KATE: “But I think just by virtue of being young, you're more likely to feel like, ‘I just got here into this world. How is it, like I've got the rest of my life to live and you're telling me I have to put up with all this?’ I think that's how I feel”.
 
DEBS: Are you someone who believes that young people matter in the here and now, not just in the future? My name is Debs Erwin, I’ve been involved in youth work for over 20 years, and I’ve created the Citizens Now Podcast as a space to hear stories of young people from all over the world who are actively working to bring about positive social change.
 
SEN: “Some people will just, you know, let it slide like, 'oh, global warming, that's okay, I guess'. But if you're someone who was directly impacted by this in your childhood, there's no way you're going to react that way. And you're going to be doing things now. And you're going to be acting now.”
 
LAUREN: “You know, training people up as researchers, listening to them, seeing the impact of that, you know, I think that's a way to find quite a positive way through what is a very complex sort of social and political system that often doesn't have young people's interests at heart”.
 
DEBS: Join me as we explore how young people are stepping into their power, what fuels them, what sustains them, and what gives them hope. We’re asking what kind of world they wish to build and what they think young people can bring to the challenges facing us in this moment.
 
MIA: Maybe it's our naivety. But I think that makes it so much better because we have so much hope in us that we're able to just keep going and going no matter if it doesn't work”.
 
KATE: “I think that's the aim. We want to see change and we want to see, we want to see better outcomes for everyone”.
 
ALAN: “Since I've been in EPIC, I've realised that, like there's so many people that can make change”.
 
DEBS: There are 6 conversations with young people in this first season of the Citizens Now Podcast with each episode released on Thursdays. You can subscribe wherever you get your podcasts, and you can also check out our website at citizensnowpodcast.org. We’re kicking off on 18th January with a conversation with Delvina Sejdii who is a youth worker, student, and peacebuilder from North Macedonia:
 
DELVINA: “I see that the generation and the cycle just goes up and up and up. You have actually an impact, your voice matters the things that you do matter, and it's not wasting time, it's actually doing it for a better society and like to flourish together with everyone. I know that my voice is like being heard, and I know that I have a positive impact”.