Young One Kilburn Ambassador
The Brief — Better Represent Youth in Kilburn, London
Kilburn, a place that lies between 3 boroughs in London, houses a lot of young people who are filled with dreams and inspiration. Our brief is a place-based service design project, working with a semi-government organisation — One Kilburn, to help better represent young people in the area. The project is supported by the Camden Council in London.
Service Design
London
November 2024 - January 2025
Current State - Implementation
Lead of University of the Arts, London research & design team
Research Insights #1 —
Youth Workers Are Gatekeepers of Youth, but Resources are Tight
In the 2 months of groundwork, the team tried to understand the pain points from youth workers, young people, and council workers.
Youth workers are extremely hard to reach out at the beginning because they safeguard the youth very well and are reluctant to start engaging with. Eventually they are opened up and revealed a lot of resources shortage, workers overloaded etc. as summarised below.
Research Insights #2 —
Youth are A Vivid and Inspiring Community Underrepresented by the Media
The young people in the area had shown the research team great motivation to become more than what people think of them. Negative news are often amplified, but in real life, young people are actually eager to contribute and cultivate their youngers.
They also speak of the need for guidance, navigating their future career and academic path.
"I would like to come back and take care of the younger ones, like how we are taken care by the youth workers."
The Idea —
A Value Exchange Programme that Connects Communities With Youth As The Centre Point
Young One Kilburn Ambassador is a programme that provides young people with the opportunity to build their careers and gain experience, and take responsibility for connecting the local community, acting as a bridge between different stakeholders.
Negotiating Offers From One Kilburn for Youth —
Wanting to Include Young Voices in Decision Making and Willing to Offer Council Connections and Possible Work Experiences
The team proposed two ideas which gain support from the authority:
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Youth Worker Circle: connecting youth workers to streamline resources and events, and encourage collaboration across clubs and postcodes
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Young One Kilburn Ambassador Programme: an ambassador programme with sound support from the council and the welcoming community. Ambassadors will play a key role in revitalising the youth community and serving as a bridge to bring the voices of young people to local government decision-making.
Activate the Programme through Prominent Touchpoint
We would want the touchpoints to be prominent and easy to recognise by businesses, communities, and potential employers. Therefore, we have designed identity indicators around the environments, acknowledgement materials and merchandise under the programme.
"This photography I took represents perseverance.
Even though it took me quite a lot of attempts,
in the end, I NAILED IT!"
Youth Participant,
Analogue Photography Workshop for young people
By Different Gravy x ARC Youth Club
Implementation —
Onboarding Youth Workers as First Step
We are in the stage of building the youth workers circle as our first step. A kick-off meeting has been held, and a handover to the Camden Council is in process.
