The Youth Action Group – a unique partnership between The Apex Project, Brandon Centre, Better Leisure, Creative Health Camden, and Camden Council – successfully delivered a pilot project from August – November 2025, which put power, budget, and decision-making directly into the hands of young people.
This Action Group is a part of Kentish Town Connects, a collaborative network of over 100 local organisations, schools, public sector partners, and residents committed to improving the Kentish Town neighbourhood. The pilot was born from a shared local priority: the need to create developmental, paid opportunities for young people (aged 16–25) in Kentish Town.
Unlike traditional youth projects, the group recruited five local young people based on their values rather than traditional recruitment criteria. These young organisers were paid the London Living Wage, matched with a professional mentor from one of the partner organisations, and given full control of a £1,000 event budget to activate the Civic Action Lab, a community space opened as a meanwhile use in the heart of Kentish Town.
Over a weekend in November, the team successfully delivered a community takeover featuring three creative workshops – storytelling, music production, and arts & crafts – and a Celebration Party.
The impact has been huge. The project welcomed 45 local residents, ran workshops at full capacity, and the promotional Instagram account created by the young team reached over 7,000 people. Beyond the numbers, the project has built genuine bridges between the community and its young residents.
Voices from the project
One of the young event planners told us, “I got involved in this project because I wanted to improve my communication skills and find it easier talking to people I don’t know. It’s made me feel a lot more confident in doing things like this.”
“The best thing about the project was meeting and talking to people I usually don’t get to meet. It was a chance to be free to plan whatever we liked. I’ve really enjoyed this project, and I’ll miss it when it ends. I’ve liked being able to express myself.”
As well as creating positive opportunities for young people, the project also had a positive ripple effect across the wider community too. One local person who attended the celebration part on Sunday told us, “Hearing from the young people and listening to them express themselves has made me more positive and less anxious about the future. You’ve all done a really incredible job.”
The project also had a positive impact for our partners within the Youth Action Group. Antonia Attwood, Creative Director at Creative Health Camden and one of the mentors to the young people told us, “It was a pleasure to be part of this project, supporting young people to gain paid work experience whilst giving them the freedom to create a project they are passionate about. Seeing my mentee grow in confidence and deliver a really successful workshop was an inspiration.”
Real skills for the future
This pilot wasn’t just about hosting an event; it was about equipping young people with valuable skills to help them in whatever they choose to do in the future. The young organisers gained tangible experience in project management, stakeholder engagement, commissioning external facilitators, and raising invoices.
The project has already led to concrete outcomes: one young organiser has secured a letter of recommendation and work shadowing opportunity with a Creative Director, while a workshop attendee has now started attending weekly music sessions with The Apex Project. Another young person is exploring opportunities to collaborate with Brandon Centre on his new neurodiversity and wellbeing app, and is being mentored by their CEO.
Following this success, the Youth Action Group reached the second stage of competitive external funding and is now looking to scale up this innovative model, with the aim of creating more paid, youth-led opportunities in Kentish Town.
Join Kentish Town Connects
If you would like to get involved in shaping this work as it continues, let us know! Email us at kentishtownconnects@camden.gov.uk and we will let you know when our next community meetings are taking place.
Get involved
If you have an idea for a Youth Mission initiative, we’d love to hear from you!
Contact us at WeMakeCamden@camden.gov.uk
