Are You Listening? is excited to be bringing you three episodes recorded live at our fifth annual Youth in Mind conference with Oxfordshire Mind.

Trigger warning: Mental health, Domestic Abuse, Assault, self-harm

Each year Youth in Mind unites those working with children and young people across Oxfordshire. Drawing on cutting-edge research and the lived experience of young people, the one-day conference aims to improve the mental health of Oxfordshire’s young people by equipping attendees with resources and toolkits to invigorate their practice.

89.42% of Youth in Mind delegates said that the conference deepened their understanding/awareness of children and young people's mental health. 100% said that Youth in Mind 2023 helped them feel part of a wider network that supports children and young people and 91.38% said that Youth in Mind 2023 gave them tools to strengthen their work for positive change around children and young people's mental health. We would love to see you at Youth in Mind 2024.

In this third and final part, Molly (She/her) continues to guide the conversation, this time with Make It Mandatory campaigners, Ithar (She/her) and Jas (She/her), Dr Anisa-Ree Moses (She/her), Director of Learning & Wellbeing Psychology CIC, Gita Lobo (She/her), CEO of Autism Family Support, and In-Spire Sounds, Hamzah (He/him) and Fabian (He/him).

Ithar and Jas explain the Make It Mandatory campaign, its aims, and how they reached 94 thousand signatures on their petition calling for the government to extend RSE to post-16 with the inclusion of domestic abuse and coercive control education. Dr Anisa-Ree Moses, off the back of her talk about authenticity, she spoke to Molly about the necessity for collaborative work across the sector to support children and young people's mental health. Gita Lobo explains why co-production is needed, especially with young people who are autistic, she was part of the panel that spoke about this in a deeper way. Hamzah and Fabian from In-Spire Sounds talk about how the work In-Spire Sounds has done continues to help them in their everyday life, from their mental health to lyric writing, it is a valuable source of support, creativity, and friendship.

This episode begins and ends with Oxfordshire Youth's Director of Innovation and Growth/Deputy CEO, Emmy O'Shaughnessy, sharing her reflections and key messages we hope you take away.

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DISCLAIMER: Views and opinions expressed by the podcast hosts and their guests do not necessarily reflect those of Oxfordshire Youth.

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Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/n9wmUG4nVU0