National Youth Voice Forum members come together at YONEX All England Open

The Badminton England National Youth Voice Forum was launched in 2022 and brings together young people aged 13-21 to share their thoughts and ideas and is used to ensure the voice of young people is heard.

The Forum guides the work we do, ensuring our sport is an inclusive and welcoming place for all young people.

The Forum was restructured in late 2023/early 2024 where committee roles were open for applications, existing members had the opportunity to formalise their involvement in the Forum and new members were welcome to apply.

The current National Youth Voice Forum has 15 members who are involved in decision making and project development.

The Forum consists of:

·        Chair – Felicity Preston (Herefordshire)

·        Vice Chair – Aliya Muraj (Middlesex)

·        Communications Officer – Oliver Swales (Yorkshire)

·        Treasurer – Angie Zhu (Yorkshire)

·        2x Funding Officers – Oscar Butler (Norfolk) & Kerensa Shaw (Cornwall)

·        3x Social Media Officers – Georgie Gentles (Surrey), Ruby Clark (Berkshire) & Ben Fairhurst (Lancashire)

·        2x Insight Officers – Imogen Eagles (Wiltshire) & Jessica Shaw (Cornwall)

·        2x Diversity & Inclusion Officers – Talya Chambers (Middlesex) & Anjola Kolawole (Kent)

·        2x Wellbeing & Welfare Officers – Siân Phillips (Yorkshire) & Muhammad Ali Chandoo (Middlesex)

The National Youth Voice Forum members came together at the 2024 YONEX All England Open Championships on Saturday 16th March where they took part in a planning session, were involved in a social media takeover on the Badminton England Instagram account and had the opportunity to watch some of the semi-finals action from courtside seats!

Some of the Forum members ran a National Youth Voice Forum stand on All England finals day where they showcased the Forum’s work and encouraged spectators to take part in a fun game and Felicity Preston, Oliver Swales & Sian Phillips were invited to meet Badminton England’s Interim Chair, Peter Emptage, to discuss how the Forum could link up with the Badminton England Board.

Find out more about the National Youth Voice Forum here.