Top Takeaways from Young LIFI

Our first-ever Young LIFI brought sound levels to the Playhouse not heard since watching a Sabrina Carpenter concert! Vibrant, inspirational and refreshing.

With a packed audience of 600 young people, the energy was electric as our incredible panel, Shanequa Paris, Matthew Akpan, Ami Charlize, Jamie Jones-Buchanan MBE, and Dr Radha Modgil—shared powerful stories and personal experiences. From overcoming early career struggles to learning how budgeting, resilience, and work ethic shape our futures, the panel delivered real talk that resonated deeply with the next generation.

In a world full of noise, online, in the media, and even in school—how can young people face challenges and bounce back stronger? In partnership with The Ruth Gorse Academy, Young LIFI is a brand-new strand of the 2025 festival, designed to empower and inspire schools across the region.

Festival Director Martin Dickson said:

“This year, we’re opening up the conversation to younger audiences with the launch of Young LIFI. Leeds is a city of voices and it’s vital that our younger voices are part of that.”

Further Reading 

• The Resilience Factor: 7 Keys to Finding Your Inner Strength and Overcoming Life’s Hurdles by Karen Reivich & Andrew Shatté A practical guide to building resilience skills (optimism, emotional regulation, realistic thinking, impulse control).
  

• Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance by Angela Duckworth. Explores how perseverance and sustained effort across challenges contributes to success — closely aligned with bouncebackability.
  

• Lost at School: Why Our Kids with Behavioral Challenges Are Falling Through the Cracks and How We Can Help Them by Ross W. Greene. Useful for educators: looks at how to support children when they struggle, providing insight into relational and structural resilience tools.

Related Podcasts / Episodes 

• “Hidden Brain” – The Upside of Stress A podcast episode exploring how stress, when reframed, can build resilience rather than just being harmful.
  

• “The Happiness Lab” – Why We Can’t Stop Checking Our Phones Investigates how digital habits affect mental health and resilience.
  

• “Ten Percent Happier with Dan Harris” – Teen Resilience and Mental Health Conversations around equipping young people with tools to navigate mental health challenges.
  

Documentaries / Films / Media 

• Resilience: The Biology of Stress & The Science of Hope
  A documentary exploring how adversity affects young brains, and how supportive environments and interventions can facilitate healing.
  

• The Social Dilemma (Netflix)
  While focused on social media and algorithms, it underscores the mental pressures on young people — and the need for boundaries as part of bouncebackability.
  

• Inside Out (Pixar, 2015)
  An imaginative look at emotional complexity in a young person’s mind — useful for sparking conversation about feelings and internal resilience.

Action & Support Resources (for Young People & Educators)

Because resilience is nurtured in relationships and systems, here are resources and actions you can signpost:

• YoungMinds — UK charity for children’s mental health; resources, crisis support for young people.
  
• Mind — Provides guides for mental health, resilience, and coping strategies.
  
• Place2Be — Works in schools to support emotional wellbeing; helpful for educators or school programmes.
• Kooth — An online mental health and wellbeing platform for young people offering counselling and peer support.
• Local school counselling & youth services — connect students to trusted school counsellors, youth clubs, or mental health partners in Leeds.