Spotlight On: Group Voice and Influence at Shantona
Leeds has an ambition to be a Child Friendly City. In order to achieve this, it wishes for all children and young people to be able to express their views, feel heard and be involved in decisions that affect their lives (Child Friendly Leeds wish number 3). Youth voice groups support this wish and their work contributes to many of the other wishes.
The Voice, Influence and Change Team met with Shantona, a youth led group of girls who raise and explore topics that are important to them then share their knowledge with other girls in their community. They’re goal is to challenge societal expectations and we have a feeling they’re well placed to do so!
The group is supported by Thasnim Khatun. They have bi-weekly get togethers; the younger girls meet every Sunday, and the older girls meet every Thursday. The girls communicated their reasons for joining the group, a common theme being ‘friendship’. It’s clear that their continued engagement is the result of feeling ‘validated’ and ‘heard’ in a ‘safe space’ that is free from ‘judgment’. Regular group members are:
- Mahrin – 14
- Hafsa – 14
- Aniya – 12
- Amnah – 15
- Eman – 15
- Fatima – 15
- Najia, 16
- Neha, 15
- Mahnoor – 14
The girls used their artistic flair to create visual representations that capture their thoughts and feelings towards Shantona:
- ‘Safe space, friendship, community and love’
- ‘Safe space… everything you say stays in the bubble’
- ‘Friendly, happy and safe environment, in it together… trust each other’
- ‘Community and empowerment’
- ‘A safety net… the bubble represents the net of Shantona… it’s not a good world but Shantona shines brightly and infiltrates into the world, spreading positivity, the butterflies symbolise happiness’
The group shared an example of a recent achievement, completing ‘makeovers’ of three boxes. They explained that people often have negative judgments of their local area and they wanted to tackle this by making it look a ‘better place’ with something ‘creative’ and ‘colourful’ which celebrates the diversity of Harehills. They interviewed local residents with the ultimate aim of helping them to feel proud about where they live. They captured many different opinions, resulting in the following designs:
Box 1 – ‘Heroes of Harehills’ celebrates 25 years of Shantona successfully supporting women and young girls encouraging them to be the heroes… heroes of their own story.
Box 2 – ‘Carnival’ represents the annual, fun family event that has contributed positively to the area by bringing diverse communities together. It captures many positive memories of carnival that the young people of Harehills have.
Box 3 – ‘Better mental health’ communicates the message that mental health is priority and that Harehills supports and promotes better mental health for all.
The Shantona group of young girls light up the room with laughter, connection and creativity… it’s no surprise they’re achieving great things! What more could you want from your community leaders?!
