All posts by : Shirley Jackson

Our second Kailo Small Circle session built on the strong foundations of week one, with young people arriving more confident, comfortable and ready to share their experiences. The focus of this session was to develop a **deeper understanding of the “opportunity area” — what community and belonging really mean to young people — and to begin exploring the different factors that shape how connected and safe they feel in their local area.

The session began with an interactive icebreaker that helped highlight both shared experiences and individual differences within the group. This naturally led into reflective conversations about identity, feeling included, and times when young people may feel anxious, isolated or treated differently because of their age, background or circumstances. These discussions created a safe space where young people could speak honestly and listen to one another with empathy and respect.

Young people then shared their “Visual Voice” work — photos they had taken in their local area showing places they enjoy, places they avoid, and things that influence how connected they feel to their community. These images sparked powerful conversations about the importance of having safe spaces to socialise, the role of sport and shared activities in building friendships, and how simple everyday interactions can help people feel part of something bigger. As one young person shared, being out with friends and playing football “brings us together, helps us make new friends, helps us socialise and communicate a lot more,” while another reflected that even saying hello to people in the neighbourhood can help them feel more involved in the community.

However, young people also spoke openly about barriers to feeling connected. Some shared that public spaces can feel unsafe, particularly when groups are hanging around, while others described how people can feel isolated, with “everyone kind of in their own world,” making it harder to build relationships. These honest insights helped the group recognise that belonging is influenced by many connected factors — not just individual choices, but environments, social attitudes and access to positive spaces.

In small groups, young people then began mapping the system around community and belonging, using mind maps to explore how different issues link together — such as lack of youth spaces, discrimination, social media, safety, and opportunities to mix with others. By drawing connections between these factors, the group started to see how challenges are often part of a wider system, and where change could potentially make the biggest difference.

The session ended with groups sharing their maps and reflecting on patterns that were starting to emerge, including which issues were mentioned most often and which felt most important to tackle. This collective reflection is a crucial step in the Kailo process, helping young people move from sharing experiences to identifying where they want to focus their energy and ideas for change.

Session 2 marked an important shift from getting to know each other, to working together as a team to understand the bigger picture. The depth of discussion, honesty and respect shown by the group was inspiring, and it is clear that young people are already thinking critically about their community and their role in shaping it. We are excited to see how these conversations continue to develop as the group moves into the next stage of system mapping and identifying change areas.

Our first Kailo Small Circle session marked the beginning of an exciting journey, bringing together a group of young people — many of whom had never met before — to start working together on issues that matter to them and their community. From the moment everyone arrived, the atmosphere was positive, welcoming and full of energy, and it was clear very quickly that the group was beginning to gel.

The session focused on forming the group and building trust, helping everyone feel comfortable, respected and ready to take part. Through icebreakers, group discussions and shared activities, young people were encouraged to get to know one another, find common ground and start building relationships. Despite being a brand-new group, there was a strong sense of openness and mutual respect, with young people engaging confidently and supporting each other’s contributions.

A key part of the session was introducing what Kailo is all about and why the group will be working together over the coming months. Young people learned that they will be exploring an “opportunity area” linked to feeling welcomed, valued and connected in their community, and that their experiences and ideas will shape what happens next. The facilitators explained how the Small Circle process gives young people real influence, not just to talk about issues, but to help design solutions that can lead to wider change.

The group also worked together to create their own ways of working agreement, setting out how they want to treat each other, how to keep the space safe, and how everyone can feel confident sharing their views. This was an important moment in giving young people ownership of the space and reinforcing that this is a group built on trust, respect and listening to one another.

To keep the conversation going between sessions, young people were given a creative task called “Visual Voice”, where they were asked to take photos in their local area that show both challenges and positive spaces, helping them reflect on what community and belonging really mean to them. This will feed directly into future sessions as the group begins to explore issues more deeply and map where change could happen.

Overall, Session 1 was a strong and encouraging start. Young people engaged fully, supported one another, and quickly formed connections, setting the tone for the months ahead. We are incredibly proud of how positively the group came together and are excited to continue this journey with them as they move into the next stage of discovery and co-design.