LGBTQI+, SEND and Somali young people design their youth service

Our youth service, Young Tower Hamlets, held a second series of ‘Hackathon’ events for LGBQTI+ young people, SEND young people up to the age of 25 and Somali boys and girls.

This series follows the first round of Hackathon events that happened in May 2023 with 400 young taking part to design their future youth service.

In this second series of Hackathon events, sessions were co-produced with young people and featured activities designed to stimulate discussion, generate ideas, and provide young people with an opportunity to contribute their vision for the youth service in a fun and engaging way.

Activities during the sessions included:

• Debate game: To break the ice, the sessions started with a ‘debate’ game, where young people could respond to discussion topics that they agreed or disagreed with. This game enabled young people to start talking and sharing ideas to create a fun and engaging atmosphere.
• Identifying needs and wants: Young people identified issues that matter to them and gave their views on opportunities and activities that would most meet their needs.
• Presenting their perfect youth service: Once young people had discussed their wants and needs, they were then challenged to design their dream youth service. In small groups they used creative methods to design and present their visual representations of an amazing future youth service.

The £13.7m youth service, which launched on 17 July 2023, provides a diverse programme of free opportunities and support for all young people aged 11 to 19 (25 with SEND) across the borough.

The feedback provided by young people in these Hackathon events will shape the future of the youth service moving forward.

Lutfur Rahman, Mayor of Tower Hamlets, said:

“This second series of Hackathon events has been a great success. 

“Each session played a major role in ensuring that young people could have their voice heard.

“Thank you to the young people who attended, your feedback is integral to ensuring that we create an inclusive service that is safe and positive for all.”

Cllr Maium Talukdar, Deputy Mayor and Cabinet Member for Education, Youth and Lifelong Learning, said: 

“There was a great energy throughout this second series of Hackathon events, with young people confidently sharing their important ideas and getting involved in discussions. 

“I look forward to incorporating the young people’s contributions into Young Tower Hamlets.

Abdirahman Ibrahim, 17, took part in the Somali boys Hackathon session:

“The session was really engaging and fun, we played a lot of trust building exercises which is always fun to take part in. It was really nice to have an open conversation on challenges we young Somali boys face and how we can tackle them working with the LBTH Hackathon team. The future is looking bright.”