About YAB
The YAA Youth Advisory Board (YAB) is open to young people aged 11-18 years old who live, study, or work in Kensington & Chelsea. As ambassadors, YAB members work closely with the YAA leadership team and other staff across the charity to ensure the voice and youth perspective of young people are at the heart of everything we do.
YAB provides feedback on the quality and experiences of the services that we provides so that we can make the improvements and adjustments that young people would like to see across our work.
Why you should join
As a Youth Advisory Board member you will have the opportunity to learn new skills such as team work, organisation, creativity and critical thinking. You will also get the opportunity to meet new people, shape and get stuck into projects across YAA’s services, including fundraising, campaigning and media and communications. Being on the YAB will also look fantastic on your CV’s.
““The vision for YAB is to inspire and motivate young people to create a vision that they can thrive and can make changes to their environment, community and the wider world and lead other young people to do the same.” ”
Our goal
We aim to amplify young people’s voices and help YAA to hold children and young people’s voices at the heart of everything we do. The Youth Advisory Board will provide feedback on the quality and experiences of the services that we provides so that we can make the improvements and adjustments that young people would like to see across our work.
Impact
26 young people
engaged in 2024-25
63
sessions delivered
99%
attendance rate
Gallery
Feedback
“I wanted to attend the Youth Advisory Board because I wanted to be part of a group that did something for the community and this sounded like something that will help our community. I thought it might also help me to become more confident because I find it very hard to speak in a group when I don’t know anyone, I am very shy so I wanted to push myself.”
“The reason why I joined this Youth Advisory Board is because I want to help other young people overcome stress and become confident and flourish just like I have since being a member. I have made lots of new friends and I love working with them and helping young peoples lives. I want to try and help young people feel safer especially around the roads and we are making a difference with this.”
“I am so glad I joined the Youth Advisory Board, I am much more confident to speak in front of this group, I don’t feel nervous because its like having discussions with friends, no one judges me, I don’t know why I was scared because we all want the same things to make a difference and be safer in our community.
I have learnt how to stop someone from bleeding and how to keep someone alive, I never knew this before and now if I saw an accident I know what to do to help”. “My friends have all said I am not so quiet anymore and I think its because of the Youth Advisory Board, we talk a lot. ”
Meet our YAB members
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Chair of Youth Advisory Board (YAB)
Hey, I'm Julia and I am the chair for YAB, I've been a member since it started a year ago. I joined in the hope of creating a community of young people like myself to speak out and create change. Being a part of this board I can confidently say that I'm in a community of young people that care and put in effort to get their voices and opinions heard.
For years I complained about how young people are perceived and not heard, and taking part In YAB allows me to make a positive changes and it does make a difference, our voice is your voice.
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Vice Chair of Youth Advisory Board
Hello my name is Lucas and I have been a member of the YAB for a year now. I have been voted by other members as vice chair and I would recommend to anyone wanting to be part of making a difference and change to important issues that effect young people, join and have your voice heard.
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Secretary of Youth Advisory Board
Hi I'm Ria and I am the new secretary for the YAB. I have been a member of this board for a year and I joined because I wanted to have my voice and opinions and ideas heard. I wanted to help other young people and be part of something special. Being a board member allows us to discuss very difficult issues that effect us all and work together to come up with ideas to support one another in the wider community.
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Youth Advisory Board Member
Hi my name is Caroline and I have been in the Youth Advisory Board for over a year now. I joined YAB because I wanted to make changes in the community and I really wanted to make the area safer overall for everyone. As a member of YAA and YAB I have been given great opportunities to make new friends.
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Youth Advisory Board Member
My name is Gabriella and I have been with YAB for a year now and it is great. The board is a great way to express your own opinion on matters that effect us all and support and make changes that we would all like to see to make our community better. It has been a great way to make new friends and to feel part of this community.
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Youth Advisory Board Member
My name is Kim and I am a part of the Youth Advisory Board. I joined at the start of this academic year and its my first time joining a group like this. I feel honoured to be a part of this board and I look forward to having the opportunity to discover more about myself and what I want in my future. The events YAA put on help us to socialise with other people.
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Youth Advisory Board Member
Hi my name is Alexis and I recently joined YAB and I am the newest YAB member.
I joined because I have seen the work YAB have been doing and I wanted to be part of this amazing group. I want to make a difference if I can and I feel very grateful that I am a part of a group where young people are able to talk about all their concerns and the flaws we see in society today and we actually look for solutions to make things better for young people.
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Youth Advisory Board Member
My name is Krizzle and I have chosen to join YAA and be part of the Youth Advisory Board because I made a decision that I wanted to look at ways to make change to the flaws in our society. I want to be part of this group of young people that all want change and want to make things better for our youth in the community. I want to help with charity work and volunteer at YAA events and I know that the YAB will help to teach me more about our society and how to improve it.
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Youth Advisory Board Member
Hello I am Dianne and I am a new member to YAA and I have recently joined the Youth Advisory Board. I wanted to join the board because I really want to help other young people and volunteer at different YAA events. If we can help the challenges young people face in any way possible then we are are making a difference. The YAB is the best way to start to create change from the young people for the young people.
