“Youth participation … includes the empowerment of young people through capacity-building and increased access to human development opportunities. It represents a situation in which young people are no longer seen as passive recipients of resources or as the cause of society’s problems, but rather as important contributors to their countries’ development—contributors whose efforts are recognized and whose involvement is nurtured.” (United Nations World Youth Report 2007)

CHANGEit encourages young people to speak up and take action in society – because they are the leaders of the future. 

We recognise the importance of encouraging and supporting young people so that they feel empowered to take action.  This is why Common Purpose and Deutsche Bank developed CHANGEit – to recognise, support and reward young campaigners who want to or are already making a difference.

CHANGEit aims to:

• Contribute to and support the focus on citizenship in education by offering resources, lesson plans, workshops and award opportunities to students and teachers throughout the UK.
• Challenge negative media representation of young people and ‘hoodie’ culture by rewarding and shouting out about what young people are capable of. If we don’t, we run the risk of disenchanted youth who fall victim to the self-fulfilling prophecy perpetuated by the media – that young people are troublemakers and do nothing but cause problems in society.
• Engage young people with the concept of campaigning by offering a variety of ways to get involved and the support or guidance they need to take a stand.
• Demonstrate the passion and performance of young people throughout the UK

CHANGEit believes you don’t have to be a superhero to make a positive change in the world.  You just have to be willing to stand up, speak out and take action!