Round Table – Involving Young People in Governance
Museum of Childhood, London, 12 October 2007
The Governance Hub, National Children’s Bureau (NCB), Participation Works and the Charity Commission hosted a round table to discuss Involving Young People in Governance, at the Museum of Childhood in East London. Representatives from a range of organisations including The Red Cross, Scouts, Girl Guiding, V and other charities working with young people, plus representatives of the Big Lottery Fund and the National Youth Agency took part; a number of participants are or have been young trustees.
A lively discussion took place throughout the day. Daniel Jacobs and Hanza Modi gave presentations sharing their experiences as young governors of NCB. Participants discussed why it is important to involve young people in governance, how they are already being involved, what the barriers to involvement are and how they can be overcome. Delegates felt strongly that charities need to listen to young people, and want to send a strong message to charities, their partners, funders and regulators. Key points included:
- There are 11m children under 18 in England. There are 190,000 registered charities in England and Wales, with 900,000 trustees, but only 4,400 of those trustees (less than 1%) are under 25.
- Charities need to take the lead in addressing under-representation of young people on their boards. Involving young people in governance can benefit charities, particularly those that serve young people – they have experience, understanding and enthusiasm to contribute. Other kinds of charities can benefit as well; older people may face similar issues of age-related prejudice.
- There are different ways of involving young people in governance – as full board members, advisors, or as representatives of users or “young people” generally. These different forms of involvement carry different expectations of what young people will contribute – a user’s or a young person’s perspective, or a range of expertise and experience like any other trustee. Charities and young people need to agree the reasons for their involvement.
- Young people who join boards need support (such as mentoring, clear board papers, good chairing involving active questioning and listening). Some of this support would help any new trustee. Participants shared their experiences of helping young trustees to become effective; or as young trustees, what had worked and what hadn’t.
- Participants agreed that it’s best to focus on young people’s skills and experience, rather than assuming that they “represent” their peers. It is too easy to fall into a tokenistic approach to diversity. Boards also need to think widely about diversity. Some young people (such as those with disabilities or brought up in care) are more likely to be overlooked or excluded.
- Cultural change takes time and preparation, and involves effort by everyone involved. “Parachuting” young people onto the board may not be the best way to start. By involving young people in other ways first, the organisation can develop the listening and supporting skills it needs, and young people can develop the skills they need to become board members.
- We need to encourage young people who are already involved in governance (for example, in clubs at schools, colleges or universities) to continue in governance after they leave formal education. We need to find effective ways of connecting them to organisations who want to involve young people in governance, and not lose their valuable skills and experience.
What next?
NCB and partners supported by the Governance Hub will be holding seminars for managers and practitioners at all levels, in March 2008. Please contact Paul Taylor at NCB for more information; ptaylor@ncb.org.uk.
We aim to develop opportunities to raise awareness of the issues:
- through informal networking
- by working with other government departments and funders
- by using existing avenues to advertise vacancies for young trustees
- using Commission and Governance Hub guidance on good practice in governance
- by looking for further opportunities to promote these messages through seminars and other events held nationally;
Further information
If you are interested in developing the governance of your charity or organisation through the involvement of young people, or would like more information about the Round Table or our future plans, please get in touch:
tel 020 7843 1906
website www.ncb.org.uk
Charity Commission: Neal Green
tel 020 7674 2343
email
Statement from the Commission regarding young people under 18 years old as charity trustees