4.2 Making connections
Remember that you don’t have to be completely defined by your group membership or community, but rather that you have diverse identities, made up from a wide range of group memberships and your personal qualities and core values. In every community there will be groups you can be part of to make a difference around the issues that matter to you locally. And if they don’t exist you can work with your school, your youth group or others to create them.
Activity 8: Identifying community connections
Take a few minutes to think about these questions. If you are in a group, you can discuss this with others.
- Are there any groups in your locality where you can meet other young people from different communities?
- If so, what do they do?
- Are there any groups that give you an opportunity to work on the issues you are concerned about locally as young people?
Discussion
There are all sorts of groups, you can be part of. For example, you may have thought about community support groups set up by local people during times of hardship such as the COVID-19 pandemic; football and other sports groups; music and culture groups; youth groups; social history groups with older people or community groups working on history or conflict issues.
Thinking about the issues facing you and other young people can help you to make new connections through these common concerns. You might also be able to create new relationships and communities that cross the boundaries of where you live to tackle these issues and challenges from campaigning for a new youth centre or sports facilities to making your voice heard about climate change.