Creating live online experiences for ‘The Reflectors’

Definition Lightning playback

January 2025

Author/s: Yalla, All Star, FotoNow & Groundworks

1. Recap of the challenge & user needs

Challenge: How might we create live online experiences that engage young people who tend to avoid in-person programmes and activities because they are easily overwhelmed by meeting new people and trying new things, and are more likely to be introverted.

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Goal: Use digital to overcome this, and create an increased sense of connection with other young people, in a way that mirrors and maintains team-building of in-person programmes and increases the likelihood of further engagement in in-person youth programmes.

1. Recap of the challenge & user needs

For young people…

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• I can choose the way in which I engage�
• I can influence the sorts of activities provided�
• I can connect with other like-minded young people in a way that is safe�
• I am not overwhelmed

1. Recap of the challenge & user needs

For youth workers…�

• I can more easily engage young people to understand what they need�
• I can access resources / advice / support to create engaging, inclusive experiences�
• I can gain confidence in setting up and facilitating online experiences

1. Recap of the challenge & user needs

There is no one-size-fits-all digital experience.

What the young people and youth worker do �within the space is key.

2. Demoing the prototype

We created two fully-designed prototypes, each focusing on a different primary user type.

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1. Safe spaces for young people�
2. Empower youth organisations to build inclusive programmes

#1 Safe spaces for young people

Enabling young people to set up small groups each of no more than 8 people, based around a topic, moderated by a youth worker

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Prototype

Lean Approach - Prototype

#2 Platform for youth organisations to create inclusive programmes

Provide a platform with various tools, templates and resources that would make it much easier for all youth organisations to co-design with young people and ensure their activities were inclusive and engaging.

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Prototype

Lean Approach - Prototype

3. What Young People think (Idea 1)

Wins

• Easy to understand
• Many said this was offering something they couldn’t get elsewhere
• They liked what they were being asked - it made them feel safe
• Big appeal is to meet other young people with the same interests
• It removed the fear of “walking into” a youth organisation

Challenges

• Ensuring safety could make it difficult for organisations (e.g. guardian consent, monitoring chat)
• Technically complex
• The platform was trusted because it was referred by organisations

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3. What Young People think (Idea 1)

With the Lean Approach…

• Young people still happy with this approach (some even preferred it)
• Much reduced technical / admin overheads�
• A strong reliance on the youth organisation then having the resources to continue the engagement from that point
• Security considerations required around how future youth organisations would be onboarded

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3. What organisations think (Idea 2)

Wins

• Lots of positive feedback with every organisation indicating they would use the tool
• The survey and poll builder were the most popular in helping engage young people to design programmes
1. Especially engaging those who might be more comfortable providing inputs online
• Crowd-sourced insights was also seen as innovative and highly valuable�

Challenges

• Ensuring surveys don’t get too long (undermining the purpose)
• Maintenance of certain sections (e.g. tools / resources / templates) to stay relevant & useful

3. What young people think (Idea 2)

Wins

• Throughout the design process, there has always been an interest from young people to contribute through polls and surveys
• Young people said they would be happy to answer the surveys, feeling that organisations could engage them more
• They liked seeing surveys / polls from other organisations

Challenges

• It is hard to guarantee whether these surveys reach beyond the community organisations are already engaging

4. Recommendations for next steps

We have decided to proceed with Idea 2

This will prioritise the lean version, with then the option to add additional features (e.g. inclusivity checklist), based on time.

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4. Recommendations for next steps

Things we need

• Clarity on ongoing hosting
• Clarity on ownership
• How best to test this idea against the challenge

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Comments/Questions

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