"Six weeks in post I’m finally getting my head around the incredible work TMC does with children and young people. I’ve seen first hand the profound impact that TMC projects have and the lasting benefits they have inspired. I have also discovered how much food can be bought in and around the LCB depot and am now spending a fortune on snacks.
My job as Participation Manager is to ensure that children and young people’s opinions are heard and acted upon and that young people have an opportunity to make a difference at every level of the organisation. This has been a passion of mine for as long as I can remember and being able to help realise this in an organisation such as TMC is a fantastic opportunity.
My background is originally in adventure play. I went to do a six week summer play scheme whilst studying for my first degree and ended up staying for thirteen years. This was not due to any particular love of the job but because in my first week a child stole my shoes and I was unable to leave. I eventually found my shoes and went on to become a Development Coordinator for a National Charity with a remit to support children and young people across the UK managing several projects and delivering training and consultancy.
I was asked to lead consultation exercises for several Local Authorities and National Companies and was immediately struck by how much of an afterthought these consultations seemed to be. In many cases the opinions of the young people were merely a justification after the fact. Once I was even asked to steer a consultation to make sure the young people agreed with what had already been decided. Needless to say I refused!
I made a name for myself as someone who puts young people first in the consultation process and was subsequently asked to speak at conferences about participation and how important it was that children and young people had ownership over their projects. All of this through many plot twists brought me to apply for the position of Participation manager at TMC.
Ok that’s the resume – but what about the real Ben? Well I like to spend my time helping old ladies and pumping iron in the gym. Sorry that was the wrong way round, I help in a gym and….no forget that line of thought. In reality I have a quite dull life. I have a 3½ year old boy and another little girl due in September. I am failing to write two books and play league badminton for a team that loses more than it wins. I dabble in poetry and the odd bit of freelance work teaching adults how to play with children more positively.
So what can we expect over the next few months at TMC? A new group of young people will be appearing in the office on the 7th September to help steer the next phase of the participation strategy and to form an advisory panel for any projects that need access to young people. We also have several events planned with the My World Project and hopefully will be working with the comms team enabling young people to develop computer games to be showcased on the TMC website. So all in all a good start to the job and an exciting time to come – I just have to get over having a new baby in the house and the sleep deprivation that entails."
Ben Kingston-Hughes
ben@themightycreatives.com
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