A group of teenagers have been chosen to represent the views of the UK’s youth at the Royal Opera House Bridge’s annual conference, The Thriving Child.

Thrive podcast was selected from more than 150 applicants to take part in the event, which looks at how the arts, creativity and culture can be used to help young people face modern challenges.

The chosen team form part of the Gifted Young Gravesham project, based at the Gr@nd healthy living centre in King Street, Gravesend.

The podcasters have released episodes on topics like body image, the LGBT community and school life, in the hope of revealing what it’s like to be a young person in 2019.

They will present their findings on stage at the conference on Friday, June 28 and host a debate with the audience, made up of adults who work in the arts and education.

Podcaster Princess Higgawe, 18, said: “It’s so important that young people’s voices are heard and taken notice of.

"We’ve been lucky enough to talk to lots of people from across the country and hear about their lives. " - Princess Higgawe

“The pressures many young people face are wide ranging and can be damaging to futures.

“Our podcast for the Opera House is trying to find out what young people need, what’s going well in their lives and what the challenges are.

“We’ve been lucky enough to talk to lots of people from across the country and hear about their lives.

“There are some key themes that we can all relate to – especially social media and bullying, but we’ve also had our eyes opened to other people’s lives and their challenges.”

The group recently visited teenagers in Oxford to talk about life being LGBTQI+, with some interviewees talking about their experience of going through a gender transition.

Princess added: “The people we spoke to in Oxford were willing to talk openly about their lives as they transition gender.

“How it feels, how the people around them have either supported them or rejected them and the impact that’s made.

“It’s an open, honest and frank conversation and something we’ve enjoyed greatly.”

To find out more about the Gr@nd, or Gifted Young Gravesham, visit www.thegrand.org.uk

Or, visit https://bit.ly/2VOGwiK for more information about The Thriving Child conference.