How we work

FreeRadicals is working with three groups to ensure a broad and varied experience to promote mobilisation and shared learning:

Caledonian Road – by working directly in “Cally”, a local community in North London, we are building and supporting a local power base within a deprived and marginalised community.  By working face to face in the community we are working to identify and train young leaders, enabling them to mobilise and take direct action around issues that affect them.

Partnership with JUST West Yorkshire – by working closely with a partner group (and in time other partners) are able to share skills and resources across the country and young people will be challenged to see their experiences within a wider context.

Nationwide networks – by engaging with other youth organisations and campaigns we are building a strong network of youth activists across the country.  Through supporting key individuals in these movements we will gain wider understanding of issues that young people are facing and enable the sharing of solution-based practices across the network.

Young people from these three areas and groups come together at various stages to share their experiences, build their knowledge and learning and work collaboratively on a variety of projects and campaigns, thereby building a strong FreeRadicals movement.

Within each area and group, the FreeRadicals programme works on four key levels:

Community Building; building genuine relationships with young people within their community setting, enabling young people to have confidence in the process to challenge people and things around them, & in turn be challenged themselves.

Leadership Development; supporting and facilitating young people to explore their realities, build knowledge & skills which will enable them to become the leaders of a youth–led community organising movement.

Action; identifying issues important to young people, developing and supporting actions & campaigns using the Participatory Action Research (PAR) process to ensure there is real change to the young people’s grassroots experience.

Sharing the Learning; disseminating FreeRadicals experiences, methodology & learning will be key as we strive to develop a new model of political engagement with young people.