Authoring Our Own Stories

Authoring Our Own Stories has been funded for 5 years by the National Lottery Community Fund. The programme is being led by Partnership for Young London in partnership with Youth Focus North West, Youth Focus South West and Yorkshire and Humber Regional Youth Work Unit.

Please download the full briefing here for more information.

Setting the Context – Our Pilot Project on Regional Identities

Authoring Our Own Stories builds on a pilot delivered in 2019 – 2020 where over 400 young people and 60 youth workers took part in research about how young people’s identities impacts on both access to services and service design and delivery.
This project worked alongside of Dr Tom Loughran from the University of Huddersfield to explore how young people from different social groups and different regions of the UK defined their identities and how we collectively as services reflect and adapt to meet their needs.
Young people conducted research in each region and, using multi-media approaches, explored the ways in which they expressed who they are and how they want to be represented. More information about the work that was completed can be viewed here.

Programme of Work

Introduction

Authoring Our Own Stories is being developed in response to assertions from young people, gathered through our pilot, to work with them as co-producers and provide safe spaces for them to express their multiple identities. This is so that their experiences are more accurately understood by service providers.

Youth led research

Each year we will train 20 paid, part-time, young leaders to co-produce a national, multi-media project in each region over 10 weeks that provides a platform for participants to author their own stories. Participants will explore how they want their identities to be understood by professionals and their peers and capture their findings through a range of media formats including videography, creative writing, graphic art and photography.

Outcomes

The outcomes of their work will provide a rich body of material based on their lived experiences around identity. This will be used to develop resources, training programmes and youth led events, delivered to the youth sector, to upskill the workforce. This initiative will be developed on a rolling programme, over a 5 period, where new regional partnerships are formed each year.

Authoring Our Own Stories will enable young people to take increased roles in defining future provision. Services will develop more effective partnerships to the changing needs of young people, in line with the impact of COVID19. Additionally, the youth sector will have the skills to be able to respond more effectively to the developing needs of young people. This will help mitigate against future systemic inequalities, highlighted through the lived experiences of respondents in our pilot project, and ‘build back better’ as part of the recovery mission, out of the pandemic.

Programme components

There will be 4 components, which will take place over the duration of the programme:

Young Leaders -100 young people trained in co-production, leadership, facilitation, and research skills
Youth Outreach - Delivery of 20 youth voice and youth-led research projects with over 500 young people
Workforce Development - Training and peer support for 600 youth workers
Regional Partnerships - The establishment of 4 cross-sector regional partnerships aiming to drive up outcomes for young people by influencing policy and practice. This builds on the two existing partnerships from the pilot (London and the North West) and extends the programme to Yorkshire and Humber and South West

Ambitions

Develop services post COVID-19

Re-frame the future

This initiative will seize the current ‘unprecedented moment’ to recalibrate the culture of the youth sector by becoming more progressive and ‘fit for purpose’. Fundamental to this progress is challenging the constraining methods used to categorise young people and position them within a system that limits their life chances by not fully meeting their needs.

We aim to co-produce this work with young people so that they engage in a democratic process where they share knowledge around the core issues that affect their lives.

Programme Update

Authoring Our Own Stories: Year One - Explores issues of Self-Perception and Social Perceptions of Identity

The words in these collages were hard to say and the reality of what they represent even harder to live with.

Each piece represents key findings from the first year of research on Authoring Our Own Stories. Change is happening but the speed is glacial. What else can the sector do to accelerate the pace of racial equality?

GIFTED

Despite the challenges young Black and Asian people recognise their own self-worth

STUCK

The stereotypes feel relentless, and it is not always safe to challenge them.

SUPPRESSION

Black and Asian professionals need braver spaces to discuss the impact of having a racialised identity

GIFTED

Despite the challenges young Black and Asian people recognise their own self-worth

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We used a video format to report back on how we developed our research project in London, what we found out and what we think should happen next!

