For professionals involved in youth justice – whether they work on the front-line directly engaging with young people, or work behind the scenes helping draft new policy and practice - their ultimate aim is to help turn lives around.

This key maxim was central to the scores of conversations I had with delegates, at this year's Annual Youth Justice Convention, which was held in Birmingham last month.

And what made these chats much more pertinent this year, was that more young people, whose lives had been successfully turned around, played a far more active role than ever before. 

In total more than 30 young people, who had either completed or are still serving a community sentence, carried out a variety of roles – ensuring the two-day event was challenging, stimulating and ran smoothly.     

Ten young people, managed by the Birmingham Youth Offending Team (YOT), took on front-of-house roles, ensuring delegates found their way around the convention.  These same young people worked with Switch New Media, who were live streaming the convention, and were given the chance to operate cameras, film speeches, as well carry out interviews with delegates.
 
A group of eight young people, managed by Sheffield YOT, performed a thought-provoking play, which is focused around the affects of crime and the process of restorative justice. Some of the acting was genuinely outstanding and there could be one or two film stars to come from that group!

In addition a young woman, who has turned her life around since completing a referral order with Birmingham YOT co-chaired the convention.