For anyone who knows me you will know that the power of young people and their role in changing the world are things that fire me up and drive me to be part of the work I do.

If you've ever accessed youth work, then you won't need to be convinced of the value of it - you might have been part of scouts, or guides, or been a regular at your local youth club, or maybe you were part of school holiday programmes.

For millions of young people across the UK youth work represents a safe space to explore their world, their identity, their likes and dislikes, their power, their ambitions, even their limits. For some it's a lifeline.

But not all young people have access to youth work. There's a chronic lack of funding in the sector, which means there's not much room for innovation, development, or even sustaining the spaces and resources that make youth work possible. Youth centres are defunded all the time, and youth orgs tap into their deepest resources to keep their doors open.

The fact is that young people deserve more and they need more.

I work for UK Youth and our vision is for all young people to be equipped to thrive and empowered to contribute at every stage of their lives.

Founded over 100 years ago, UK Youth is a leading charity working across the UK. We have influence as a sector-supporting infrastructure body, a direct delivery partner and a campaigner for social change.

UK Youth’s new 2025 strategy, “Unlocking Youth Work” outlines a bold ambition to impact young lives by unlocking youth work as a catalyst for change. We will work in partnership to build a cross-sector movement, creating a society that understands, champions, and delivers effective youth work for all.

With an open network of over 8000 youth organisations and nation partners, we are focused on unlocking youth work as the catalyst of change that is needed now more than ever.