Authoring Our Own Stories: Year Two - Explores issues of Community, Connection and Belonging

In 2023 we recruited six art students from Harris Academy Girls East Dulwich (HAGED), to become peer researchers. We did self-portraits in our first session and shared questions we wanted to explore together about civic identity. The group was keen to learn more about how we were going to use art practices to build our research projects. We wanted to highlight the skills and experience each group member already had and could contribute to Authoring Our Own Stories.

We did our peer training in the art studio at HAGED with the support of the Head of Art, Clare Stanhope. Group Photo l to R Yezi, Ling, Camron, Natasha, Sandra, Moshood and Zi

We have drawn a lot of knowledge from the group’s lived experience throughout the development of this work. For example, in the early stages of the peer training, the Young Leaders researched the spaces and places in their local area where they felt safe and welcomed and others where they were left feeling very conscious of their age, ethnicity and gender.

The outline for a Heat Map of how the Young Leaders experience their Civic identity in spaces and places in Southwark. ‘Tops and Pants’ is one of the evaluation tools we used to help the peer researchers self-assess their development.

As our time has progressed together, we have experimented with different materials such as collaging, clay and building bricks and different crafts such as origami, to present research questions.

In July, the Young Leaders were tasked with putting together their own research project using the skills and tools they had developed through their training. We met at Guildhall to pull our ideas together and form a workshop plan for the focus groups we would be visiting in August. Below are images of the group working through the questions that they wanted to ask in the focus groups and then developing activities to present them.

Young Leaders suggested using The Fox to express questions to decision makers that young people may not feel confident asking directly

We used the symbol of the boat to represent identity, as historically London has been a city made up of diverse communities who have travelled to settle there…

Delivering Our Research Projects in the Summer of 2023

The Young Leaders visited seven youth projects over the summer to deliver their research projects. Feedback from the participants included sharing that using practical activities to ask the research questions maintained their engagement. The young men at Woodpecker Youth Club told us that they really enjoyed using building bricks, in particular to explore the research questions.

We are grateful to Yuk-Lin Tan, who welcomed us to Camden Chinese Community Centre Over Half-Term

Young Leaders will be invited to use an art-form of personal interest to create a visual analysis of the focus groups. They will be guided to develop their ideas with artist, Drew Sinclair. Storyboard template by Drew Sinclair ©.

Over the Autumn the Young Leaders will be sharing their initial observations from the focus groups through creating individual storyboards. We will then do a Thematic Analysis of the work, coding the data and looking for emerging themes. Once this process is complete the group will decide what creative medium, they want to use to interpret the data they have generated and what key issues they want to share from their work with decision-makers.

Authoring Our Own Stories: Year Three - Explores Emotional Wellbeing and the Value of Intergenerational Dialogue when understanding Mental Health

Exploring Mental Health Through the Lens of Race and Ethnicity

Authoring Our Own Stories is now in year three! The focus for this year has been on the mental well-being of young people of Black and Asian heritage. We are delighted to have formed new partnerships with Hoxton Hall, National Citizenship Service, Spotlight and Lewisham Young Mayor’s Advisors. Participants from these organisations have offered insight and skills to support peer researchers and workers to develop resources that we hope will be the catalyst of critical thinking and behavioural change on how we understand and work with young Black and Asian people to address the systemic inequalities that so often impact their mental health.

We have been delivering a series of events to explore some of the issues emerging from the work that we are developing through Authoring Our Own Stories. The first was an online session, which looked at the problematic ideology of ‘the strong Black woman’. This will be our focus for research in 2025. We are interested in addressing this construct within the youth sector. We want to better understand how to examine the underlying assumptions we may make about young Black and Brown women’s capacity to endure hardship and cultivate enduring resilience.

To get involved in the research project for 2025 contact sandra.vacciana@cityoflondon.gov.uk.

