A panel event with Emma Warren, author of Irish Times Book of the Year- Up the Youth Club, and local youth and community workers.

Further details including panellists to follow, but one for your diaries!

This is a panel discussion event looking at the history and impact of youth clubs, the current state of youth support and engaging with youth workers in the city about the work they do.

About Up The Youth Club

A searching look at the rise and fall of the youth club by renowned cultural documentarian Emma Warren, highlighting the seismic impact they have had on UK culture and why we need to ensure their existence for future generations.

Arguing that we cannot advocate for what we do not understand, Warren positions youth clubs as a kind of engine room – from the famous success stories to come out of their doors, such as The Specials or Stormzy, to the untold stories of young people finding shelter, sustenance and stimulation for over a century – and why their dwindling numbers, largely due to austerity and funding cuts, is of serious concern for us all.

With this impassioned history, Warren invites us to pick up the torch and play an active part in protecting and re-igniting this vital part of UK society.

Emma Warren has been documenting grassroots culture for decades. She is the author of Make Some Space (2019), which was a MOJO book of the year; Steam Down (2019) which was published by Rough Trade Books and named an Irish Times read of the year; and Document Your Culture (2020). Dance Your Way Home (2023) was a Guardian book of the year. A dual citizen of Ireland and the UK, she worked on staff at The Face and as the editorial mentor at youth-run Brixton publication Live Magazine. Her monthly radio show on Worldwide FM ran for six years.