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.

Follow our Progress

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.

A group of teenagers from the Nova Youth Voice Group stand in front of a wall containing numerous post-it notes with ideas written on it, the group is voting which causes they should support

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.

a graphic shows several hands from different skin colours are raised and hold speech bubbles and emojis to represent their opinion

A group of teenagers from the Nova Youth Voice Group recording an interview in the streets of West London accompanied by a couple of professional journalists

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.

Stay in the Loop

Thanks so much for your support, it means the world to us (and our planet)!