Launching the Wellbeing Gallery

Clara Akingbade, a Young Leader with Authoring Our Own Stories, is proud to launch the first in a series of resources developed for young people to promote conversations about mental wellbeing. Clara created the Wellbeing Gallery with artist and youth worker Ilaria Di Fiore based on data analysis from our research this year. All the Young Leaders engaged in Authoring Our Own Stories facilitated focus groups using the Gallery and helped code and theme the data. This is the final product! Please use this resource (alongside the ‘How to Use this Resource’ sheet) in your youth projects and share your feedback on how effective you think it is.

Clara Akingbade launching the Wellbeing Gallery

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Resources

The Wellbeing Gallery

How to use this resource sheet.

The concept of the Wellbeing Gallery and results sheet.

Statistics for the Wellbeing Gallery

Authoring Our Own Stories: Year Four - Explores the trope of ‘The Strong Black Woman’ and Resilience, as experienced through the lens of young Black and Brown women

BRING YOUR AUNTY – Our London Stakeholders Event, Authoring Our Own Stories

Dance, food and music were all crucial cultural elements woven into the presentation of our research findings at BRING YOUR AUNTY our recent stakeholder event at Guildhall, City of London. Rachel Adjekukor, Anuoluwapo Fadairo, Emmanuella Mamah (aka Ella), Rumaisa Mulji and Emmanuela Kumi all gave compelling evidence from our research project this year as to why we need to unpack the narrative of ‘The Strong Black Woman’ and examine the expectations placed on young Black and Brown women and the impact on their emotional health. BRING YOUR AUNTY was a response to the recommendation in our research findings to have more intergenerational events; particularly when exploring issues related to emotional wellbeing and ‘mental health’. This is a topic that still carries a lot of stigmas in Black and Brown communities.

The group shared a physical copy of a magazine called ‘XBX’ (Experts by Experience) which has articles, poems and paintings produced by the young leaders and young women from The Zone; one of the groups we delivered sessions to this year.

Articles

Can we Have a Word with You? why it’s time to DITCH the term ‘mental health’ - Words by Rachel Adjekukor
Fitting In and Perfection as Young Black and Brown Women - Words by Emmanuella Mamah
Breaking The Glass Ceiling: When Empowerment Comes with Scars - Words by Emmanuela Kumi
We Won’t ‘Cool it Down’ Words by Rumaisa Mulji
Warrior Words by Anuoluwapo Fadairo
The Pressure of Perfection by Anuoluwapo Fadairo
We Carry by Anuoluwapo Fadairo

The magazine articles explore issues such as the pressure of perfectionism, breaking the glass ceiling, challenging role models and the need to expand the language we use to describe our emotional health. A digital version of the magazine, with user guide, will be shared in the New Year but readers can access PDF copies of the articles here.

2026 is the final year of Authoring Our Own Stories and we are focused on implementing the recommendations made by the young Black and Asian people who have contributed to this project – this will be our priority going forward.

Thanks to all the team!

For more information about Authoring Our Own Stories contact

Sandra.vacciana@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Ilaria Di Fiore - Artist and Youth Worker

Sharon Long – Director, Partnership for Young London

Drew Sinclair - Graphic Designer

Caron Vacciana – Volunteer

Meaning of The River: A New Authoring Our Own Stories Resource

This video and User Guide provide insight and prompts for professionals to explore what additional strategies they can develop to support young people, whose identities are racialised, experience a greater sense of belonging. The content is based on data collected by young leaders who conducted research in 2023.

‘Kelly’s Story’: A New Resource by Young People of Black and Asian Heritage for Professionals

This year we will be developing our work on mental health. A group of young women of African, African-Caribbean and Dual Heritage will be exploring the concept of resilience. They will create a research project for their peers to identify how being strong is a source of empowerment for young Black and Brown women and where it can negatively impact mental health. We will also deliver a webinar session to share resources that peer researchers have been developing. These are tools, created to support professionals in their practice.

For more information, please email sandra.vacciana@cityoflondon.gov.uk

Kelly's Story full video.

