Listen to the full conversation above. Katy, Stuart and Sonia worked together on the Mindset Revolution project, a partnership of academics, practitioners and 23 young people between 16 and 25 years old, which combined arts-based and digital innovation to strengthen youth voice on mental health policies. You can learn more about the project here and check the policy brief developed with the young people here. A film and an animation of the project are available on YouTube.

About the Speakers

Katy Rubin is a Legislative Theatre practitioner and strategist based in the UK, and director of The People Act hub for creative civic practice. She works in partnership with local and national governments, advocacy organizations, and community groups to co-create equitable and innovative public policy, through participatory processes that are joyful, creative, and inclusive. She is currently collaborating with cities around Europe, implementing policy-change projects on housing and homelessness, health and welfare, the climate crisis, and more.

Stuart Dunne is Chief Executive of Youth Focus North West, supporting young people in the North West of England to be active citizens and make the changes they want to see in the world. Stuart has 30 years experience of working with young people and specialises in engaging young people with participatory projects.

Sonia Bussu teaches and studies public policy, participatory governance and participatory action research at the Department of Public Administration and Policy, University of Birmingham. She is co-editor of Reclaiming Participatory Governance and scientific coordinator of the Horizon Europe project INSPIRE, on strengthening intersectional inclusion in participatory deliberative democracy.