In this post Anaya, a member of the Bristol Young People's Advisory Group, reflects on her participation in a creative workshop that took place in July 2026. The workshop explored how young people and children are, or aren't, heard and taken seriously.
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| 'Hope' by Anaya. Her description of the work: 'My
artwork's name is Hope. This links to epistemic justice because it shows a
child struggling to voice their thoughts because they are silenced in a
contrast of a black and white world. The yellow light displayed in their mind
is hope because it demonstrates that children have colourful thoughts in
comparison to our black and white world so if we listen to kids then it will
benefit us. The yellow throughout the art mimics light appearing in the
darkness which is symbolic of the hope a child's voice can give'. |
I have
always been aware that whenever children tend to share information with adults,
they get ignored because adults believe they are wiser and more knowledgeable.
They disregard kids’ views because of a prejudiced belief that every child is
immature and unaware, so nothing they say must ever be taken into account.
However, I was not aware that this is known as Epistemic Injustice, so this
session educated me.
It was an
eye opener to discover more reasons as to why adults do this, like they don't
want to take accountability for their actions or they genuinely believe they
are superior just because of their age. I believe this is very backwards
thinking that needs to be improved, as everyone deserves to feel heard and
seen. This session did exactly that, as it accepted my views and made me feel
valued.
It allowed
me to communicate my message through art and it was truly fascinating to see
what powerful messages artworks can deliver. I chose to do an art piece about
the contrast of light and dark. This mirrors a child's thoughts because they
believe the whole world is dark and inconsiderate as it doesn't listen to them.
The child's mind, however, is light because it possesses many great ideas just
like adults do. My message is the hope that a child's light will be brought
into the world of research, therefore making it better and more inclusive to
multiple perspectives and lives.
I enjoyed
participating in this workshop because it included other young people and
addressed the message directly to us to help us become aware of the epistemic
injustice surrounding us. In doing that, it made us all feel very comfortable
and empowered. After we each completed our own artwork, we went around in a
circle and explained the choices we made and why we did them. I loved doing
this because it provided a deeper insight for both the researchers and kids
involved about perspectives. The diversity in the artwork helped me understand
how my peers see the world and how important it is that those views get heard.
Research tends to focus on adults, so it doesn't always work for kids. Workshops like this help research to move forward and progress because they allow it to become more inclusive to everyone. Listening to kids improves many projects that people are completing, especially if they link to young people. This workshop was truly an amazing experience that allowed me to express my opinions in exceptional ways, so I hope that the people involved know they've truly made a difference!
The workshop Anaya took part in is informing a upcoming EPIC Event: Doing Justice to Children’s Voices Tickets, Tuesday, November 3 • 6:30 PM–8:30 PM |Eventbrite. The event is free and all are welcome! Please register via the link above if you want to join us.
