I’ve been involved in social justice work for the last decade focusing on young people's participation, gender justice and community building. When I was 16 I co-organised an event celebrating young people in Oxfordshire with Vinspired. Since then I’ve been involved in a huge variety of youth work in formal and informal roles, including as a trustee. I love the Movement's centring on young people as powerful agents of change.

I’ve learnt a lot from feminist practices in thinking about what leadership can look like and how it can achieve social justice. I am part of a group of ‘everyday feminist leaders’ that has spent time thinking about what the term means and how we can make it more accessible. I endeavour to lead with love and care and to be collaborative in how I work, creating mechanisms for honest feedback and accountability.

Alongside my role with the Young Trustees Movement, I am a coach, facilitator and social change consultant. As a facilitator, I am trained in participatory and creative methodologies such as Participatory Video and Action Learning. As a certified coach, I take a strengths-based approach, to help individuals dare to do things differently. As a consultant, I work with groups and organisations to challenge dominant power dynamics and co-create positive social change. You can read more about the kind of work I’ve done via my LinkedIn

Trustee boards are still where a lot of decision-making happens so we need young people in these spaces to bring their unique experiences and perspectives. Through these perspectives, we get new questions, insights and opportunities to engage with social justice work. We also need to ensure that young people’s participation isn’t a tick box but an intentional invitation to embrace them as the leaders and changemakers they are and that their role isn’t reduced to a spokesperson for all young people.

The change we want is not just about having a seat at the table: that table must be pulled apart and rebuilt through the power of intergenerational learning that resists capitalist and colonial ways of working. That means choosing a mindset of abundance rather than scarcity in terms of decision-making and creating an environment for diverse voices and experiences to flourish. We need to embed cultures of care at every level and that should include how we govern.

• Creativity - using creative methods to explore challenges from new perspectives.
• Participation - ensuring diverse voices are included in the conversation.
• Time with nature - on a day-to-day basis this looks like a stroll around the park or gardening.
• Talking with people - time for inspiration and reflection so that I can learn from and with other people.
• Movement - being in my body rather than my brain. Particularly long distance walking and swimming which are both like meditation to me.
• Celebration - holding space for celebration and joy as much as possible for myself and others.

I feel honoured to play a role in supporting this youth-led movement. I can’t wait to connect with everyone involved who together makes this movement what it is. I am especially looking forward to working with the young people whose ideas and actions are pushing us forward.

I am also excited to be part of a movement that is guided by aspirational values that acknowledges we might get things wrong while also underlining the importance of being accountable to them. I particularly love the nourishment of self and others!

• Getting to know the organisation and movement even better!
• Supporting the team with their work, well-being and development.
• Supporting the improvement and set-up of internal processes and systems to help strengthen the movement.
• Working with the funding sector to increase the number of young people on their boards as well exploring the values and cultures that will help them to thrive in those spaces.
• Seeking out and establishing new partnerships with shared goals and visions for youth leadership and transformative governance.

If you'd like to hear more for Claire you can follow her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Join Claire on the 25th of May (12 - 1pm) at our campaign consultation event and help to shape our next campaign. Join our campaign consultation.

You can also become a Young Trustees Movement Champion by attending our free 1-hour training. Register here.