Powered by youth

Listening. Connecting. Acting.

powered by Youth

Listening. Connecting. Acting.

Powered by Youth (PBY) is a new and evolving youth engagement mechanism within the Imagine This Partnership. It is designed to do something simple, but powerful:
create meaningful spaces where children and young people in Torbay can say what they want to say, in the way they want to say it – and be heard by the people and systems that can help make change happen.

Powered by Youth also intentionally bridges the gap between the VCSE sector and statutory systems, including the local council, by grounding partnership action in the real, lived experiences of young people growing up in Torbay.

This is not consultation as usual.
There is no pre-set agenda, no tick-box questions, and no expectation that young people respond to adult priorities. Powered by Youth starts with young voices – and builds outwards from there.

how it began...

Powered by Youth began life in early 2025 as an idea known as “The Double Loop” — developed through partnership restructure conversations between January and April.

The ambition was bold:

to broaden youth engagement
to provide a genuine platform for young voices
to create new opportunities for collaboration across impact groups
and to translate what young people say into collective action

At its heart, Powered by Youth is about trust.
Trust in young people.
Trust in relationships.
And trust that, as a partnership, we can listen well enough to respond differently.

The model works in “loops”:
listen → collaborate → act, with learning and evaluation running throughout.

What’s Happened So Far...

Lead-Up Engagement

In summer 2025, a small group of partner organisations used their trusted relationships to work alongside children and young people, supporting them to explore:

what life in Torbay feels like
what’s hard
what helps
what needs to change
and what gives them hope

Young people chose how they wanted to express this — through conversation, creativity, performance, sound, and storytelling.

Powered by Youth Event

On Saturday 27 September 2025, Powered by Youth took place at Torre Abbey.

15 young people aged 11–25 presented and shared their experiences
They were joined by 9 additional young people on the day
Alongside 34 adults from the VCSE sector, council, police and education

Participating organisations included:

Orchard Forest School
Play Torbay
Doorstep Arts
Sound Communities
One Space

After the presentations, something powerful happened.

Young people organically took over the space — hosting discussion tables, responding to what they had heard, and leading conversations in the moment. Power shifted. Voices multiplied. Listening deepened.

Many partners described this as one of the most impactful youth-led spaces they had experienced.

A short film capturing the energy and honesty of the day was later shared publicly, helping the voices of those young people travel even further.

Outcomes & Actions So Far...

Powered by Youth did not end at the event.

Between December 2025 and January 2026, three Outcomes & Actions Days were held at Parkfield House. Partners came together to sit with what young people had said and to ask:

What are we already doing that responds to this?
What could we adapt or grow?
Where are the funding opportunities?
Who needs to work together differently?

Quick Wins – Change That’s Already Happening

One of the most important things about Powered by Youth is that it didn’t stop at listening. Some of the things young people shared were heard, understood and acted on quickly — showing what’s possible when the right people are in the room and young voices are centred.

Clubs Reinstated and Extended

Children and young people who are home educated spoke honestly about how important clubs are to their wellbeing, connection and sense of belonging.

As a direct result of hearing this, the council committed financial support to reinstate and extend these clubs for a further year. This decision was made in response to young people’s lived experiences being shared on the day, demonstrating the impact of youth voice when it reaches decision-makers.

Read the Press Release here.

Making Opportunities More Visible

Young people were clear that they often don’t know what activities and clubs are available in their communities — and they specifically asked for more posters.

In response, a new system is now in place. Partners can bring leaflets and posters to Parkfield House each month, and Community Builders distribute them across community notice boards throughout Torbay, helping information reach young people locally.

Building Joined-Up Communications Across the Partnership

Alongside physical noticeboards, partners also recognised the need for stronger shared digital visibility.

The idea emerged to use a common hashtag for posts from VCSE and statutory partners that showcase:

children & young people doing brilliant things
opportunities for young people to get involved
activity happening with, for and because of young people in Torbay

As a result, partners are now encouraged to use #PoweredByYouth or #PoweredByYouthTorbay across social media.

The long-term hope is simple and ambitious:
that a young person could search the hashtag and see a growing digital picture of what’s happening for them, around them, and because of them — all in one place.

Wheels in Motion

Some issues raised need longer-term work — and that work is now underway:

Youth transport: direct conversations are happening with Torbay Council and bus operators, with young people’s voices feeding into formal decision-making spaces.
Youth-led digital ideas: early-stage collaboration has begun around an app to help young people see what’s happening locally.
TikTok & youth-led communications: work is developing to explore Torbay-wide youth content created with and by young people.

Partners are also adapting their own practice. For example, youth projects are becoming more youth-led in both decision-making and physical space — from young people shaping environments to choosing what is grown, built or created.

What's Next...

Powered by Youth is an experiment — and a learning process.

There is strong energy to run Powered by Youth 2.0, shaped by what we’ve learned so far, including:

more young people than adults in the room
young people leading workshops, not just sharing stories
co-design from the very start
deeper inclusion across Torbay

Alongside this, partners continue to:

align existing work to PBY outcomes
collaborate on funding bids
and take action where change is within their gift

Contact us to find out more!

Contact us to find out more about our mission and the impact we’re making for young people across Torbay. Whether you’re curious about our work, have questions, or are looking for ways to get involved and contribute to positive change, we’d love to hear from you.