230 questions and comments were submitted by Ipswich young people prior to the forum discussions.
Flick the ‘swich, a livestreamed youth-led engagement series, held on 30th October 2020, formed part of Ipswich City Council’s official launch of its Children, Young People and Families Policy.
The event was designed and delivered in partnership with the Ipswich Youth Advisory Council (IYAC) comprising Ipswich young people aged 16-24 years. The event’s fundamental purpose was to:
- give young people in Ipswich a voice
- engage with young people on issues important to them
- ensure the city’s youth perspective is heard.
Planning for Flick the ‘swich took place during the COVID-19 pandemic, and aimed to be as flexible as possible to changing social restrictions and COVID-safe event arrangements.
As such, Flick the ‘swich took the form of a physically-distanced discussion panel hosted at council’s North Ipswich Reserve Corporate Centre, and livestreamed using Ipswich City Council’s YouTube channel.
The 3 forum topics were set by IYAC. A reflections session with IYAC members, Ipswich City Council’s Mayor and a select number of Councillors was held straight after the forums.
The topics were:
- Mental health and wellbeing
- Ipswich diversity and acceptance
- Employment and transitions to independence
An overview of the forum discussions
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There were 8 panelists consisting of at least two young people. Panelists were representatives from community, council, industry and services.
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A reflections session involving 14 IYAC members and 4 council representatives.
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An online audience of six “watch parties” collectively engaging over 100 young people.
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Livestream views, at the time of reporting:
- 158 individual views of the mental health and wellbeing conversation
- 133 individual views of the diversity and acceptance conversation
- 71 individual views of the employment and independence conversation
- 114 individual views of IYAC’s reflection session with Mayor Harding, Cr Fechner and Cr Madsen.
