The energising and focused discussion was facilitated by NICVA, supporting the wider Future Foundations engagement process.
We agreed voluntary youth work is making a real difference every day; building trusted relationships, supporting young people early, and strengthening communities across Northern Ireland.
However, a fragmented landscape, limited coordination, and an excessive reliance on short-term funding and informal ways of working means the system is not keeping pace. The structure that would enable the sector to operate as a connected system is missing.
There was clear support for creating an independent, trusted space to bring the sector together — strengthening coordination, enabling a more confident collective voice, and ensuring that youth voice is meaningfully connected into decision-making.
The relationships, trust and commitment already exist so we do not need to start again. There is now an opportunity to build on that foundation in a more structured and sustainable way.
NI Commissioner for Children and Young People Chris Quinn said:
“ I am grateful for what was a constructive and informative discussion. Youth work is an essential service, often stepping in where statutory provision falls short, yet it remains under‑recognised, under‑resourced and insufficiently embedded within policy frameworks. I am increasingly concerned about the erosion of key elements of the sector’s support infrastructure without clear or sustainable replacement.
There is now a clear imperative to rebuild and strengthen this infrastructure in a way that enhances collaboration, leadership and impact, while fully recognising the diversity and value of youth work across communities.
At the same time, there must be stronger accountability for funding and policy decisions, alongside more accessible, independent advice to policymakers—grounded in the voices and lived experiences of children and young people. Youth work is fundamentally a children and young people’s rights issue, and it requires ambitious, coordinated and forward‑looking approach—one that the sector itself is well placed to lead.”
Building on two years of evidence and engagement across the sector, the Voluntary Youth Work Coordinating Committee will now take this work forward through a strategic funding application, aiming to secure the investment needed to support long-term system change.
