Digital and AI roundtable takes place in Parliament

The APPG on Youth Affairs was delighted to hold the first of three roundtables on Monday 23 February in Parliament. The first roundtable covered digital and AI in youth work and forms part of the ongoing report development process, on the topic of Youth Work in 2035. 

Chair of the APPG Natasha Irons MP opened the roundtable by discussing the APPG’s plan and report process for the coming months, as well as the importance of digital and AI in young people’s lives and how it might change youth work in the future. She was joined by APPG Officer David Williams, MP for Stoke-on-Trent North. Panellists included: Somia Nasim, Head of Research and Knowledge Management at UK Youth; Krystal Donaldson, Service Manager at Catch 22’s The Hive; Bex Pink, National Digital Innovation Lead at the National Youth Agency; Paddy Crump, Campaigns Director at FlippGen; Dr Alicja Pawluczuk, Research Fellow at Leeds University; Dr Marc Husband, Lecturer at Sunderland University; Robert Reynolds, Lecturer at the University of St Mark & St John; Savannah Hanson, Squad Leader at My Life My Say; and Matthew Peacham, Youth Worker at YMCA North Staffordshire.

The importance of needing training and guidance for youth workers on digital and AI was raised repeatedly at the roundtable. Many attendees highlighted that in order to help young people safely navigate the world of digital and AI, particularly given the pace of change, youth workers need to be given the tools to do so adequately. According to attendees, these tools should include training as well as guidance on safeguarding. There was generally praise for the development of digital youth work, particularly how it enables youth workers to engage with hard-to-reach young people or those who may not be able to attend physical youth spaces, including neurodivergent people and groups such as young carers. However, all attendees emphasised the need to maintain face-to-face youth work as this is the core of youth work. Many panellists mentioned how digital and AI should work alongside face-to-face, and how the sector needs to adapt to meet the challenge.

Alongside the welcoming of the Government’s recent National Youth Strategy, it was highlighted that the only reference to AI in it was in regards to employment and skills, and not on youth work. Attendees noted that AI will affect more than careers for young people. The benefits of digital and AI were examined, as well as the challenges.

All contributions from this roundtable will be collated as part of our evidence collection for the upcoming report on youth work, to inform the recommendations to Government. We will be holding more roundtables in the coming months, and also plan to open up submissions for written evidence to inform the report.