Find us on our platforms.
Critical Voice is a writing and reflection space for people working in youth work.
Facilitated by Ulster University's Community Youth Work team, it exists to grow the research, writing and thinking that shapes local practice — giving youth workers, organisations and students a place to explore new ideas, share what's working, and swap programme thinking with others in the field.
Local writing on contemporary youth work themes, naming what's distinct about the practice, for a local audience.
First-hand reflections from people directly engaged in youth work — on what's affecting the sector, and their hopes for it.
We aim to bring local youth work voices together once a quarter to discuss current issues, engage in meaningful dialogue and inspire writing.
An archive of research, reports, and statistics useful for those engaged in youth work
Critical Voice began in early 2017, when Ulster University's Community Youth Work team and YouthAction NI ran a series of writing workshops — "Building a bank of writers" — open to anyone who wanted to write about youth work and young people.
What came out of those sessions was a simple gap: there was nowhere, in print or online, for that writing to live. Critical Voice was built to fill it — a space for local youth work thinking to be worked on, published, and argued over.
It's now managed by the Community Youth Work team alongside a practitioner advisory group.
A virtual space to explore local research, share good practice, and exchange programme ideas.
— the platform's founding brief
Got something to say about practice, research, or where the sector's heading?
Submissions are open year-round.
Find us on
