Bygrove Primary Game Changers dedicated a day to health and well being.

GameChangers is a game changer

As we launch the GameChangers Grants programme this month it’s also time to say goodbye to the original GameChangers programme, both funded by the Greater London Authority with #iwill

Launched at the start of 2020 as a two-year opportunity for youth social action among under-represented groups across schools in London, GameChangers was seriously disrupted by the Covid pandemic.

We worked with schools and teachers innovating throughout 2020 and 2021 to find new ways to get together in the digital space and bring the project to life through activity-based online workshops. These ‘summits’ enabled young people to share their ideas and make positive change with their peers across London.

Twelve GameChangers summits attended by more than 9,000 pupils covered a range of urgent topics including the environment, racial justice and food justice. Over all, a total of 12,300 students from 190 schools took part in the programme.

Van Gogh Game Changers celebrated the power of play.

The core concept behind GameChangers is to ensure that young people in communities across London understand and have an opportunity to take part in the many varied forms of social action. Read more about Youth Social Action here.

I think that social action is when you do something to change the lives of other people all around you, so not just your family members but even bigger.

Picking up litter, planting up the playground, prompting parents into exercise, raising awareness of food poverty – while the list is endless, the opportunity isn’t. Some groups of young people are simply much less likely to take part and therefore miss out on the benefits that volunteering and social action offer them.

I learnt how to organise a large group of people. That will be useful if I get a future job with lots of people and I become a manager. I need to know how to work with these big groups of people and I can now because I have the skills.

New contacts, boosted confidence and broader experience boost education and employability that follow.

What I really liked about this project was having people get together. I moved to the school this year and it helped me prove to myself that I am good at something.

With support from the Team London team we were able to target GameChangers at schools where children were much less likely to have social action opportunities and to include young people from under-represented groups.

We have the power to change people’s lives and perspectives on things and the way they live.

The second phase, GameChangers Grants, will direct small scale grants to young people to bring their ideas to life. The strong mission to include young people less likely to experience community action continues.

Everyone got involved in GameChangers cultural day at St Luke’s Primary School in Newham