure to grow momentum, energy and funding. Good relationships are the foundations on which all else is built – effective education, just policing, stable childhoods, thriving communities, compassionate care, a fair economy, responsible government, flourishing business, and even longer lives. Yet relationships are often squeezed out and their transformative potential is overlooked. There is perhaps a fear that starting with relationships will make work less effective or efficient. Evidence suggests that the reverse is true: better relationships lead to better outcomes. 

Putting relationships first often means plans and decisions are based on a more robust, reality-based understanding of challenges and what it will actually take to address them. Relationship-centred practice is most obviously associated with a set of behaviours – active listening, patience, empathy, active collaboration – and with ‘frontline’ roles – like healthcare practitioners, social workers, community development officers. But these behaviours are unlocked and enabled – or constricted and disabled – by the conditions in which we operate.

What can people expect from your session? What will delegates take away with them? 

We hope this session will present a fresh perspective on youth voice – a new way of framing something that could, perhaps, otherwise be sidelined, feel box tick-y or disingenuous. We want to explore how we really put young people’s voices front and centre. How can we both ‘get out of their way’ and support them to be agents of change? What effect could better relationships have in music education? Not just between young people and adults, but between colleagues and peers working in music education? 

This session will bring some insights from these themes, and will hopefully spark conversation during and after the session. We hope that delegates will both contribute, and take away, some ideas for how we move forward. Perhaps, even, the seeds of new relationships to help facilitate positive change! 

If you’re interested in learning more from Julia, Immy and Anita, alongside more breakout sessions and keynote talks exploring Sustainability in Music Education, don’t hesitate to book your ticket now. You can explore the full programme here. Bookings close on Tuesday 5th November.