Conversations on Future Structures, Relationships & the Voice of Young People
Since 2024, a collaboration of voluntary youth organisations has been coordinating a shared process to consider what the sector needs to thrive. In that first phase, over 150 people from across the voluntary youth work sector contributed their time, insight and lived experience. Their input helped surface the pressures faced by volunteer‑led groups and organisations of every size and shaped the report – The future of voluntary youth work in Northern Ireland – aspirations for transformation.
In 2025, this sector‑led collaboration continued to grow through further engagement and research, including How to Grow the Voluntary Youth Work Sector by Dr Elizabeth McArdle (Ulster University).
Across both pieces of work, the message from the sector was clear:
- The sector needs stronger infrastructure
- Partnerships require trust‑building and deeper relationships
- Local and regional actors need a collective voice to advocate for young people and for the organisations that support them.
2026 sees the move into a crucial next phase — Future Foundations, a series of five regional conversations designed to explore what a healthy and connected voluntary youth work ecosystem could look like in practice.
These sessions will create space for practitioners, managers, volunteers and leaders to reflect, challenge, imagine and shape what comes next. Each regional event will explore:
- What infrastructure is needed locally and regionally
- What trust, relationship or communication barriers need to be addressed
- How organisations connect now — and how they want to connect
- What shared values should underpin effective collaboration
- What supports or coordination mechanisms would genuinely help
- What priorities should guide action moving forward.
These events are grounded in a simple belief: the future of the voluntary youth work sector must be shaped by the people who deliver it every day.
Whether you are a small volunteer-led group, a medium sized charity, or a regional youth organisation — your voice matters. The sector needs your insight, your experience and your ideas.
Together, we can strengthen the foundations of voluntary youth work and ensure the voice of young people is championed in every community.
Please register for the regional event that is most convenient for you on NICVA’s website at www.nicva.org/article/future-foundations-in-the-voluntary-youth-work-sector
- 15 April, 6.30pm – NICVA, Belfast
- 22 April, 6.30pm – Waterside Shared Village, Derry
- 29 April, 6.30pm – Ballybot House, Newry
- 5 May, 10am – The Jethro Centre, Lurgan
- 7 May, 6.30pm – Dunclug Youth Hub, Ballymena
This post originally appeared on NICVA’s website – read the full article at www.nicva.org/article/future-foundations-in-the-voluntary-youth-work-sector