Young Leaders from Authoring Our Own Stories are inviting professionals to pilot the second in a series of resources they have created to explore mental health. Kelly’s Story follows the steps a young woman takes to support her emotional wellbeing. It creatively captures some of the key findings from young people of Black and Asian heritage who engaged in this research in 2024.

Can you trial it with young people in your organisations and tell Young Leaders what you think? One of the aims of Authoring Our Own Stories is to provide more tools and training for professionals to upskill the workforce and enable better access to services for young people from marginalised communities.

Resources:

Kelly's Story User Guide

Kelly's Story Comic Storyboard Full Colour

Kelly's Story Comic Storyboard Black and White

Kelly's Story Blank Template

Kelly's Story Feedback

Young Leader Sian is introducing the 'Kelly's story resource'.

Authoring Our Own Stories 2025

We are pleased to share resources and updates from across the regions engaged in Authoring Our Own Stories. Please see below for reports and training materials to support professionals in their work with young people on themes of civic identity

Youth Focus North West

Read the full report here
Watch the to the video and soundscape

Authoring Our Own Stories is a national project exploring young people’s civic identities, to understand how civic identities impact access to services for young people, using creative research methodologies.

Yorkshire and Humber Youth Work Unit

Annual Report from Yorks & Humber Youth Work Unit

Youth Focus Southwest

See posters one, two and three, plus link to video.

Authoring Our Own Stories 2026: National

1/5

2026 is the fifth and final year of Authoring Our Own Stories. We are excited and proud of the work achieved across the country with Young Leaders, focus group participants, our stakeholders and regional youth units, since this youth voice project was launched in 2022. The time has flown and we are eager to begin implementing recommendations this year, based on all the rich data collected through our field work over the years. Across the country, projects will be delivered with young people in Blackburn, Barnsley, London, and Plymouth. Groups will be focused on how they take the invaluable feedback shared through their fieldwork to influence policy and practice both locally and nationally. For example, in Knowsley work continues with decision makers and Youth Focus North West, to implement recommendations from 2025, to improve safety for local young people in civic spaces. Work has also begun in Blackburn providing a new opportunity for young people to examine how their regional identities influence their access to youth support.

In Barnsley young leaders have created an app signposting young men to education, training, and employment opportunities. Additionally, they have made videos that present men in diverse, professional roles to expand young men’s life outcomes, by raising aspirations and creating greater access to knowledge. The young women from Plymouth recently presented their data to key decision makers at local event and will be working with members of the VAWG (Violence Against Women and Girls) sector to address issues of emotional and physical safety for young women. Finally, in London, Young Leaders are currently co-designing a series of three training programmes for professionals. These training sessions are the key method being used to implement recommendations from their research. The group is using creative resources developed across all year groups engaged in Authoring Our Own Stories as the basis for the training. They aim to cohere and share insights that upskill the workforce about more effective mental health support for young people of African, African-Caribbean, and Asian heritage.

Authoring Our Own Stories 2026

In London we are focused on delivering a programme of three training sessions on key themes from our research including ‘Community, Connection and Belonging’, ‘Developing Intergenerational Dialogue when Exploring Support for Emotional Wellbeing and Mental Health and ‘Breaking the Glass Ceiling’. This training is being co-produced with professionals and Young Leaders and delivered to partners including London Youth, Spotlight and Metropolitan and Thames Valley Housing. For more information about what we are doing in 2026, contact sandra.vacciana@cityoflondon.gov.uk.

Resources

BRING YOUR AUNTY – Our London Stakeholders Event, Authoring Our Own Stories

Authoring Our Own Stories Roundtable 2025

This Wednesday was the fourth Roundtable event for Authoring Our Own Stories , a national youth voice project exploring how young people’s identities strongly influence access to opportunities and support. Young Leaders from Partnership for Young London Youth Focus North West Youth Focus South West and Yorks and Humber Youth Work Units shared outcomes for this year. The session opened with a powerful poem called The Things We Carry , co-created with spoken word artist