The Council for British Archaeology (CBA) is an educational charity working throughout the UK to champion archaeology and to help people experience and participate in archaeology. As the voice of archaeology in the UK, we bring together community groups, commercial units, academics and heritage organisations to create and share opportunities to discover, take part in and be inspired by archaeology.

The CBA is a membership organisation, bringing together institutions and individuals to create a unique forum for the British archaeological community. The organisation works across the UK, alongside twelve CBA Groups in Wales and England and through our sister organisation Archaeology Scotland, along with branches of the Young Archaeologists’ Club. The CBA publishes British Archaeology magazine, an award-winning bi-monthly publication focusing on archaeological endeavours around the UK.

CBA Youth Engagement

The CBA’s Young Archaeologists’ Clubs (YAC) make up the CBA’s flagship youth engagement project working with children and young people aged 8-16. The clubs, of which there are over 75, lie at the heart of our work to support youth engagement and early career archaeology. Led by over 500 volunteers and attended by more than 2,000 young people, our YAC groups engage young people with the heritage of their local area through hands-on activities.

Wider youth engagement is, however, central to CBA’s future strategy. Our aspirations are to support young people of all backgrounds and abilities to engage in archaeology to better understand the places where they live in an ambitious programme of youth engagement, collaboration, volunteering, and partnership.

Survey Results

We had 86 responses to our survey. Who responded?

 

 

 

 

 

 

There was an enthusiastic response to the suggestion of a youth advisory group, with 73% of respondents eager to take part!

As part of the youth advisory group, respondents also had some brilliant ideas for what they’d like to do:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   

They also shared useful feedback on when they’d prefer to meet:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Focus Groups

Young people really valued having their voices heard – and we learned valuable insights through them too. These were the key things we learned:

 

 

 

 

What did we do next?

You spoke, we heard! From these findings, we have and will be:

1. Thinking about language and avoiding jargon – rather than referring to a ‘steering group’, we’ll consider terms like an ‘advisory group’ and make it clear what we expect from participants.
2. Reaching out to young people both within the CBA and to those not currently involved when advertising the advisory group.
3. Having a simple, accessible and supportive application process when recruiting for the advisory group, giving candidates interview questions in advance and providing constructive feedback for unsuccessful applicants.
4. Organising regular short meetings – both in-person and online – making sure we rotate the time and day to fit in around people’s commitments and keeping records for anyone unable to attend.
5. Reimbursing people for their time by seeking additional funding and making sessions accessible to everyone regardless of socio-economic status and ability, providing any required support.
6. Continuing to make archaeology more diverse and accessible by providing opportunities for skills training and career development, focusing on local history and community, and working towards decolonialisation.  
7. Seeking funding to provide a budget for the youth advisory group to explore and develop their ideas.

Stay tuned so see how the project develops as we strive to integrate young people’s voices into the CBA and bring about further inclusion, diversity and equity.