Podcast festival to help give young people a voice

Sarah Tieck and Raph Adom are asking young people what they want from Ipswich

Young people are being asked how to make their town better as part of a new music, dance and podcast festival.

It is happening at DanceEast in Ipswich on 7 August and follows a series of pop-up chat shows staged in empty shops, focusing on men's mental health.

Filmmaker Sarah Tieck, who shares work on her This is Ipswich Instagram account, is working with poet and promoter Raph Adom, who puts on events under the brand Scripted Development.

Ms Tieck said: "We don't have the answers but we're looking to get the questions from young people about what Ipswich could be doing better for them. Why aren't they coming into the town?"

(Back row) Lae El Henawy, Kane Commodore and Gen We, with Raph Adom, Ben Driver, Ramon Bradshaw Logan and Sarah Tieck inside the former Superdry store in the Buttermarket

The event will include live music and dance performances, along with a panel discussion with questions from young people aged 18-25 about what they would like to see in the town.

The event will be filmed and shared on social media.

Raph Adom told BBC Radio Suffolk: "We grow up and we forget what it's like to be a teenager.

"A lot of the time youngsters just want to hang out. They don't even want a purpose at that point in time, they just want to hang out and allow it all to hang out.

"So I want the elders of any community to understand that it's okay for youngsters just to be youngsters, even if they are sitting in a square on their phones, don't demonize them."

Ash Edwards, founder of A.J. MenSpa, was a guest at one of the pop-up shows

Ms Tieck said: "I grew up in Shotley Gate, so I wish I knew more what was happening in the town [Ipswich] that I could actually get involved in, because I was a bit scared of going into town as a youngster.

"I remember being 13 and going on the bus for the first time, but I was just going to McDonald's and just sitting on the town steps and stuff, you know.

"Ipswich is one of those places where there's so much happening, but it doesn't smack you in the face, it's not advertised.

"It's not even advertised to the different council estates in the town, let alone the outside areas like Shotley."

Getting young voices heard

Other ways for young people to share their views in Suffolk include:

The #iwill movement have held hackathon events in Ipswich for 10 to 21-year-olds, as part of engagement work by the charity Volunteering Matters.

Previously there has been a Suffolk Youth Parliament and there is currently the Suffolk Youth Forum, part of the Children and Young People's Services at Suffolk County Council.

East Suffolk Council has a Youth Voice programme.

The group Community Hub Ipswich (Chip) has also run informal youth forums.