ABOUT MY LIFE MY SAY
My Life My Say is a youth-led, non-partisan charity on a mission to amplify youth voices and engage young people from underrepresented communities in decision-making processes.
We’re recognised as one of the leading drivers of youth engagement in the UK, reaching over 6 million young people since 2013, increasing access to democracy, and affecting real change that benefits the greater good.
We have worked with many notable decision-making institutions in the UK to help enhance young people’s engagement in decision-making processes. In 2018, Cabinet Office awarded My Life My Say as a Democracy Champion, particularly for our Democracy Café methodology. The award was given to an organisation “that has put a new idea forward to increase access to democracy, convinced others of the merit of their idea and effected a real change that benefits the greater good.”
WHAT WE DO
DEMOCRACY CAFÉS
Our globally-renowned Democracy Cafés are our reinvigoration of the 17th-century coffee house tradition where members of society would come together and discuss local issues. We’ve taken this tradition and modernised it to take place in your local Starbucks with a bit more fun and frappuccinos!
We have organised 700+ Democracy Cafés reaching over 40,000 young people, with more than 80% taking place outside of London. These include Aberdeen, Blackburn, Cardiff, Derry, Portsmouth and many more towns and cities across the UK.
NEXT GEN YOUTH SUMMT
Alongside our Democracy Cafés, we host the UK's biggest youth summit, the Next Gen summit, which brings together leaders, activists, and academics who engage with young people and the issues that they care about.
The conference was first launched in 2018 by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan. We have had more than 2,500 young people in attendance at the Forum with more than 120 speakers, platforming those from the world of technology, business, politics, and influencing. Our previous conferences have been widely successful in inspiring the next generation of change-makers.
NATIONAL
VOTER REGISTRATION DAY
National Voter Registration Day, organised by My Life My Say, is a non-partisan mass mobilisation day - designed to get the missing millions on the electoral roll. Since its inception in 2021 in the UK, this day has swiftly garnered traction, with over 453,000 people registering to vote on NVRD. Occurring annually in April, National Voter Registration Day sees volunteers and organisations nationwide coming together for a single day of coordinated field, technology, and media efforts.
GIVE AN X
Give an X is a youth-led, non-partisan youth voter registration campaign designed to get every single young person registered to vote and into polling booths for the next election.
Founded by My Life My Say, the #iWill Movement and Shape History, Give an X brings together individuals, institutions, brands, and organisations to register new voters across the country and advance civic education for young people to build an informed and engaged electorate for today and generations to come.
OUR TEAM
LED BY YOUNG PEOPLE,
FOR YOUNG PEOPLE
At My Life My Say, young people are not just participants; they are the driving force behind our organisation's vision and work. We pride ourselves as a youth-led organisation and have firmly placed young people at the heart of our mission, and their active involvement is integral to every facet of our activities.
Our approach to engaging young people to shape our activities and strategies is rooted in an asset-based approach, by leaning on young people’s expertise. Our commitment to youth engagement is exemplified through our Squad programme, Democracy Cafés and the Youth Index poll, a pivotal milestone in our evolution. This cements the role of young people in all levels of our organisation. Squad members are instrumental in leading our activities, serve on our Board of Trustees, and contribute to programming and strategic direction.
OUR BOARD
Address: Plexal, Press Centre,14 East Bay Lane, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London, E20 3BS
