DECEMBER 2018

HOW TO ENGAGE AND CAMPAIGN WITH YOUNG PEOPLE
LESSONS FROM THE RECLAIM PROJECT
Ask any co-operative business to list some of its
biggest challenges, and more likely than not the
issue of ‘engaging young people’ will come up.
Almost one third of the world's population is under
18. Young people have an influence on decisionmaking
a all levels; they are future members,
customers and colleagues.
At the 2018 Practitioners Forum, organised
by Co-operatives UK, Katie Cosgrave from the
Reclaim Project looked at the issue of engaging
and campaigning with a younger audience.
How do you reach a younger demographic
through campaigning? Who really benefits
from the campaigns? And how can you reach
the ‘unreachable’?
Reclaim is a youth leadership and social change
organisation set up in Moss Side in 2007 to enable
working class young people to be seen, be heard
and lead change. It was started by Ruth Ibegbuna,
a teacher, who was one of many to be angered
by how the shocking murder of 15 year-old Jessie
James in broad daylight was reported. To the
media it was the death of another black youth in
an area rife with crime and drug use.
“The image of young people in Moss Side at the
time was that they were thugs, in gangs, and up
to no good,” said Ms Cosgrave, youth engagement
officer at Reclaim. “Ruth knew differently. She
knew that they were clever, articulate and had
the answers – they just weren’t being asked the
right questions.
“Ruth organised an event for 30 young black
boys from the area who, during their half term,
spent a week talking about stereotyping, racism
and representation. They worked on how to
articulate their problems without sounding like
they were kicking off.” This first event evolved into
a campaign, and then the Reclaim Project.
FREEBIES
Presenting alongside Ms Cosgrave was Olivia
Clarke, a 16 year-old student who has worked
with Reclaim for several years. She first attended
Reclaim events as a “shy young girl” – drawn in
by free food.
“It was goodness knows how many chicken
mayos and KFCs later, that I realised that I had
a passion for political change. It was then that I
became an independent young woman!” she said.
“My point is, that in order to engage young
people, you have to give them something –
specifically, something free. Free food or tech –
they’re the two things that young people love the
most. I can almost guarantee that attendance will
be high if there’s a freebie. There will be people
who just come for that freebie – but by the end of
the session you will find a core group of people who
will actually want to work with you on whatever
your campaign is.”
ASKING THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.
Ms Cosgrave highlighted how it is unlikely that
anyone aged 12 would say they are interested in
politics, for example, “but you just need to ask
different questions”.
“If instead you ask ‘Do you care how you are
educated?’, ‘Do you care how many people are in
your classroom?’ or ‘ Do you care how you get to
school or what the bus journey is like?’ then yes,
they’ll be interested and they’ll have a lot to say.
“It’s about removing the terminology. Young
people just want honesty. Tell them what
you’re doing and why you’re doing it. And keep
them updated.”
MANIFESTO
Creating a manifesto is another good way to start
a campaign. “It’s a professional document for
young people to refer back to,” said Ms Cosgrave.
Above: Alumni Lead at
Reclaim Project, right,
Olivia Clarke, a student
who works with Reclaim
28 | DECEMBER 2018