My Experience on The Wake Youth Engagement Pilot – A Blog by Simran Sehmbi
Freelance creative practitioner Simran Sehmbi was one of ten young people who took part in The Wake Youth Engagement Pilot, a three-month project delivered in partnership with the Mayor of London and supported by DICE CIC and our Youth Ambassador Kianu Glasgow.
Together, they designed and led conversations with other young people across East London, helping shape how future generations will connect with The Wake — a powerful new memorial honouring the millions of Africans who were enslaved and trafficked during the Transatlantic Trafficking of Enslaved Africans, and their descendants. Here, Simran reflects on what the experience meant to her.
I applied for this opportunity with Foundation for Future London to join The Wake Youth Engagement Pilot because I wanted to provide a voice for young people within the heritage and cultural sector. I thought this was a perfect opportunity to work with nine other young people to bring forward young voices and how the youth want to better connect with artistic and cultural sites within London that speak to themes of history, migration, belonging and identity.
Before beginning this programme, I was hoping to learn more about what The Wake was and how Foundation for Future London and the Greater London Authority wanted to work with young people and listen to our ideas and perspectives. I also hoped to gain a better understanding of what a youth consultation was, how it worked and why youth consultations are important in understanding young people and centring such projects around young voices.
As I began this opportunity, it was great to be able to work with a group of like-minded young Londoners who shared the same passions of focusing on young voices and bringing forward young people’s thoughts into discussions of why projects like The Wake are important for Young Londoners and how the youth want to interact and engage with The Wake and its themes. This programme also allowed me and my peers to work collaboratively in leading the development and delivery of a youth consultation. I was able to develop a greater understanding of what a youth consultation was and why they are important. This opportunity also allowed me to gain confidence in working with fellow young people to plan a youth consultation and gain a better understanding of the key roles needed to make a successful youth consultation.
My role in the development and delivery of the youth consultation was in marketing and communications. I worked with my peer, Janessa, to draft an Instagram and WhatsApp post to market our youth consultation. This allowed me to develop skills in understanding what information is key within a marketing post, and how to present information in a way that is clear, concise, and engaging. We also created a Google Form for those interested to send us an expression of interest, where they could tell us a bit about themselves and why they wanted to participate in our youth consultation.
After applications closed, it was really great to read all the responses we got and understand other young people’s reasons for joining a youth consultation. It was really inspiring to read how passionate young people are about creating spaces and opportunities where young people’s voices are heard and where youth lead conversations. Through this opportunity, I developed a greater understanding of the different aspects that go into marketing and communications and how to share information in effective ways to ensure audience engagement.
On the day of the youth consultation, it was great to observe other young people and how they were getting on with the activities we had lined up. One activity I particularly enjoyed watching was the mood boarding. This was an opportunity for the young people to create a visual moodboard linked to the themes of the Wake and to show us the things that mattered to them. It was great to see how engaged the young people were in the activity, and this was also an opportunity to hear from young people and understand what stories were important to them and why.
Overall, this opportunity has allowed me to work with other young Londoners in bringing forward the voices of young people. We have been able to support Foundation for Future London and the Greater London Authority in better understanding young perspectives and how young people hope to engage with the Wake and its wider themes.
About the Writer
Simran Sehmbi is a freelance creative practitioner and aspiring curator who is passionate about designing creative and cultural programmes that centre on the voices and histories of underrepresented communities. She is dedicated to challenging conventional practices within museums and gallery spaces to create more inclusive experiences.