Young people show decision-makers: this is our Islington

Senior staff in Islington Council’s planning, parks, and public health services will see the community in a new light after they were a taken on a guided tour of the borough – designed and led by local young people. 

 

They were joined by members of Islington’s Youth Council and representatives from the north London local authority’s recently established ‘Fair Futures Commission’, set up to examine the reality of growing up in the borough.

 

Video and audio evidence collected during the walk – which started in Upper Street and looped around Essex Road and Highbury Corner before ending at the Sobell Centre – will be presented to the Commission, so as to inform the recommendations set out in its final report. 

 

The walk provided an unusual opportunity for council officers to listen and learn about how the borough’s buildings, geography, and physical environment shaped the experiences of young people growing up in Islington.

 

One participant told senior staff how Central Library on Holloway Road provided her and her young sister with a “sanctuary”. Another explained why the open layout of their school had helped prevent them from being bullied and better enabled them to focus and study. 

 

Youth Councillor Chikamso Ben, one of the young people leading the tour, said: “The decision-makers got to see Islington through the eyes of young people living in the borough”, while Deputy Young Mayor of Islington, Tega Agbede, added: it gives decision makers “an honest perspective about what it is like for young residents in Islington.”

 

Eric Manners, from Islington Council’s planning team, said: “From different perspectives: what looks like a safe space for an adult can feel intimidating to children and young people, while what seems like a boring spot to me can be used creatively or in exciting ways I’d never thought of. The walk was a real eye-opener for how we design and manage Islington’s public spaces.”

 

The walk through Islington is one of several activities and events developed by the Fair Futures Commission to gather insights from young people, their parents and people who work with them, so that their concerns and ambitions can be addressed in the Commission’s final recommendations.  

 

Islington’s Young Councillors are leading the call for as many children and young people to send the Commission their advice on how to make Islington a great place to grow up.

 

Deputy Young Mayor, Tega Agbede, highlighted why it is so important for his peers to get involved when he said: “Decision makers don’t always have the correct ideas even if they have good intentions.”

 

To find out more and to get involved please visit: www.fairfutures.org.