Introduction

While there is a significant literature exploring the theory and practice of young people's participation, there is less written about young people's experiences of taking part in participation activities. This chapter, co-written by two young people who volunteer with a project called Young Edinburgh Action (YEA) and a member of staff who used to work with YEA, provides a rich exploration of such experiences. The chapter comprises a ‘story’ written by each individual author detailing their time with the project. The stories do not have a common structure but rather reflect the aspects of the individual's experiences that they consider to be the most important and meaningful. After the three stories there is a discussion section that was generated from a group discussion between the three authors about the commonalities and differences between the three stories (see also Chapter 13 in this book).

Young Edinburgh Action

Young Edinburgh Action (YEA) was established in 2013 as an innovative approach to implementing the city's participation strategy.

Action research groups are at the heart of YEA's approach and enable a core group of young people to explore a topic and research the views of other young people in Edinburgh. Three topics for action research groups are chosen by young people each year.

A ‘Conversation for Action’ is convened at the end of each action research process and is an important interface where young people and senior decision makers invited by the young people come together to discuss the topic and develop an action plan. Young people present their learning, ideas and recommendations in order to facilitate meaningful dialogue between young people and relevant policy makers and senior officers.

More information about YEA is available from: https://era.ed.ac.uk/bitstream/handle/1842/16875/CRFR%20briefing%2085.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y

Myada's story

I remember not really wanting to join YEA; my mum just wanted to get me out of the house and she said, “Oh there's this thing at the council, I’ve signed you up for it, you have to go.” I don't remember much about the event except there was food there and I enjoyed it! I remember giving them my phone number and then very quickly I was going to up to three different meetings every week.