How DofE Youth Ambassadors shaped the conversation at Political Party Conferences

As a charity, we influence debate and decisions on issues that affect young people’s life chances and well-being. Throughout the Autumn, DofE Youth Ambassadors attended the Conservative, Liberal Democrat and Labour Party Conferences to speak about our Youth Voices research and why it’s important for decision-makers to listen to young people’s views.

Liberal Democrat Party Conference

While at the Liberal Democrat Party Conference, 2024-25 DofE Youth Ambassador, Katrina met with Wendy Chamberlain MP to discuss how young people are positively impacted by extracurricular activities.

Later in the day, she spoke on a panel with Bobby Dean MP, National Youth Agency and YMCA. During the event she spoke about the importance of enrichment and youth work, and her personal experiences of the importance of extracurricular activities.

“One of the biggest things that are affecting young people, and coming from personal experience, is not having the correct support in schools or not having access to extra-curricular activities because of lack of funding. Secondary school is a time where young people can explore their futures, and although education is an important part of life, by not having teachers or trusted individuals who can support, it does affect their level of learning and motivation to continue. By offering extra-curricular activities like DofE, it gives young people another avenue to meet new people and learn life skills. I do believe that having these programmes available to young people, it can enhance their motivation and bring to life more opportunities.”

Labour Party Conference

In September, DofE CEO, Ruth Marvel OBE and DofE Youth Ambassadors; Emma, Esa, Alice, Joe and Scarlett attended the Labour Party Conference. During the day, Alice spoke on a podcast with Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport; Lisa Nandy and Joe chaired a panel with MPs and met with his local MP and Government Minister; Heidi Alexander.

Scarlett took part in our panel event: ‘How we can break down barriers for young people from marginalised backgrounds’, which included Minister of State for School Standards, Catherine McKinnell MP as well as our CEO and the former children’s commissioner Anne Longfield. They discussed the importance of engaging young people in extra-curricular activities and asked how we can work with the new government to give young people enrichment opportunities.

The next day, Youth Ambassador, Esa and DofE CEO, Ruth Marvel OBE, spoke at a reception hosted by WWF. They discussed how vital it is for young people to have access to nature by volunteering with their local communities as part of their DofE programme. Youth Ambassador, Esa, even managed to get a selfie with Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer!

Speaking about his highlight from the day, Esa said: “I was inspired by the commitment to include climate education in the upcoming curriculum review and to improve collaboration with schools and teachers to reduce barriers to extra-curricular activities.”

At the conference, Alice voiced questions and worries that faces her generation: “The conference made me excited to learn that the new government plans to meet the needs of our generation, it seems like they have identified the key areas that cause worry amongst young people and want to change these areas as well as giving more power to young people who will be at the forefront of these changes.”

Emma had the opportunity to meet inspiring people and said: “Listening to the panel discussions was really inspiring! They ranged from exploring the paths forward to achieve clean energy, to tacking the crisis surrounding women and girls, and discussing the ways to remove barriers to opportunity.”

Conservative Party Conference

In October, the Youth Ambassadors attended the last conference of the season, the Conservative Party Conference. At a panel event hosted by our Youth Ambassadors and featured DofE CEO, Ruth Marvel OBE, and former Government Minister; Mims Davies. The panellists spoke about what is next for the Conservative Party after the general election and how they will champion young people’s voices. In the evening, DofE hosted a reception in partnership with Conservative Home. The event, which was a celebration of DofE, featured speeches from Youth Ambassador Kea, Ruth Marvel OBE, Harriet Cross MP and Penny Mordaunt; former leader of the House of Commons.

Kea said: “Speaking at the Conservative Home reception was a brilliant opportunity to share my story, meet important people and hopefully inspire some of the young people in the audience to do DofE!”

Speaking about his first conference experience, Evan said: “The key moment for me was being able to talk about my DofE journey with YouthZone. This allowed me to share first-hand the benefits that doing the Award had on me, as well as allowing me to outline key challenges young people faced that was mentioned in the Youth Voices report.”

Anais represented young people at the conference: “One of my highlights was sitting on a panel, hosted by DofE, to discuss how the Conservative party could better connect with young people. Jake did a fantastic job at chairing the panel and I loved participating in a discussion about important issues that are affecting young people.”

Speaking about the panel discussion, Jake said: “The experience allowed me to directly engage with key decision-makers and highlight the importance of including youth voices in political discussions. As a Youth Ambassador, I felt a sense of responsibility to represent the views and challenges faced by young people, particularly in areas like education, housing and mental health.”

Read more about the Advocacy work we’re doing as a charity here.