Highlights of Youth Lab#2: Exercising your rights
Our second Youth Lab on 24th August was all about empowering ourselves and others to know what our rights are and how we can exercise them effectively.
NextGen ambassador Sophie Geeves joined Teigan Butchers on the panel to speak about some of her own experiences in advocating for herself.
“This is about knowing what you’re worth and don’t be afraid to fight for it, allowing yourself to think outside of the boxes that are sometimes enforced on us”, Sophie said.
In breakout groups, young people were able to share their experiences and together, create their own top three tips on exercising your rights.
The Exercising Your Rights at School group shared hot tips including being assertive about what you need and when you need it, and being your own voice by not allowing others to speak for you.
The Employment/at Work group shared hot tips like ‘it’s not what you know but who you know’ in networking and identifying any discrimination early.
“I am currently advocating for a ramp to be built in my workplace so I can more easily access it!”, Eleanor said.
And the Funding Systems group advised that people should know what they want before going into a meeting as well as doing research like reading the legislation.
“We are all free agents, and we are capable of making our own change”, Declan explained.
Our third and final Youth Lab is coming up on 14th September where we will go deeper into the topic of networking and how to get the keys to success – keep an eye out for an invite in your inbox!