Imagine This
Co-designing a better future with young people in Torbay
Imagine This was a National Lottery-funded partnership led by Torbay Community Development Trust, bringing local organisations together to improve the lives of children and young people in Torbay.
Young people had identified five priorities for making Torbay a better place to grow up: reducing stress and anxiety, creating more spaces to hang out, safer streets, protecting the environment and improving access for all.
We were asked to take this engagement further - creating an inclusive and enjoyable way for young people to explore these challenges and develop their own ideas for change.
Designing with, not for
Working with local youth groups and services, we designed and delivered a free "Ideas and Imagination" festival at Parkfield Community Centre in Paignton, combining music, food and creative activities with meaningful youth engagement.
At its heart was an Ideas Jam. Young people could add ideas to a big ideas board, record a video diary, talk informally with facilitators or join a co-design workshop.
Small groups developed ideas further using lego, craft materials and models to prototype possible solutions. Ideas ranged from interest-based youth clubs and safe spaces for emotional support to tackling homelessness and reducing plastic waste.
The emphasis throughout was on designing with young people, not for them.
500+
festival attendees
23
partner organisations
120
Ideas Jam participants
More than 500 people attended, 23 partner organisations showcased their work and around 120 young people contributed ideas through the Ideas Jam and co-design activities. Several young people wanted to stay involved in developing ideas beyond the event.
The festival exceeded our expectations. Every time we looked around all we could see were people huddled around activities, deep in thought, action and conversation.
Jo Morrell
Imagine This Programme Coordinator
Co-design training for partners
The legacy went beyond the festival. 6 months later, we returned to deliver a programme of co-design training for Imagine This partners, helping them build their own skills and confidence to involve young people in the development of services and activities.
Training covered creative engagement, design ethnography, user experience mapping and practical co-design methods. Partners were encouraged to test the approaches themselves, share learning and consider how youth voice could be embedded in future project design and evaluation.
This helped shift the legacy from Made Open engaging young people on behalf of the partnership to building the partnership’s own capability to design with young people.
Today, Imagine This continues to organise its work around the five impact areas originally identified by Torbay’s young people - an example of how youth voice can shape collaborative action.
"The festival exceeded our expectations. Every time we looked around all we could see were people huddled around activities, deep in thought, action and conversation."
Jo Morrell
Imagine This Programme Coordinator
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