The British Youth Council’s long history and legacy inspired many young people to believe that their voice matters. NYA is working to restore the institution to become an independent, young people-led charity.
Consultation on a future National Youth Council
The British Youth Council (BYC) ran the National Youth Council for the UK until its closure in March 2024. NYA is working to restore the institution to become an independent, young people-led charity. The intention is to work with young people and partners of the former BYC to enable the organisation to become an independent charitable entity, whose sole purpose is to represent the views of young people to government and decision makers.
The NYA designed a comprehensive consultation exercise to gather the views of stakeholders on the value and future of a National Youth Council, the Young Ambassador programme and the role of youth voice and influence in the political infrastructure.
The project involves a mix of focus groups with young people, group discussions and interviews with key stakeholders and an online survey (from November – December 2024)
Youth voice is integral to the process with young people with experience in youth voice supporting the co-production and delivery of a number of focus groups.
The feedback received through the various consultation activities will be analysed and will inform a recommendations report and proposal for potential funders and commissioners in March 2025.
Esther Horner-Aird, Deputy Director of Youth Work, NYA said: “It’s a privilege to be leading this work to help shape recommendations for the future era of a National Youth Council. The NYA feels passionately about young people being able to influence the decisions that affect their lives and to have a say on the issues that matter to them.
“Through engaging with this process, you can bring your expertise and knowledge of what a future Youth Council might look like and how it should be governed in order for youth voice to have impact and influence within the government.”
Thank you to everyone who participated in the consultation process, which has now closed. We’re currently analysing the responses and compiling the recommendations report for publication in March.
10 June 2024
The closure of the British Youth Council (BYC) in March 2024 jeopardised opportunities for young people to have their views listened to and considered, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The charity worked for 75 years to empower young people and promote their interests. Run by young people, it existed to represent the views of young people to government and decision-makers at a local, national, European and international level, and to promote their increased participation in society and public life.
In June 2024 the NYA took ownership of all the BYC’s assets to secure it for future generations. While the scope and scale of the work will differ, the NYA is committed to working with friends, partners, funders, and, importantly, young people to ensure its core work continues. The intention is to work with young people and partners of the former BYC to enable the organisation to become an independent charitable entity, whose sole purpose is to represent the view of young people to government and decision makers. We will be running a public consultation to gather views on the future of the UK’s National Youth Council in due course.
The Department of Media Culture and Sport also appointed the NYA to run the UK Youth Parliament in April 2024. Read more about the UK Youth Parliament.
We are also supporting the Young Ambassadors selected by the National Youth Council to represent the UK on the European Youth Forum and Commonwealth Youth Council and will continue to ensure their seats in these fora are secure.
For more information, read our letter to key stakeholders.
