Energise Me to Deliver The Agency again in 2022
We are proud of our partner Energise Me, who delivered an incredible first year of The Agency in 2021.
The Agency has demonstrated real value in the communities of Southampton, delivered with the belief is that young people know best what their communities need. Through a series of exciting, creative activities, they inspire young people to express their ideas for social change and gain the tools and mindset to put them into action.
In 2021 they achieved the following…
Six young people delivered four projects in Northam, Newtown and St Mary’s
This added up to 27 sessions of sports, arts, poetry, dance and environmental action
Over 70 children and community members benefitted from taking part
The young people delivered their projects with Energise YOUth grants of £2,000 and £1,000
Many Southampton organisations actively supported the young people gain the skills to deliver their projects
Two of the projects are continuing in 2022 with further funding and support
Let us share some of the exciting projects and the experiences of the Agent’s from their perspective.
Yulu- creator of Eco Kids
Being a part of The Agency has been a real eye-opener for me. I thought there weren’t any opportunities like this for young people. I thought we had to wait until we were older to make a difference, that you couldn’t make change whilst you were young.
Project Eco Kids
My name's Yulu and I am 16 years old. I am currently in college. I am passionate about social and environmental issues.
The first time I ever heard about climate change and the environment was at secondary school. It really hit me getting to know about it all. Before I was oblivious and knowing about it was just shocking.
That’s why I have been trying to think of ways to try and help the environment. I want to help us others learn like I did. But no opportunity ever seemed to come up. That’s until The Agency.
The Agency came into the youth club I go to and spoke to us. I joined as it was an opportunity for me to make a difference.
About Eco Kids
My project is called Eco Kids and I work on it with a partner, Patricya. The project is about the environment. We just wanted to encourage the community to be more compassionate about the planet.
We decided that the best way to do this would be through the youth club. Northam is pretty big, with blocks everywhere. The youth club members are from all over Northam so we thought it was a good place to teach young people so they can share the message further across the area. We decided that young people were in a good position to influence others, especially their parents, to change their lifestyles to be more eco-friendly.
I also experienced my first litter pick at the youth club and that really inspired me to incorporate one in the project. The aim was to teach young people about repurposing rather than just recycling. This is because it’s more important to repurpose and reuse than to keep buying more
Yulu’s experiance with The Agency
Being a part of The Agency has been a real eye-opener for me. I thought there weren’t any opportunities like this for young people. I thought we had to wait until we were older to make a difference, that you couldn’t make change whilst you were young.
I feel like a part of something, and everyone is really encouraging. They support us in every way they can. It’s been a really enjoyable experience.
I’ve networked with many people; learnt about jobs I didn’t know existed and grown in confidence. I used to be very closeted and isolated but now I feel like I can make friends with people easily. It’s been so inspiring meeting other people. I didn’t know about things like social enterprise and other jobs like that before. It’s been a good learning experience and my eyes have been opened to opportunities for my future.
Christine creator of Culture Kidz
No matter what problems you have you can always go to The Agency and relax. All your problems are forgotten for a few hours, and you get a break from it all.
Project: Cultural Kidz
My name's Christine and I am 21 years old. I am very passionate about dance and music. Both have got me through so much. When you listen to music you feel like a completely new person and you feel the stress that you had in your mind goes away.
I like to move around and dance and music is a big element of that. It’s part of me and I want to share that joy with others.
I am particularly passionate about Afrobeats dance. It’s about celebrating our culture and having pride in it. Growing up I felt I never really got the chance to explore my culture. It’s pushed aside. What you’re doing or the music you listen to isn’t considered normal and it’s thought to be weird.
A lot of people are so integrated that they forget where they come from. They don’t know what’s part of their culture and they don’t celebrate it. Southampton is a very culturally diverse city but there aren’t many diverse options out there for kids. When I first did an Afrobeats dance session I had to travel all the way to London. In Southampton it’s all ballet or contemporary dance, which is nice but it’s important to showcase the dance styles of different cultures.
About Clutural Kidz
I joined The Agency as I knew it would allow me to make a difference. I would be able to be creative, and if you have an opportunity to be creative why not use it. I had an idea and The Agency gave me the opportunity to actually make it happen so I just wanted to grab the chance. My project was an after school Afrobeats dance classes for years five and six. I held them at the school in my area, St Mary’s Primary school. I wanted to do the classes so that I could share my culture with the children but also give them the opportunity to explore their own heritage through music and dance.
The sessions ran every Wednesday from 3:15pm to 4:15pm for four weeks. It was so much fun seeing their smiling faces and how much they enjoyed the sessions
Christine’s experience with the Agency
It’s been really fun to be a part of The Agency. I am dyslexic and everyone has been so supportive. They help me with my writing.
Everyone is very understanding. Sometimes I would be late as I look after my little brother in the mornings, or he would need to come with me as I was looking after him and everyone understood. They were all friendly and welcoming to him.
No matter what problems you have you can always go to The Agency and relax. All your problems are forgotten for a few hours, and you get a break from it all.
I think that being part of The Agency has helped me to become more mature. I had to be responsible for my project. Sometimes I could be laid back but I always had a handle on the things I needed to. I have learnt not to give up so easily. If something has gone wrong you have to keep pushing through.
I think the skills I have learnt will help with my future. What you learn at The Agency will help you no matter what career you have. The little workshops at the start helped us learn about ourselves and our emotions. We learnt how we can handle things professionally.
We also presented at the community centre and did lots of networking. It helped me to know I can network with anybody. You just have to have the confidence to talk to them.
Ismaeel creator of Area Elites
I think this experience will help with my future. During my time at The Agency I have had my first few interviews and I delivered a presentation to 50 people at Central Hall.
Project: Area Elites
I’m Ismaeel and I am 15 years old. I have always loved sports. I started playing football when I was around 5 years old and cricket at 8 years old. When I was growing up I remember I used to always have to travel to play sport. There wasn’t really anything on offer in my area.
I know that not every family can afford to travel out of the area to play sports so I wanted to do something to help. Since lockdown I haven’t had the ability to go and play sports as everywhere has been shut. I decided to come to the Agency and see if I could create my own project and start running some sport in the area.
I saw The Agency as my opportunity to do something.
About Area Elites
My project is called Area Elites and is aimed at 14-16. The moral statement of my project is to transform the lives of people in and around Northam and Golden Grove through sports. It consisted of 4 weeks of sports sessions, made up of football, cricket and basketball. The last week was then a tournament for all the sports together.
I hoped that me doing something in the area means everyone is welcome to come. We could get the community involved and offer something they might not have had access to before. Everyone was able to come and have fun for free.
Even if people didn’t like sports, it was just a way of people being themselves. You don’t need to be good at something to enjoy it. As long as you come along, get involved and play as a team you’re learning either way.
Ismaeel’s experience with The Agency
The first few weeks of The Agency weren’t really for me. I was a bit shy, and I didn’t know anyone. I didn’t find the activities we were doing enjoyable, but I stuck with it. I persevered and after the first 12 weeks, I was a changed person.
I think a lot of people knew me as someone who didn’t like to try. But now they see me differently. They see me as someone who is trying and giving a lot of attention to their project. I see myself differently too.
I enjoy it now a lot more than I did at the start. I think this experience will help with my future. During my time at The Agency I have had my first few interviews and I delivered a presentation to 50 people at Central Hall. These things made me nervous at first but now I know I can do them. Everything was just new to me and I needed to get used to it.