The short films, produced and edited by the young people, highlight issues such as the cost of living, pressures for single parents and prejudices the teenagers say they experience
A group of young leaders at St Peter’s Immaculata Youth Centre in West Belfast have crafted a series of impactful TikTok films to shed light on poverty issues they witness in their community.
The short films, which were produced and edited by the youngsters themselves, spotlight issues such as the cost of living, pressures faced by single parents, and prejudices that the teenagers claim to experience.
The TikTok videos were unveiled by the youth club to commemorate anti-poverty week this month. As part of this initiative, they collaborated with a team from Save the Children NI who provided creative assistance during the production of the series.
Amy, a 15 year old participant, shared: “I think it shows people interpret poverty in different ways. We did these TikTok videos for Anti-Poverty Week and our group looked at single mothers – they can lack money and have to manage it. Others in the group highlighted the lack of privileges for young people and how boys can get discriminated against for how they’re perceived, while girls can’t walk home alone at night.
“It makes you want to put yourself in other people’s shoes and be more compassionate.”
Stephen Hughes, the leader of the youth centre, stated: “We’re always keen to get the young people talking and campaigning on issues that affect them. Poverty is one of those issues that impacts this community and these young leaders brought that to life. We’re proud of what they produced here and their energy to bring change.”
Emmet Norris from Save the Children NI added: “As a team we will continue to advocate for the visibility of young people in public conversations on poverty.
“Here we see young people leading the way, highlighting issues linked to poverty that matter to them. We really enjoyed working with them and would love their voices and challenges to be listened to by decision makers.”
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