Speak Up, Spark Change: South London Young People Help Shape the Future of Scouts
We’re excited to share that the Speak Up, Spark Change report — the national summary of the UK Youth Forum 2025 — is now live. This landmark project brought together the voices of over 1,500 young people from across the UK to influence the next Scouts strategy and ensure young people are at the very heart of future decision-making.
Insights from the UK Youth Forum Findings
Join the UK Youth Team for an online webinar exploring what young people are saying about the future of Scouts. Last year, over 1,500 young people shared their views, and in this session we’ll unpack the key findings, explain what they really mean, and answer your questions along the way. Open to everyone, this is a great opportunity to hear directly how youth voice is shaping Scouts and to better understand what matters most to young people today.
Sign up using the link below to join us online.
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South London’s Contribution
Young people from across South London actively contributed to this work, with representation from all seven districts participating in forums, self-led sessions, and national events. Their ideas, challenges, and aspirations are reflected throughout the final report, helping shape Scouting’s future direction.
Young people and volunteers across South London took part in a number of ways:
In-Person Delegations
Delegates travelled to national UK Youth Forum events in Belfast, Edinburgh, Manchester and Oxford, representing Bexley, Bromley, Lambeth, Lewisham, Royal Greenwich, Southwark and Wandsworth.
Local Self-Led Sessions
Explorer Units, Scout Troops, and Network members ran the UK Youth Forum activities locally, providing hundreds of ideas about wellbeing, adventure, skills for life, and youth leadership.
District & County Youth Forums
Local youth leads held discussions using the UK Youth Forum resources to gather additional perspectives from young people aged 4–24.
Together, these contributions ensured that South London’s young people played a meaningful part in shaping Scouting’s future.
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What Young People Said Matters Most
Across South London and the wider UK, young people highlighted key priorities for the movement:
- More outdoor and adventurous activities
- More opportunities to learn life skills
- A more youth-led approach within groups and units
- A stronger focus on wellbeing and safe spaces
- Greater inclusion and accessibility
- More community and international connections
Young people also shared that Scouts should remain a space that prioritises real-world experiences, time outdoors and face-to-face friendships.
A Message From Our County Youth Lead
Seeing young people from across South London step up, speak honestly and share their ideas has been inspiring. Their voices are loud, clear and powerful — and now they’re shaping Scouting at a national level. I’m incredibly proud of the part our districts played in this project. The future of Scouts is youth-led, and South London’s young people are leading that change."
— Joseph Shippam, County Youth Lead, South London Scouts
Why This Matters for South London
The insights from the Speak Up, Spark Change report will support:
- the development of our new South London Scouts Youth Strategy,
- local youth voice structures and district teams,
- future programme planning,
- how we support leaders to deliver youth-shaped Scouting,
- and how we design county events and opportunities.
This is an exciting moment for our county — and a clear sign that youth voice is stronger than ever in South London.
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Read the Full Report
The full Speak Up, Spark Change – UK Youth Forum 2025 report is available here