It’s been a year since we formed - what have we learned?

Just Fair’s Lived Experience Advisory Group member Fatiha reflects on its first year.

In October 2023, the Lived Experience Advisory Group (LEAG) met for the first time. Since then, we have done so much together to help Just Fair integrate our voices – the voices of lived experience – with the work of the organisation.

In July this year, we finally had the opportunity to meet in-person, and we spent some time looking back on our first year together, as well as reflecting on how we can develop our work further.

Our first year

From first meeting in October 2023, to ending our first term in October 2024, we did so much, including:

- Completing a weekend of induction online

- Meeting monthly to help shape projects and strategy at Just Fair

- Presenting our proposal to the Board of Trustees for a pilot phase of the LEAG, and priorities moving forward

- Feeding into Just Fair’s ‘5 principles’ through a specific report

- Meeting in London for a team away day

- Feeding into the new Just Fair report on the Right to Health in the UK

The proposal we submitted to the Board of Trustees and the perspectives we fed into the ‘5 Principles’ report feel like really important ‘moments’ in our first year.

In shaping the 5 Principles’ report, we shared a lot of our experiences about what sort of rights-based issues are happening in our communities, as well as some of the solutions that we think could work. It felt like those reflections really helped the team to understand the issues and to shape that report.

Over this period, I have really enjoyed the process of working together as ‘experts by experience’ and with Just Fair staff. I felt empowered by having this opportunity to speak and make my voice heard. I feel genuinely valued – Just Fair really takes into consideration our voices and opinions – it feels like a genuinely collaborative process and one where I can make an impact. This has helped me to build confidence and feel valued in the process.

It feels like a great first step for Just Fair to set up this group. Now, it’ll be important to look at how we can have even more influence – how we might start campaigning and making sure our perspectives are heard by decision-makers. I am keen to look at how we can work towards our aim of having a ‘voice in parliament’ – if we can have a more powerful position then we can influence more positive change.

What I gained from the LEAG

Coming into the group, I wanted to focus on human rights so that I could campaign and make positive change in my community. I’m glad to have learned so much about human rights and how we can use a rights-based approach to tackle injustice. The more we know our rights, the more we are able to defend them, and build a better world for everybody!

I am proud of myself, because I know I have made a positive impact in the work that Just Fair is doing. I felt that my thoughts and experiences were important and could help shape new policies in future. It’s good to feel that my knowledge and my voice have power and are impacting the work of the organisation. I’m grateful for this opportunity.

What’s next?

After working with the Just Fair team for a year, I am encouraged by seeing how the staff team considers the LEAG in everything they do. They are currently developing a webpage to feature the group on the website, and they made sure we were involved in shaping the new campaign on the right to health.

I’m looking forward to seeing the launch of that new campaign, as well as looking at more ways we can share what we are doing to help other organisations.

We are on the right track and I’m so hopeful that we can do much more together. Our experiences and our voices are powerful, and we can do so much to achieve change in our communities.

As we move into our second year, and a new phase, I am excited to start a new chapter to see how we can make even more of a positive impact at a national level. I am committed to always sharing my voice, my knowledge and my solutions for change in our communities.