Youth Forum

Youth

Young people make up a third of the population of Belfast, making our city one of the youngest in Europe. 

As Belfast is home to so many young people, we thought it was time they had a say in how our city is run and show that they’re listened to by adults.

If you’re a young person, we’ve set up the Belfast Youth Forum to help make this happen.

Who’s in the Belfast Youth Forum?

The forum is made up of 40 young people from communities across Belfast.

All of our members are aged between 13-18 (21 if you are disabled or have just left care) and are a forum member for two years.

The Belfast Youth Forum 2018 - 2020 are focusing on these campaigns:

• Poverty
• Mental Health
• Relationship and Sexuality Education

Read more about these projects and follow us on Twitter @Belfast_YF for updates. #BelfastYouthForum 

The UNCRC

The United Nations Convention on the rights of the Child (UNCRC) is a list of rights created to protect all children and young people and make sure they have everything they need to live a happy and healthy life. 

The work of the Belfast Youth Forum is guided by the UNCRC, in particular:

• Article 2 - Children and young people should not be discriminated against
• Article 3 - The best interests of children and young people should be a top priority in all decisions concerning them
• Article 12 - Every child and young person has the right to say what they think in matters affecting them and to have their views listened to and taken seriously.

What has the forum done so far?

The Belfast Youth Forum has organised a number of events including: 

• ‘Any Use?’ research report focusing on young people’s opinions on Relationship and Sexuality Education (RSE) in Belfast. Our Belfast Youth Forum created the report in partnership with Common Youth and Centre for Children’s Rights QUB.
• 'Elephant in the Room' research report on children and young people and mental health. This is part of a regional youth-led mental health campaign, organised by young people from Belfast Youth Forum and NI Youth Forum.
• Poverty: It’s not a choice research report on raising awareness about Poverty in Belfast. 
• The ‘Push it Home’ campaign to raise awareness of the levels of ‘hidden homelessness’ in Belfast. 
• The Youth hub - a pilot project to test shared youth spaces across the city centre.
• An intergenerational project with the Seniors Forum to raise awareness of poverty in Belfast.
• The #LiveLouder battle of the bands competition and concert in partnership with the Oh Yeah Music centre.  We gave the winners of this competition a £1000 bursary.
• The Digi Dragons Den app competition to help young people look after their mental health, and the environment. We gave the two winners of this competition a £1000 bursary each.

If you would like more information on the youth forum projects, email or call 028 9050 0521.

Sign up for email updates

Belfast City Council is the Data Controller under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) for the personal data it gathers for the purposes of sending email updates from Belfast Youth Forum. 

The council accepts that you are providing your personal data on the basis of consent and are positively agreeing for the council to hold and further use it. 

The personal data may be shared internally within the council with staff who are involved in providing this service and where necessary, between internal departments with the purpose of supporting an effective delivery of service.

Your personal data will not be shared or disclosed to any other organisation without your consent, unless the law permits or places an obligation on the council to do so.

The personal data is held and stored by the council in a safe and secure manner and in compliance with Data Protection legislation and in line with the council’s Records Retention and Disposal Schedule.

If you have any queries regarding the processing of your personal data or wish to withdraw your consent to the processing of it, please contact the Belfast Youth Forum team on 028 9032 0202 or email community@belfastcity.gov.uk

If you wish to contact the council’s Data Protection Officer, please write to: 
Belfast City Council,
City Hall Belfast,
BT1 5GS
or send an email to records@belfastcity.gov.uk. Please read our privacy policy for further information.