Earlier this month, young people from Romania, Moldova, Ukraine and Bulgaria came together to meet each other for the first time at our first ever Our Voices Matter Summit.
In this blog, Joe Glackin, Hope and Homes for Children’s Head of Safeguarding and Children’s Accountability – and one of the summit’s organisers – reflects on the summit and how it supported the young people involved:
The young people came to Sofia by overnight and early morning flights from Moldova and Romania – and on a mammoth 30-hour bus journey from Ukraine – for the first face-to-face meeting of the young people of Our Voices Matter (OVM).
First stop was the British Embassy where, in a meeting with the deputy ambassador, some of the young people shared their harrowing experiences of institutional care and described what they wanted OVM to do: to make sure no other children have to go through what they did.
Then, straight from the solemn atmosphere of the Embassy, our Bulgarian hosts divided us into two groups for a treasure hunt around Sofia. And young people who had only just met a few hours before – and who didn’t even speak the same language – were soon running around noisily looking for some of Sofia’s most famous sights. Both teams claimed victory!
For these young people, this was their weekend – it was their topics and activities we joined in with, and their suggestions and opinions we listened to. They made friends quickly and managed to turn new friendships into a community which they welcomed the adults present into. We were their guests. It was a different dynamic, one where their voices really did matter.
“Listen to me with the intention of understanding me, not judging me.“
Each country group had organised an activity on a topic related to accountability, and we started with the “World Café” on accountability itself – asking questions like: Who is accountable to me? Who am I accountable to? Interestingly all the groups initially focused on their responsibility to other children. There were also long lists of who is accountable to them, including lots of messages for parents and teachers, governments and Hope and Homes for Children. Some of the big themes that emerged were Listen to us. Believe in us. Act with us to bring change.
In subsequent activities the young people discussed their experiences of discrimination, labelling and empathy. They shared deeply not just their experiences, but also their solutions to making communities safer and better for everyone.
Lastly the young people discussed what Our Voices Matter is, or should be, all about. They had plenty ideas about that – an international community of children and young people built on trust and friendship, where difference is valued, mistakes can be made, where we can be seen and not judged and where together we can speak for other children who have no voice. Huge ambition!
And all this serious discussion and sharing was carried out on a good foundation of laughter, pizza and even some Ukrainian and Bulgarian folk dancing!
