You may be familiar with the fact that Element works with young people. But did you know that young creatives also have the opportunity to work with us? This month we’re spotlighting some of Element’s Youth Champions, who play a crucial role in the work that we do.

Who are the Element Youth Champions?

Element Youth Champions are members of the Creative Community - aka, those who have previously completed an Element Project and still like to hang out with us (yay!) When a new Element Project is confirmed, we open Youth Champion applications, interview candidates, recruit, and train members of the community to have a go at flexing their facilitation skills on a creative project.

**Why does Element need Youth Champions?**

We place a lot of emphasis on making our work truly youth-led. By inviting members of our Creative Community to co-deliver on projects that are similar to ones that they have previously completed, we encourage them to use their experience to inform Element’s programmes in an impactful and meaningful way. But more than that, we want to offer our Creative Community practical, paid work experience that will help them to build skills beyond those they have gained during completing a project.
**Left:** *John Cai as a Youth Champion on a recent Element Project*

We spoke to members of Element’s Creative Community Ben and John at one of our recent Friday drop-ins to get a sense of their experiences as Youth Champions. Here they tell us their favourite parts:

“I really enjoyed the challenge. It wasn’t something I had done prior and it was all alien to me. I originally didn’t think I could do it at all but I was supported by a staff member to apply. Personally, I think I flourished in the role and I loved learning and teaching.” Ben
“It was an experience to meet new people, try new things, express ourselves and most importantly to be in a non-judgemental space.” John

As you may have guessed, it’s not easy becoming a youth champion. Standing up in a room full of strangers and leading an activity is something that gives many people the chills! Group facilitation is a type of work that requires many skills, many of which Ben and John have been building:

“I developed my adaptability. In doing so, session plans started to make more sense and sessions were able to be customised to the needs of the group. Furthermore, I learned how to respectfully call the attention of a room of people - I did enjoy that more than I should have..
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— Ben

“There are many skills I’ve built. Open mindedness and gaining perspective stand out. You learn so much from listening and hearing stories that people share from different places in the world.
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— John

Sometimes it can be skills that young people have gained through personal experience that are some of the most impactful on an Element Project.

*“I found myself using and building skills that I had experienced at home in terms of communication, such as using non-verbal cues with people who do not speak English.”*

- **John**

One of the biggest challenges that Element Youth Champions face is confidence, which is totally understandable, Ben explains how working as part of the Element team helped with this..

“The challenge originally was in confidence. I had been a part of Element as a young person and care leaver, but I had never taken on the responsibility of running activities. I overcame this by repeatedly trying again and again. I persevered with the help of my co-facilitator and built the foundation needed to use that confidence.”

All of our Youth Champions are trained and mentored by the Element team throughout the project. And we can’t tell you just how inspiring it is to see members of the Creative Community flourish in the art of facilitation! As you can see, it’s a completely reciprocal and rewarding role for both us and the young people we work with, and we’re very proud to have Youth Champions as part of our core. We finished our chat asking Ben and John to sum up the experience in three words.

“Rewarding, captivating and uplifting”

— Ben

“Hmmm, oh this is hard - let me think. I think it’d have to say, creative, innovative and awe.”