Team Development

The first stage of this co-research project involved reaching out to young people to gather co-researchers for the project. This involved site visits in Scotland and South Africa for on-the-ground insights, particularly understanding young people's needs and experiences of engagement in each setting, and networking across a variety of platforms (Instagram, Linkedin, Facebook community groups). Trust is an often-overlooked yet crucial element in engaging with young people. I realised this quite rapidly, and found that when I could talk to young people for longer periods of time and get to know them on a personal level they were interested in taking part. 

I was overjoyed and overwhelmed to have received a huge number of interested young people in the project overall, and believe this is a strong testament to the enthusiasm and passion that young people have to have their voices heard! Our next steps will be to organise ice-breaker sessions focused on getting to know each other and working together on challenges and activities to learn how to work as a team and make decisions together.