Participation & Voice

At YMCA Edinburgh, we believe that children and young people should have real opportunities to influence the decisions that affect their lives.

Our Participation & Voice work supports young people and communities to be heard, taken seriously and involved in shaping services, local change and the direction of our organisation.

Youth participation and influence

A key part of this work is The Equals Youth Forum, where young people help shape YMCA Edinburgh’s priorities and take meaningful, youth-led community action.

Through the forum, young people contribute to consultations, lead community campaigns, and share lived experience to ensure youth voice informs organisational decision-making in meaningful ways.

Young residents’ voice within the Cables Wynd House Residents’ Forum

Working alongside partners, we help children and young people engage with issues that affect their homes, safety and wellbeing – including supporting their involvement in shaping housing consultations and reporting. This has included enabling young people to contribute directly to a housing rights report supported by Making Rights Real, and supporting them to speak publicly about their experiences at Edinburgh City Chambers, ensuring decision-makers hear directly from those affected, to great success.

This approach recognises that young people are valuable members of their wider community and have a right to participate in civic spaces, not be separated from them.

As one local resident shared:

“The youth forum is amazing! The children are thoughtful, enthusiastic and can see when things are not fair. The long-term relationships and support of the group mean issues can be picked up and followed up, while connecting young people to wider opportunities across the city.”

Climate action and co-production

From 2026, YMCA Edinburgh will take part in a national YMCA Scotland climate action project, supporting young people to identify and act on local environmental issues that matter to them.

Using the 6squid co-production approach, young people will work as equal partners to co-design solutions and take action in their communities. Learning from this work will contribute to national learning through YMCA Scotland and international knowledge-sharing with World YMCA.

Why Participation & Voice matters

Our Participation & Voice work reflects our commitment to the principles of Community Development and The Promise, particularly the pillar of Voice, and our belief that young people should have the agency and platform to influence decisions that affect their lives and communities.

By supporting youth forums, enabling young residents to participate within existing community structures, and contributing to national and international learning, we aim to ensure that young people shape their community and that YMCA Edinburgh is in turn shaped by the voices of those we connect with.