Young voices shaping Holyhead/Caergybi: Fun and inclusion in place

What if the most transformative ideas for community engagement are waiting to be discovered by embracing the fresh perspectives of children and young people? Over two days, the Quality of Life Foundation embarked on a journey to listen to the voices of the Isle of Anglesey/Ynys Môn’s youngest residents. 

As part of the Public Map Platform project, Melissa Lacide and Annick Matthews from the Quality of Life Foundation, were supported by Felicity Davies, Cambridge University, and Sian Eleri, Isle of Anglesey County Council/Cyngor Sir Ynys Môn, to lead a series of six dynamic workshops that brought together 68 children and young people aged 8 to 15.

Our approach

From the bustling classrooms of Holyhead High School/Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi and Holyhead Primary School/Ysgol Gymraeg Morswyn, to the lively atmosphere of Holyhead Youth Club, and the enthusiastic Trearddur Bay Brownies, we listened as children and young people talked about, and drew, how they want the community engagement process to look. 

We know that children and young people care deeply about the places where they live, study, and play, and they have invaluable insights to share. So we went to Holyhead to find out how to best capture those thoughts. 

Do children and young people prefer engaging online, in-situ, via quizzes, or conversations, or in a completely different way?

We went in open-minded with bags full of mini-white boards, colourful stickers, pencils, and of course, certificates and snacks. 

This engagement wasn’t about ticking boxes; it was about exploring the Quality of Life Code of Practice principles for effective community consultation and engagement, and understanding how they apply in the context of engaging with children and young people.

What we learned

And what did we learn from the children and young people of Holyhead? Their feedback was both insightful and refreshingly direct, offering crucial lessons for anyone seeking to meaningfully involve children and young people in shaping their local areas. Here are some of the suggestions from…

Holyhead High School/Ysgol Uwchradd Caergybi where students had a preference for in-situ engagement for in-person sessions, while digital options leaned more towards gamification.

While at Holyhead Primary School / Ysgol Gymraeg Morswyn children had creative ideas for incentives including fun fairs and sticking engagement questions in ice-cream cones!

The Trearddur Bay Brownies wanted adults to “Listen to everyone with no interference!”, and young people at the Holyhead Youth Club gave insights into where they liked to ‘hang out’ in peace, such as the local beach where they “can go with friends [because] it’s quiet”. 

Not only were the suggestions thoughtful and varied compared to adults’ preferences, they were also fun!

The insights gleaned from these young voices will undoubtedly enrich the  Public Map Platform  project and serve as a valuable guide for future place-based engagement initiatives.

We will be weaving the lessons we learnt in Anglesey into our engagement work, and speaking to more children and young people to further enrich our learning in the future.