Event Location

Contact

For admin queries: Olivia Hanagan, oh00556@surrey.ac.uk

For academic queries: HannahHammond, h.s.hammond@surrey.ac.uk

More Information

Active Futures: Co‑Creating Health and Justice Outcomes Through Youth Clubs and Sport

When: Tuesday 28th July, 9:00–17:00
Where: University of Surrey

Overview

Active Futures is a full‑day workshop exploring how engagement in sport‑based positive youth development (PYD) programmes can improve health and support desistance from crime among young people from marginalised communities. Building on Dr Hammond’s Levelling the Playing Field research with the Alliance of Sport in Criminal Justice, the Youth Justice Board (YJB), and over 100 partner organisations, the event brings together evidence, lived experience and practice to shape a forward‑looking research and impact agenda.

The event convenes young co‑researchers, academics, practitioners in sport for development, third sector organisations, and statutory partners. Through presentations, discussions and youth‑led agenda setting, the workshop will examine how PYD programmes influence mental and social wellbeing, psychosocial outcomes, and pathways away from crime, and will highlight what works to engage young people from diverse and marginalised backgrounds.

Morning Session – Speaker Perspectives

The morning session brings together a range of speakers, including:

• Academics working on sport, youth justice, health and inequalities
• Practitioners delivering sport‑based PYD programmes
• Young people with lived experience of PYD programmes, including young co‑researchers
• Representatives from statutory services, including youth justice services and educational settings

Speakers will share their perspectives on:

• The role of sport in positive youth development
• Effective approaches for engaging young people from marginalised communities
• How sport and PYD programmes can enhance health, mental and social wellbeing, and broader psychosocial outcomes
• The contribution of sport‑based PYD programmes to desistance from crime and improved life chances

By bringing together academic evidence, practice insights and lived experience, the morning session will illuminate how sport can act as a vehicle for positive change, supporting more inclusive, just and health‑promoting environments for young people at increased risk of health and social inequalities.

Afternoon Session – Youth‑Led Agenda Setting

The afternoon session centres youth leadership and co‑production. Through facilitated group discussions, young co‑researchers will guide the development of a shared research agenda for sport in positive youth development settings. This session will:

• Amplify young people’s voices in shaping future health and justice outcomes
• Identify priority research questions on sport, youth development and desistance in Surrey and neighbouring areas, including Lambeth
• Explore how sport‑based PYD programmes can be strengthened to better support wellbeing, inclusion and pathways away from crime
• Promote inclusive, participatory research methodologies and stronger research–policy–practice partnerships

This collective process aims to co‑create a research agenda that informs future scholarship, policy development and practical interventions, advancing the role of sport in promoting positive youth development and community safety.

Follow‑Up Webinar – Extending the Conversation

Following the in‑person workshop, a dedicated webinar will be held to share emerging insights, early findings and proposed research priorities with a broader range of stakeholders, including those unable to travel to the University of Surrey.

This online session will:

• Present key outputs from the workshop, including the youth‑led research agenda
• Provide an opportunity for wider feedback from practitioners, policymakers, researchers, youth workers and community organisations
• Ensure that diverse voices—especially from sectors and regions not represented in person—can contribute to shaping the project’s direction
• Strengthen collective ownership of a research and impact agenda for sport‑based PYD programmes to improve health and support desistance from crime

The webinar is an open invitation to contribute to a shared, collaborative vision for the future of sport, health and youth justice research.

Attendance information

We warmly welcome attendees from the third sector and have a limited number of free workshop places available for these colleagues. For those attending from statutory services or academia, there is a fee to cover the costs of running the event, including catering and related expenses.

Post-workshop Dinner

Following the workshop, we will be hosting an informal dinner at the on-campus pub, offering an opportunity for further discussion and networking in a relaxed setting. Tickets for the dinner can be purchased separately from the main workshop registration.

Will refund cancellations made before 1^st July