Media Trust recently commissioned a piece of research to explore how media is used as a tool to engage 13-25 year olds, improve their lives and get their voices heard.

The research looks at youth media outside formal education including both skills-based accredited training and non-accredited media projects. Based on consultation with youth media organisations and feedback from focus groups made up of young people, the research found that although a wide range of organisations deliver youth media projects the diversity of the sector makes it difficult to monitor.

There was an almost “complete consensus” in interviews and focus groups that the sector lacked national coordination with many noting that local coordination was piecemeal.

The report also identifies an “urgent need” to develop a UK-wide information service for young people and youth groups, to help them get involved in media work and provide “ladders of progression” towards employment.

It also calls for the establishment of a “national youth media aggregator”, a body that would distribute content created by young people to ensure their voices are heard by a wide audience.

Maddie Dinwoodie, head of projects at The Media Trust, said: “Youth media work is a very effective tool for engaging young people and passing on relevant skills which can help with their development and lead to employability skills. It’s also important that the voices of young people are heard on a national platform but although there is a lot of great content produced at the moment, there is no body, or aggregator, distributing it.”

Key recommendations from the research include:

the creation of a strategic agency for the whole of the youth media footprint in order to Identify and exchange best practice, coordinate local and regional provision and encourage partnership working.

the establishment of a national youth media aggregator to support the distribution and dissemination of youth media content to ensure young people’s voices are heard by the widest audience.

From Participation Works Mon, 28/05/2012 - 10:10

www.participationworks.org.uk