HUDL Up

Full Circle: Start Well. Hold Well. End Well.

Keji and Floree return for Episode 10 to bring the first series of HUDL Up full circle.
After opening the series with their own journeys and connection to HUDL, they reflect on the conversations, projects, teams and themes that have shaped the podcast so far, from shared power and youth participation to care, belonging, transitions, programme delivery and collective change.
This episode introduces the HUDL co-production framework: Start Well. Hold Well. End Well.
Keji and Floree explore what HUDL has learnt about co-production, power and holding the work properly, and why meaningful youth involvement takes more than creating space for young people to speak. It requires structure, care, skilled facilitation, clear roles, honest decision-making, paid opportunities and a commitment to making sure young people’s contributions can shape what happens next.
As the first series closes, this episode also looks ahead to what is coming next, including new programmes, teams, debate club and behind-the-scenes learning from across HUDL.
Listeners are invited to help shape the next series by sharing what they want HUDL Up to explore in more depth.
Learn more about HUDL here: https://www.hudl.org.uk
Subscribe to HUDL Up for more episodes that hold space for real stories, shared power, and collective change.

What’s Next: Transitions, Trust and Carrying the Work Forward

In this episode of HUDL Up, we explore what it really means to navigate transitions with Dan Seifu and Melanie (Mel) Da Silva Pinto.
Dan reflects on his journey from the first cohort of the Involving Young People’s Collective (IYPC) to his current roles in the sector, covering grantmaking and governance, while Mel shares what it feels like to be on the edge of her own transition, approaching the end of her time in the Collective.
Together, they unpack what they’re carrying forward: from values-led practice and collective ways of working, to the importance of joy, care, and staying rooted in community. They speak honestly about the tension between holding on and letting go and the challenges of navigating new spaces without losing yourself or compromising your values.
This conversation reflects on growth and the ongoing work to build more joyful and more equitable ways of working and making change.
Whether you’re in the middle of a transition or anticipating one, this episode offers a grounding reminder that you never really leave experiences behind, you're always carrying them with you.
Learn more about HUDL here: https://www.hudl.org.uk
Subscribe to HUDL Up for more episodes that hold space for real stories, shared power, and collective change.

From Participants to Practitioners: The Journey of HUDL Associates

In this episode of HUDL Up, we explore what happens when young people transition from participating in youth programmes to designing and delivering them.
Betty Mayo, Kimberly Garande, Louis Peters, Teian Roberts and Thalia Papanicolaou, who are all HUDL Associates, reflect on their journeys into the organisation. Many of them first connected with HUDL as participants in programmes like the Involving Young People Collective, the BBC Children in Need Youth Leadership Programme, and Mission 44’s Youth Advisory Board. Today, they facilitate, coordinate and shape those same programmes for the next generation of young leaders.
The conversation explores what it really means to step behind the scenes of youth participation work: designing sessions, holding space for young people, building relationships, and balancing the needs of both participants and partner organisations.
They discuss how their perspectives shifted from participating in a programme to helping deliver it, the unexpected skills they’ve developed along the way, from facilitation and communication to programme design and data analysis, and the challenges of working across multiple projects while supporting young people through complex transitions.
The episode also reflects on the responsibility of “holding” a programme: creating environments where young people feel confident, supported and prepared to contribute meaningfully to decisions that affect their communities.
This episode is about growth: how participation can become leadership, how lived experience can shape programme delivery, and how young people can move from being in the room to building the room itself.
Learn more about HUDL here: https://www.hudl.org.uk
Subscribe to HUDL Up for more episodes that hold space for real stories, shared power, and collective change.

Power, Care, and Lived Experience: Inside the Future Communities Collective

In this episode of HUDL Up, we explore what it really means for young people to share power in grantmaking and how trauma-informed practice can shape the way those decisions are made.
Suranne, Phoebe, Ladajah and Fatima from the Future Communities Collective reflect on their experiences working alongside the Co-op Foundation to design and deliver funding that supports young people across the UK, including those with experience of the criminal justice system.
The conversation explores how lived experience shapes better decision-making, the emotional weight of hearing difficult stories while deciding where funding goes, and how the collective works to support each other through that process.
They also discuss what trauma-informed practice looks like in real terms: creating spaces where young people feel safe to speak, building trust over time, setting shared boundaries, and ensuring participation never becomes tokenistic.
This episode also examines the barriers young people still face when entering spaces like grantmaking, ranging from a lack of awareness about these opportunities to imposter syndrome and structural inequalities. It also covers why paying young people, offering flexibility, and building genuine relationships are essential for meaningful participation.
Above all, this episode is about care, responsibility, the power of collective decision-making, and what becomes possible when young people are trusted with real influence.
Learn more about HUDL here: https://www.hudl.org.uk
Subscribe to HUDL Up for more episodes that hold space for real stories, shared power, and collective change.

