Why Rural Youth Work Matters: A Decade of TRAYE

Join Totnes Rural Area Youth Engagement (TRAYE) Project for a dynamic, inspiring, and practice focused Youth Work Conference bringing together youth workers, academics, community leaders, funders, young people, and policy thinkers from across Devon.

This one day conference will shine a light on the power and purpose of youth work in rural communities and mark TRAYE’s 10 year anniversary. Together, we will reflect on a decade of relationship led practice, community action, and the journeys of the young people who have shaped our work, while looking ahead to the future of rural youth work. In places where strong relationships, innovation, and community spirit thrive, meaningful opportunities for young people can truly flourish.

Across the day, we will:

• Explore the realities of rural youth work and the often hidden challenges facing young people
• Share innovative, relationship based, and trauma informed practice
• Discuss youth voice, participation, and community activism
• Examine wellbeing, belonging, and identity in a changing world
• Connect practice to policy, asking how youth work can shape the future, not simply respond to crisis

We are proud that young people will be sharing their journeys with TRAYE, offering powerful, first hand insight into what relational youth work truly means in practice.

Expect keynote speakers, practitioner panels, and space for genuine conversation, not just presentations. The day will also include an outdoor learning activity, grounding our discussions in the natural environment that so often supports young people’s growth.

Event Details

Monday 13 April 2026
Held at the beautiful Stover Country Park, Newton Abbot, TQ12 6QG
9.30am arrival for tea and coffee
10.00am conference begins
1.00pm lunch
2.00pm outdoor learning activity
3.00pm close

Free refreshments will be provided throughout the day, including homemade soup, quiche, and cake.

Whether you work in a statutory service, voluntary organisation, school, or community project, this conference is about strengthening our collective voice and renewing our shared commitment to young people.

Because youth work is not a luxury. It is infrastructure.
And rural young people matter.

Come ready to think, to challenge, to connect, and to leave energised.

Know what’s Happening Next — before everyone else does.

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Host or Publisher TRAYE Project