Community

This category focuses on how children and young people shape relationships, participation and community connection in relation to place.

Projects may vary in scale and stage — from early ideas through to implemented change.

It includes work where their involvement influences:

The key is social connection and participation, not physical change.

What this includes

Input shaping participation, engagement or decision-making approaches
Contributions strengthening community relationships and intergenerational connections
Work influencing how people connect, collaborate or organise around place
Changes to how communities are involved in shaping, governing or caring for place
Co-designed approaches to youth participation and community engagement that give children and young people meaningful influence within services, institutions, frameworks or local decision-making
Projects that challenge traditional governance structures by creating opportunities for children and young people to have a direct and ongoing voice in shaping their environments and communities

What counts

Evidence of stronger participation, connection or collective agency
Changes to how communities engage with place or with one another
Outcomes affecting social structures, relationships or local decision-making
Evidence of youth agency, youth-led networks or increased social capital
Examples of children and young people influencing services, policies, frameworks, governance structures or participation models
Demonstrable shifts from consultation toward shared ownership, collaboration or long-term involvement

This doesn’t include

Events or activities without lasting impact
Engagement without influence on participation structures or outcomes
One-off consultation or tokenistic “tick-box” engagement where children and young people have little or no real power to shape decisions or influence change
Projects focused primarily on cultural expression or creative output (→ Culture)

Young people’s input led to changes in how a space is used for community activity, strengthening opportunities for connection and shared use.
Young people helped redefine how a place supports community interaction, influencing how people come together and participate.
Young people contributed to decisions that made a place more welcoming and inclusive, improving how different groups engage with it.
Young people influenced how participation happens in a place, shaping approaches that support ongoing involvement.
Projects where involvement led to stronger relationships, shared ownership or more inclusive engagement.