Bringing young people from around the table to the stage

One of the many challenges of planning a large scale conference is selecting and recruiting impactful key notes speakers.

After all, here we were planning to speak out and up for the young people of Leicester and Leicestershire and we needed someone personable, someone with lived experience and someone who was not afraid to get up on the stage and say it how it is.

Enter Daveena.

Daveena is a third year student at De Montfort University, she is also a care leaver. Daveena has been a valuable member of Leicestershire Cares Peer researcher group "Joining up Joining in" campaigning for a better "Care Experience".

Hailing from the West Midlands Daveena has battled against adversity to make a home and a life in Leicester where she feels she is making a real difference - in life as an older sibling, at university studying education and in work at Leicester City in the Community.

Daveena made an impassioned plea to our conference delegates to consider the lived experience of young people in care - not just how the social system affects them but how all services need to work together. She rallied for us to foster aspirations for care experienced young people, she implored us all to simply do better - to change the game.

After all if a football team is not scoring, if the players aren't pulling together - the club replaces the manager - gets in new players - shakes up the team formation and Daveena rightly asked -"why can't the care system do the same?"

Daveena's speech was met with rapturous applause and we know this young woman will go far and will continue to fight for a better care experience for young people.