Nova Youth Voice Group
The Nova Youth Voice Group (NYVG) is an ambitious team of local young people aged 11–16 who created a youth-led Our Local Environment journalistic documentary. Starting in October 2024, they have taken part in workshops and practical projects, learning how to use their voices to advocate for causes they care about.
“I want to give back to the community that I grew up in and improve it for people who live here.”
“I enjoy public speaking, advocating for change in my community.”
The current group voted to focus on issues affecting their local environment within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea (RBKC), exploring themes such as litter, air pollution and recycling. They interviewed local residents outside Kensington Library and on Portobello Road, then secured a first-of-its-kind agreement to film and interview inside the Natural History Museum’s Fixing Our Broken Planet exhibition in July 2025, gathering international visitors’ perspectives on RBKC’s environmental challenges.
They developed a Portobello Radio podcast, exploring their findings alongside research from the Natural History Museum and local policymakers.
They worked with several partners across RBKC, including Imperial College, the Natural History Museum, Apple and BBC journalists, and were nominated in the Group Award category at the Young K&C Young Leaders Awards 2025.
The project culminated in their final documentary, to be screened at the Lexi Cinema in February 2026.
The members have gained valuable skills and experiences that have empowered them to pursue youth leadership opportunities within their community. They have set a high standard for future groups, and the Youth Voice Group will continue with a new cohort who will choose their next social action project. We are confident that the young leaders from this first group will take on mentoring and peer leadership roles as the project grows.
Our Local Environment Project
As young people who care about the future of our community, we’ve designed a project to better understand how people of all ages feel about the environment around us – such as parks and green spaces, air pollution, recycling and more.
Workshops & Training
To get ready for our Local Environment Project, we took part in a series of exciting workshops and training sessions with inspiring partners from RBKC and beyond.
We learned public speaking with Cristine Torrente from Imperial College, explored ethical journalism with ex-BBC journalist Chris Ansil, and gained key skills in writing funding applications, spotting fake news, and staying safe on social media. Most importantly, we learned how to use our voices to make a difference.
Becoming Young Journalists
With guidance from BBC journalist Ben Davis and filmmaker Dylan Harvey, we hit the streets of Kensington Town Hall and Portobello Market to interview local people.
We asked them about their thoughts on the environment and gave them space to share their biggest concerns. To reach even more voices, we created an online survey to gather wider views across RBKC.
Gathering Global Solutions
As part of the Fixing Our Broken Planet exhibition at the Natural History Museum, we shared what we found with a global audience.
We asked visitors to respond to local environmental issues by sharing their own ideas and solutions. We captured their responses through writing, drawings, and filmed interviews—collecting international and intergenerational perspectives on how to protect our planet.
"Fixing our Broken Planet"The Exhibition at the Natural History Museum
Large exhibit sign reads “Fixing Our Broken Planet” in a gallery of the National History Museum with visitors and a dinosaur skeleton display in the background.
What's next on our project?
We're not stopping there!
Broadcast
We’ll be joining the Morley College Radio Show, featuring a special guest — a Climate Scientist — to talk about what we’ve learned and what needs to happen next
Document
All of our footage from interviews, street surveys, and exhibition work will be turned into a youth-led mini documentary. We’ll be hosting a community screening to share our journey and findings with local residents, families, and friends.
Advocate
We’ll take our project to City Hall, where we’ll take part in Mayor’s Question Time — pushing for action and making sure local environmental concerns are heard by those in power.
“Being part of something so extraordinary has made me open my eyes to other opportunities I can take to help others further. In the near future, I hope to join Youth Council, who support the young community and relays their needs to those in charge. Further out, I aspire to become a psychologist as I have realised how much I enjoy being someone others can come to when in need.”
“I'm proud of how far I've come not just in Nova, but as someone who knows that her voice matters. Nova has given me the confidence to step up, speak out and believe that I can help shape the world around me and that's something I'll carry with me for the rest of my life.”
“Throughout this project, I've had the chance to take on many roles such as: researcher, writer, interviewer, interviewee recruiter and even a camera lead. Each role has taught me the importance of collaboration and leadership skills. More than anything, they’ve shown me how powerful young voices can be when they come together for one cause to make a change.”
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