From Vision to Impact: The Journey Behind the Future Communities Collective

In this episode of HUDL Up, we explore the journey of the Future Communities Collective: from its beginnings, to its impact, and to what comes next as members transition on.
Louise Snelders from the Co-op Foundation is joined by Keshon, Zak and Saffai, outgoing members of the Future Communities Collective. Together, they reflect on how the Collective was formed, why the Co-op Foundation chose to work alongside young people, and what it’s meant to shift power in funding decisions.
The conversation looks at how young people moved from expecting a limited role to holding real decision-making influence, how the Collective has changed the Foundation’s culture and practice, and what it takes to do this work in a way that is meaningful, rather than tokenistic.
They also explore the challenges of balancing life alongside the work, navigating disagreement, building confidence, and learning to handle responsibility, including what it means to be trusted with decisions that shape real funding outcomes.
Learn more about HUDL here: https://www.hudl.org.uk
Subscribe to HUDL Up for more episodes that hold space for real stories, shared power, and collective change.

Joy, Care, and Belonging in Practice: Reflecting on the Involving Young People Collective

In this episode of HUDL Up, we explore what joy, care and belonging actually look like in practice. Dan, Shirley and Chelbi from the Involving Young People’s Collective (IYPC) join our host Keji to reflect on how three years in the Collective have shaped their understanding of care, challenged their assumptions about professionalism, and influenced how they now show up in their careers and as leaders.
Together, they unpack the small, intentional practices that build culture: meaningful check-ins, honest conversations about capacity, celebrating without restrictions, pausing when the “vibes aren’t right,” and holding each other through both pressure and possibility. The conversation moves beyond theory to explore what accountability looks like in a culture rooted in care, how organisations can avoid making joy performative, and what needs to stop if belonging is going to be real.
This episode is about more than workplace wellbeing; it’s about understanding how small shifts in practice can lead to more joyful communities, stronger relationships, better decisions, and more sustainable change.
Learn more about HUDL here: https://www.hudl.org.uk
Subscribe to HUDL Up for more episodes that hold space for real stories, shared power, and collective change.

From Concept to Collective: Creating the Involving Young People Collective

In this episode of HUDL Up, we explore the story behind the Involving Young People Collective (IYPC): how it began, why it matters, and how it’s influencing the way major funders work with young people.
Catherine Hillis, Director of A Fairer Future at the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, is joined by Kimberly Garande, a former member of the IYPC, and Ines Hart, a current member. Together, they reflect on the early development of the Collective and what it means to champion youth participation from inside organisations and funding spaces.
The conversation looks at what’s at stake when youth participation is treated as more than a “nice to have,” the realities of advocating for this work within institutions, and how young people’s perspectives are shaping wider funding conversations.
This episode is about more than participation; it’s about pathways, power, and what happens when organisations commit to working intentionally alongside young people.
Learn more about HUDL here: https://www.hudl.org.uk
Subscribe to HUDL Up for more episodes that hold space for real stories, shared power, and collective change.

Debate Club: Building Confidence and Community

In Episode Three of HUDL Up, we turn our focus to HUDL’s Debate Club and hear directly from the young people who helped shape it from the very beginning.
Co-hosts Keji Okeowo, Director of HUDL, and Koby Ofosu, a member of Debate Club, are joined by Debate Club members to reflect on why they joined, what a typical session involves, and how an eight-week pilot developed into an 18-month programme. Alongside Debate Master Teian Roberts, Debate Club members discuss the skills they built along the way, including public speaking, critical thinking, teamwork, listening, and confidence, and how those skills continue to support them in school and beyond.
The conversation also explores what it was like to take part in debates, competitions, and trips beyond the classroom. At the end of the episode, the group reflects on becoming HUDL’s first Junior Associates and what it means to support younger students in developing their own skills.
Learn more about HUDL here: https://www.hudl.org.uk
Subscribe to HUDL Up for more episodes that hold space for real stories, shared power, and collective change.

Shared Power in Practice: Inside the Involving Young People Collective

In Episode Two of HUDL Up, we’re joined by Dan, Sam, Shirley, and Thalia from the Involving Young People Collective (IYPC) to explore what it truly means to involve young people in decision-making.
Together, they share their journeys into the IYPC, reflecting on moments of imposter syndrome, confidence-building, and the shift from tokenistic participation to genuine partnership. The conversation dives into themes of shared power, care in the workplace, youth leadership, and what changes when young people are trusted, paid, and supported as equal collaborators.
Learn more about HUDL here: https://www.hudl.org.uk
Subscribe to HUDL Up for more episodes that hold space for real stories, shared power, and collective change.

Building HUDL: Eight Years of Holding Space and Shifting Power

In this debut episode of HUDL Up, Keji Okeowo, Director of HUDL, and Floree Zama-Neagra, a Senior Associate at HUDL, take us behind the scenes to explore how HUDL began and how it’s developed over the last eight years.
Keji and Floree reflect on key moments that shaped their journey:
⁣⁣⁣⁣What brought them into working with young people in the first place
⁣⁣⁣⁣How lived experience became the foundation for HUDL's work
⁣⁣⁣⁣The challenges and surprises of building a community rooted in shared power
⁣⁣⁣⁣How HUDL's partnerships and grant-making work evolved to put young people at the heart
This episode sets the tone for what HUDL stands for and where we’re going next with this podcast.
Learn more about HUDL here: https://www.hudl.org.uk
Subscribe to HUDL Up for more episodes that hold space for real stories, shared power, and collective change.