Youth Panel
Our Youth Panel members, aged between 18-25, are the strong voice for young people living in our homes.
The group, made up of Sovereign residents, meet online and in person.
And, up until March 2024, panel members are involved in deciding which projects get a share of £200K from the #iwill Fund, which supports young people to access high-quality social action opportunities.
Take a look at the video below, showing the Youth Panel scoring applications in the latest round of funding.
Read a transcript of the video of Sovereign's Youth Panel scoring applications for the #iwill Fund 
.
Find out more about the Youth Panel's work
Emily
“Hi, I'm Emily. I live in Reading and work for the Civil Service. I joined the Sovereign Youth Panel to offer a different voice, of a young working professional and as a person who lives in a shared-ownership property. I'm passionate about doing what is right, standing up for young people and those who are less likely to express their opinion or voice concern where needed. I'm also looking to expand my horizons with meeting new people my age and excited to see where the Youth Panel takes me.”
Doaa
"Hey, my name is Doaa I'm from Plymouth and I am ardent about anything fighting injustice as a disability rights activist, I am passionate about raising awareness around disability & mental health issues and obliterating the disability narrative while also making the community inclusive for ALL
I joined the Sovereign youth panel to share my lived experience as a Muslim woman in a wheelchair.
A gaze through which I navigate the world.
In the hopes of using my unique lived experiences to make some positive change within the community. I feel that being a sovereign youth panellist is the perfect opportunity to amplify voices and to be heard by the right people about real issues."
Hassan
“Hi, I’m Hassan and I live in Bristol City. I’m currently in my placement year of my urban planning university course. I am very keen to be engaged in any sort of community action that involves the built environment, the Sovereign Youth Panel offers just this exact opportunity. Throughout my professional and educational experience, I have witnessed the importance of meaningful community engagement and joining the Youth Panel offers more opportunities as such. I believe that young people are not getting the representation they deserve within their local communities. Therefore, I am optimistic that my work in the panel can lead to some sort of change for young people in the UK.
I believe the Youth Panel is a fantastic service that allows young people to be engaged in the wider environment and to build their professional skills.
Lastly, I am very excited to meet more like-minded people and build meaningful friendships.”
The #iwill Fund is made possible thanks to £66 million joint investment from The National Lottery Community Fund and the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) to support young people to access high-quality social action opportunities.
The #iwill Fund brings together a group of organisations who all contribute funding to embed meaningful social action into the lives of young people.
The #iwill Fund supports the aims of the #iwill campaign - to make involvement in social action a part of life for young people, by recognising the benefit for both young people and their communities.
By bringing together funders from across different sectors and by making sure that young people have a say in where the funding goes – the #iwill Fund is taking a collaborative approach.
Sovereign is acting as an #iwill Fund match funder and awarding grants on behalf of the #iwill Fund through the Sovereign #iwill Fund.
Apply now to be part of the group by emailing our Resident Engagement team.
You can join whether you live on your own or with others, are working, studying or just figuring things out - the panel gives you the platform to have your say on the issues that matter to you.
Develop new skills for life, learn about campaigning and advocating for change through working with our Communities team.
Ebony explains how her great experience with the Youth panel led her to joining our Scrutiny Coordination Group.