Youth social action is practical action in the service of others to create positive change. It provides an important mechanism for young people to develop and express their character while bene ting others. It incorporates a range
of activities – including volunteering for a charity, caring for someone in their community, providing peer support online, campaigning or fundraising for a speci c cause – and can take place in both formal and informal settings. Social action should be challenging, youth-led (although often adult facilitated), socially impactful, progressive, embedded, and re ective.Young people’s social action should not start from a de cit model: many young people are already active and engaged, and many more would be engaged
if appropriate support and guidance were in place. Social action, therefore, should be celebrated for its transformational possibilities – both for young people and their communities – and should be acknowledged
as a right of every young person.