International Youth Day 2026: Bolton’s Young People Aren’t Waiting for Opportunity – They’re Creating It
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Young People Don’t Just Need a Voice. They Need Opportunities to Lead.
International Youth Day is an opportunity to celebrate young people.
But at Genuine Futures, we believe it also needs to be a moment to ask a bigger question:
Are we genuinely giving young people the opportunity to shape their own futures and their communities?
Across Bolton, we meet young people with ideas, energy, creativity and ambition.
Some have struggled within traditional education.
Some have experienced exclusion, unemployment, care, housing insecurity or other barriers.
Others simply haven’t yet found the environment where their strengths can be recognised.
Too often, the conversation starts with what a young person doesn’t have.
No qualifications.
No experience.
No job.
No confidence.
We start somewhere different.
What can you do? What interests you? What would you like to try? And what opportunity can we create together?
That difference matters.
From Youth Participation to Youth Leadership
This year’s International Youth Day comes as the #iwill Movement is highlighting the importance of young people being recognised not simply as participants, but as leaders capable of creating change within their communities.
That principle sits at the heart of Genuine Futures.
Listening to young people is important.
But listening must lead somewhere.
A consultation, survey or youth forum can be valuable, but young people also need access to practical opportunities, trusted relationships, employers, enterprise and places where they can learn through doing.
That is what we are trying to build in Bolton.
Learning by Doing
For many young people, another classroom isn’t necessarily the answer.
Sometimes they need to experience something before they can imagine themselves doing it.
That is why practical learning has become such an important part of the Genuine Futures approach.
Through We Shine Any Car in the Community, young people can experience customer service, teamwork, communication, responsibility and enterprise while delivering a real service within their community.
Through Clean Futures, young people can participate in external cleaning, environmental improvement and community projects while developing transferable workplace skills.
Through Boss Your Future, young people can explore employment, enterprise, personal development and different pathways towards their future.
And through Try a Trade, businesses and skilled professionals can give young people the opportunity to actually experience industries rather than simply hearing about them.
These might appear to be very different activities.
But they share one principle:
Opportunity creates opportunity.
Someone has to give a young person their first chance.
Young People Improving Their Own Communities
We are also seeing something else happen.
Young people aren’t simply receiving support.
They are contributing.
On the Thornbank Estate in Deane, young people have been involved alongside Genuine Futures, Clean Futures, residents and partners in activity focused on improving the local environment and strengthening community connections.
That matters.
When a young person helps improve an estate, serves a customer, speaks to a business owner, participates in a community event or contributes an idea that becomes reality, they begin to see themselves differently.
And communities can begin to see young people differently too.
Instead of asking:
“What’s wrong with young people?”
perhaps we should ask:
“What could young people achieve if we trusted them with meaningful opportunities?”
Prevention Has to Start Earlier
International Youth Day should also make us think about prevention.
We cannot wait until a young person has been out of education or employment for months or years before offering meaningful support.
We cannot wait until exclusion.
Until homelessness.
Until exploitation.
Until involvement with the criminal justice system.
Until someone’s confidence has disappeared.
Prevention means building relationships and creating opportunities earlier.
It means recognising the warning signs.
It means having somewhere a young person belongs.
And it means providing different pathways for young people who may not thrive through conventional routes.
This isn’t about lowering expectations.
It’s about creating more ways for young people to reach them.
Youth Employment Starts Before the Job Application
We talk nationally about youth unemployment and the number of young people who are not in education, employment or training.
Employment programmes are important.
But employment cannot be the starting point for every young person.
Before someone successfully walks into their first job, they may need to learn how to arrive on time.
Speak with customers.
Work alongside other people.
Handle responsibility.
Solve problems.
Recover from mistakes.
Manage money.
Communicate with an employer.
And, perhaps most importantly, believe that they have something valuable to contribute.
These skills aren’t developed through a CV workshop alone.
They develop through experience.
That is why communities need more entry-level opportunities where young people can learn while contributing.
Businesses Can Become Part of the Solution
Government and charities cannot solve youth inactivity alone.
Employers have an enormous role to play.
But supporting young people doesn’t always have to mean immediately offering someone a full-time job.
A local business could provide:
- a Try a Trade experience;
- a workplace visit;
- mentoring;
- equipment or materials;
- work experience;
- a guest speaker;
- sponsorship for a young person’s development;
- an entry-level employment opportunity;
- subcontracted work for a youth-led social enterprise.
These smaller opportunities can become significant turning points.
We want to build a network of employers across Bolton and Greater Manchester willing to open doors for young people.
Imagine a Bolton-Wide Youth Opportunity Network
There is an even bigger opportunity.
Imagine young people, businesses, Bolton Council, housing providers, schools, colleges, community organisations, funders and voluntary organisations working as part of a connected local opportunity network.
Not another initiative operating separately from everything else.
A practical ecosystem connecting young people directly with opportunities.
A young person interested in construction could access a trade taster.
Someone interested in cars could experience vehicle valeting or mechanics.
A creative young person could explore digital content, design or enterprise.
Someone interested in environmental work could gain experience through community improvement.
Another young person might simply need a trusted adult and somewhere safe to start rebuilding their confidence.
Different young people. Different starting points. Different pathways.
But one shared objective:
Bridging the gap to opportunity.
“Young People Need More Than Someone Asking What They Want”
Sam Smith, Founder and Co-Director of Genuine Futures, said:
“We talk a lot about giving young people a voice, and that’s important. But young people need more than someone asking what they want. They need somebody prepared to help create the opportunity.
“We’ve seen young people grow in confidence because somebody trusted them to wash a car, meet a customer, clean up an estate, try a trade, speak publicly or take responsibility for something.
“These might seem like small things, but this is where futures can begin. Prevention isn’t simply stopping something bad from happening. It’s making sure something positive has the chance to happen first.”
From One Conversation to Real Opportunity
Our young people continually remind us why this approach matters.
One of the most powerful lessons from our work is that progress rarely begins with a complicated intervention.
It can start with one conversation.
One trusted relationship.
One practical experience.
One employer saying yes.
One community giving someone a chance.
From there, confidence can grow.
Skills can develop.
Networks can expand.
And a young person who previously felt disconnected can begin to see a future.
International Youth Day Must Be About What Happens Next
So this International Youth Day, we celebrate the young people already making a difference across Bolton.
But celebration alone isn’t enough.
Our challenge to businesses, public services, funders, housing providers, educators and community organisations is simple:
What opportunity could you open for a young person?
Could you provide a workplace visit?
Could you offer a trade taster?
Could you mentor someone?
Could you sponsor a young person’s development?
Could your organisation commission a youth-led social enterprise?
Could you create an entry-level job?
Could you give a young person their first chance?
Because young people aren’t waiting for us to tell them what their future should look like.
Many are ready to build it.
Our responsibility is to make sure the doors are open.
Get Involved with Genuine Futures
Genuine Futures CIC works with young people, employers, community organisations and public-sector partners to create practical pathways into employment, enterprise, education and community.
We are looking for employers, housing providers, schools, colleges, funders and community partners who want to help create more opportunities for young people across Bolton and beyond.
Partner with us. Sponsor an opportunity. Offer an experience. Commission our social enterprises. Open a door.
Together, we can move beyond managing the consequences of youth inactivity and invest earlier in prevention, belonging and opportunity.