Youth board and junior trustees

Why youth board?

The Integrate UK Youth Board is a leadership body made up of young people who shape the direction of our projects, policies and organisational priorities.

Our junior trustees also sit on the board of trustees and have equal voting rights. They contribute to governance decisions and ensure youth voice is part of strategic planning.

Youth board and junior trustee roles involve real influence and responsibility. Members have co-written organisational values, led national consultations and represented the charity at high-level events. They receive tailored training and ongoing mentoring to support their growth as confident, skilled leaders.

This model of shared leadership is one of the first of its kind in the sector and it’s helped young people progress into roles in education, activism, policy and youth work, continuing to lead change long after their time at Integrate.

Member case study

Mariama joined Integrate UK in 2019 and has since played a key role in youth-led work across the organisation. Her journey reflects Integrate’s mission to invest in young people so they can lead change on gender and racial equality and strengthen community cohesion.

Since joining the charity, Mariama has taken on several leadership roles. As a junior trustee she helps guide the direction of the organisation and supports service evaluation. She mentors younger members and supports new outreach workers. As a lead outreach worker she has delivered workshops in schools and training for frontline professionals. She has contributed to national campaigns including the ‘Include the 36’ campaign which called for greater diversity in the national curriculum. She also worked on a project exploring the accessibility of pornography and its impact on young people and on sexual violence. Drawing on her lived experience as someone from an FGM affected community she led the development of Switched which encourages men and boys to take an active role in ending the practice and becoming active allies.

Mariama has reached more than 2,000 people through workshops on FGM, far right extremism and sexual harassment. Her work has been recognised through the National Lottery’s Young Hero award and also by Avon and Somerset Police. She has helped raise over £1,000,000 for Integrate by speaking at meetings with funders and sharing her experience of youth-led change. She helped establish a youth-led Equalities Council in her school which improved policies and strengthened representation.