The National Youth Agency - Youth Action - The NYA's current priorities

Youth Action - The NYA's current priorities

Since April 2006 we have been working as a strategic partner of the Office of the Third Sector (OTS), funded to deliver a programme of development and information based work which focuses on youth action and volunteering.

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This work supports government's own targets concerned with engaging more minority ethnic communities, increasing the involvement of those without qualifications and involving more disabled people. Central also are the opportunities presented by the Russell Commission recommendations, including the creation of the implementation body 'v' and the national youth volunteering programme vinvolved, Youth Matters: Next Steps and, more recently, Aiming High for Young People: a Ten Year Strategy for Young People.

The 2008/09 work programme is clustered around the following three themes, in line with the OTS’s own priority areas:

Theme 1 - Influencing policy

Identifying and representing the views of the youth volunteering sector to the OTS by:

Bringing together key actors in youth volunteering and facilitating discussion through a national stakeholder forum;
Convening round table events with local practitioners
Responding to government consultations
Monitoring overseas developments in young people’s volunteering
Undertaking research
‘Youth-volunteer proofing’ government policies

Theme 2 – Informing the sector

Disseminating information and advice about government policy on young people’s volunteering by:

Producing monthly e-bulletin e-youthaction;
Making the latest information on young people and volunteering available to practitioners, managers and policy makers through the NYA website and to young people through youthinformation.com;
Offering events, guidance and support for the development of intergenerational volunteering;
Liaising with local authorities and Children’s Trust to encourage them to embed policies and allocate specific resources to youth volunteering;
Informing the field about arrangements and opportunities connected to 2012 Olympics; and
Holding round table events and making regional inputs to engage the field in dialogue about developments in youth volunteering.

Theme 3 – Practice development and publications

Improving the quality of volunteering opportunities, celebrating young people’s voluntary action and sharing practice by:

Producing the youth facing magazine, youthaction - celebrating young people’s involvement in their communities;
Producing Vibes and Voices magazine – celebrating minority ethnic young people’s voluntary action;
Producing Youth Action and Engagement thematic case study sets – illustrating good practice in volunteering projects;
Continuing support for heritage sector organisation’s work to involve young people; and
Monitoring and support for development on young people’s leadership.