Reflecting on 2024-25
YAB has made significant strides over the past year, supporting young people to grow in both confidence and capabilities. Through participation in YAA events, YAB members have gained invaluable work experience by engaging with peers and gathering feedback on services. They have received training on critical first aid skills, including bleed control, and played a key role in distributing bleed kits to schools within the borough—a project that is currently progressing through meetings with school leadership teams.
Creatively, YAB has collaborated with renowned artist Phillip Butah, producing self-portraits, and worked in partnership with The Metropolitan Police, London’s Violence Reduction Unit, Mayor of London's Office and The London Fire Brigade. YAA also worked with The Natural History Museum on an environmental project, with young people’s artwork exhibited in the Jerwood Gallery. Our young members have also successfully applied for, and been awarded the Young K&C Youth Voice Grant, fostering teamwork and learning new skills.
As ambassadors, YAB members actively contribute to shaping YAA’s strategic direction, ensuring young people's voices are central to decision-making. Their commitment to addressing community issues, reflects their dedication to creating meaningful change. Over the past year, they have grown into confident leaders, capable of public speaking and influencing positive developments in their community.
Case studies
YAB participant 1
This young person joined the Youth Advisory Board in September 2023. Initially described by teachers as a quiet and reserved student, they quickly became an active and valued member of the group. In July 2024, they was nominated and elected by his peers as Vice Chair, an achievement that reflects the respect and confidence he has earned among fellow members.
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“When I started YAB, I didn’t see myself where I am now. I’m confident, and I really want to make change happen. I was so shocked to be voted Vice Chair. It makes me feel proud to represent the Board, I’ll work very hard to get our voices heard.”
Although they say they are actively seeking recruitment for more boys to have a fair representation of boys and girls in the group.
Since taking on the Vice Chair role, the young people’s confidence has grown significantly. Teachers were particularly impressed by their public speaking during a recent presentation to the school’s senior leadership team, noting the contrast with his normally quiet classroom persona. This young person consistently brings thoughtful concerns and constructive solutions to discussions, qualities that contributed to their election as Vice Chair. They are committed to their leadership role and continue to demonstrate initiative and passion for the group’s mission.
“I’ve never been voted into a position of responsibility before. Being Vice Chair makes me feel proud, and I’ll do my best to help YAA and YAB achieve great things. I really enjoy being part of YAB and feel more confident than ever.”
YAB participant 2
This young person joined the Youth Advisory Board in September 2024 after learning about the programme during a school assembly. Inspired by a fellow pupil’s presentation, they were curious but unsure of themselves.
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“I have always been quite a shy person; I really want to be more confident and make friends.”
At first, they was withdrawn, sitting quietly at the back with another new member. With English as an additional language, she faced an added barrier to engaging fully and struggled with communication and confidence. Staff noted that while this young person listened attentively, they rarely spoke and seemed hesitant to share their views.
To help this young person settle, YAA staff encouragedthem to sit with more established members of the board. This small, but vital, change helped this young person feel more included and supported. A turning point came during a group discussion on mental health awareness. This young person surprised the group by sharing their perspective, sparking a supportive conversation among peers. From that moment, they began contributing more regularly and has grown into a valued and vocal member of the group.
A group trip to an amusement park during the school holidays proved especially meaningful and cemented their sense of belonging. It allowed them to bond with their peers outside of the usual setting, significantly boosting her sense of belonging. Sharing laughs, overcoming fears on rides, and simply having fun allowed her to build trust and friendships.
“The best time I’ve had so far was when we went to the Theme Park. It was my first time there, and it was so much fun being with the others. We’ve all become close, they are my best friends now.”
Since then, this young person has helped shape ideas for a youth-led campaign on inclusion. They recently volunteered to introduce a guest speaker at a YAB meeting, something she says she never imagined doing a few months ago.
This young person’s journey reflects the inclusive and nurturing environment of YAB, where young people are empowered to grow in confidence, make meaningful connections. It is a powerful example of how a supportive environment and peer encouragement can unlock a young person’s voice and sense of purpose.
Joining details
The Youth Advisory Board is a FREE project. Young people are asked to commit to at least one academic year.
Where and when:
The Junior Youth Advisory Board open to 11-14 year olds. The group meet fortnightly on a Friday 3.15pm - 4.30pm at All Saints Catholic College
The Senior Youth Advisory Board open to 14-18 year olds. The group meet fortnightly on a Friday 4pm - 5pm at The Hut.
Food and refreshments are provided.
Joining criteria:
To join YAA Youth Advisory board you must:
be 11-18 years old
live, study, or work in Kensington & Chelsea
commit to at least 1 academic year
be open to exploring new opportunities and learning new skills
Join now
To apply to join our Youth Advisory Board, contact Patricia Moorhead on patricia.moorhead@youthactionalliance.org
Contact
Patricia Moorhead
patricia.moorhead@youthactionalliance.org
07472 697 349