𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐘𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐕𝐨𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 𝐓𝐨𝐨𝐤 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐌𝐢𝐜 - 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐑𝐨𝐨𝐦 𝐋𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐝

There are moments when the script flips. When the expected narrative—adults speaking, young people nodding—gets thrown out, rewritten by the very voices we claim to champion. Last week at Millfield Theatre, in a room brimming with over 150 people, that moment happened.

It was not just another community event. This was a night where the young people of Edmonton took control, articulated their dreams, and—without hesitation—told their leaders exactly what they needed. And let’s be clear: They didn’t ask for permission.

Seated in the audience were the decision-makers—the Leader of the Council, Cllr Ergin Erbil; Mohammad Islam Mayor of Enfield; Trevor Blackman, CEO of Edmonton Community Partnership; Nina Lewis, Director and Founder of Platinum Performing Arts; Erina Lewis, Vice Principal & Head of Acting at Platinum Performing Arts; Rafique Ullah, Head of Youth Work & Youth Development Service in Enfield; Chris McCoy, NYCC CEO-Founder; Hannah Bawden, Project Manager, Edmonton Community Partnership; Katie Myhill, Senior Manager, Programmes – Children and Young Londoners, GLA; James Wright, Edmonton Neighbourhoods Inspector, North Area BCU; and a host of community leaders, all gathered to listen. And listen they did.

Because when young people speak with conviction, when they strip away bureaucracy and deliver unfiltered truth, it’s impossible to look away.

𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐀𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐔𝐬 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐅𝐢𝐱 𝐊𝐧𝐢𝐟𝐞 𝐂𝐫𝐢𝐦𝐞

That was the headline, the refrain that rang through the evening like a challenge and a plea. Young people are exhausted by the expectation that they alone should have the answers to societal failures. They want to be seen for their talent, their dreams, their potential—not just as statistics on a crime report.

They spoke about their futures, about their communities, about what they needed to thrive. Not survive—thrive. And their message was clear:

Young people want to be wanted. They don’t want to be an afterthought in policies written about them but not for them.

Find the spark in every young person, then unleash it. Because behind every so-called ‘problem’ child is untapped brilliance waiting for the right opportunity.

Are we treating them as a problem to be solved or as potential to be nurtured? The answer to that question will define the kind of future we build.

They are a force that brings people together, not a demographic to be managed. Their unity, their passion—it’s a resource, not a liability.

To engage them, you must truly see them. Not as checkboxes on a diversity form, not as monolithic groups, but as individuals with stories, ambitions, and a deep desire to be part of something bigger.

𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧 𝐚 𝐌𝐞𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 - 𝐀 𝐌𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭

The young people of Edmonton made one thing crystal clear: they refuse to be tokenized. They demand action, partnership, real investment in their futures. And if they don’t get it? They will build it themselves.

Leaders were put on notice that night. Not just to nod and say, “We hear you,” but to act. To show up at follow-up meetings not with prepared speeches but with tangible commitments.

And if you were in that room, you would know that something powerful, something irreversible, had begun.

The future isn’t waiting for permission. It’s here. It’s now. And it’s young!

The event was produced by the young people from Platinum Performing Arts from the #StrongerEdmonton Project.

Written by Trevor Blackman (CEO Edmonton Community Partnership)