The aim of the Synergy Youth Council is to promote the personal and social development of young people and to divert them away from anti-social and criminal lifestyles, knife and gun crime and gang culture.

Background to the project and organisation

The Youth Council takes inspiration from the traditional African proverb – ‘It takes a whole village to raise a child.’ Rather than the raising of responsible, disciplined, well-mannered young people being seen solely as the responsibility of parents or schools, the project seeks to advance the belief that this is a challenge facing society as a whole.

The Synergy Youth Council is a group of young people, most of whom attend St. Michael and All Angels Academy, a school in Camberwell, South London that has experienced alarming levels of gang related violence and anti-social behaviour. It is a platform and a training ground for the young people of the community to identify, analyse and effect change in the areas and issues they feel strongly about.  We guide and equip them through workshop sessions giving them the necessary skills and opportunities to do this.  Although the sessions are ‘led’ by youth workers, the topics covered and the direction the Youth Council takes are completely up to the young people. 

What problems is the project addressing?

The project is addressing the problem of anti-social behaviour, knife and gun crime in South London and the recent growth of gang culture. It seeks to tackle the shortage of positive role models for young people and to challenge many of the negative role models offered to young people by the commercial media, particularly certain sections of the urban music scene. It also seeks to address the growing divide between young people and people in positions of authority, most notably the police and the local authority, by facilitating a process of dialogue which can help bridge the divide and help both sides better understand each other. In this way, the Council seeks to enable authorities to achieve a better understanding of the culture, interests and needs of young people and address the causes of many of the problems they face rather than solely using law enforcement techniques as a means of tackling the symptoms.

Peer pressure, in particular, is a powerful force acting on young people that can draw them towards destructive patterns of behaviour. Unless more constructive role models and guidance is offered, impressionable young people will invariably succumb to more destructive patterns, the likes of which are becoming increasingly commonplace in South London today. If the family lacks sufficient capacity to provide the constructive guidance young people need, the community needs to provide the necessary support.

What do we propose as a solution?

If effective preventative measures are to be taken to reduce youth crime, they must be based on effective consultations with young people so as to be based on a proper understanding of the causes and origins of the problems. For these consultations to take place, the necessary infrastructure has to be in place, not least relationships of trust and mutual sensitivity which need to be built up over time. By combining entertaining activities to reward the young participants’ engagement with more serious consultative activities, the Synergy Youth Council has been able to create a nascent example that, with the necessary support, can act as an example of best practice than can be replicated elsewhere.

Youth Council members regularly attend borough council and police meetings which despite sometimes being very boring for them give them an opportunity to give a youth perspective on issues that concern them, such as stop and search. Our aims are to give a youth perspective at these meets and also to liven up the sessions for the adults.

Projects  

At the Youth council each of the members are encouraged to take on projects which they are inspired by and that will develop their skills and gifts in ways that they want. Current projects include a music and spoken word project, and a law project which seeks to inform young people about relationships and rights in relationship to the criminal justice system.

Trips

From time to time, the Youth Council will organise trips to events and activities which either reward the young people for their engagement or serve to raise their awareness, self-esteem, skills or broaden their horizons. Once a year, the Youth Council goes on a week-long residential course to participate in team and character building activities.

Speakers

The Youth Council often invites speakers from a wide variety of backgrounds to visit the group and lead a discussion on a topical social or cultural issue. This serves to build bridges between young people and adults and, through vigorous question and answer sessions, to impress upon young people the value and importance of their views and perspectives.

Volunteering Opportunities

The Youth Council includes volunteers on a weekly basis. Volunteers assist primarily in supporting the Project Manager in the running of the Youth Council sessions, engaging in activities with the young people and participating in discussions with them. Volunteers in the past have commented about how exciting it is being around the youth council and how much fun they have with the young people. There are also opportunities to work more closely with the young people on their projects and on trips. If the volunteer has a specific idea/focus that they want to do with the group the idea is brought to the group to see if there is interest in developing it further.

For more information on the work of the Synergy Youth Council, please contact Joseph Duncan on This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or phone 07989519368.