My son lost his life doing the right thing. Now I’m fighting for a better future for young people

Twenty years ago, on 18 May 2006, my son Kiyan lost his life doing the right thing. He stepped in to protect someone. That’s who he was – courageous, selfless, and strong enough to stand up for others, even at 15. Too often, people focus on how Kiyan died. I want people to celebrate how he lived. 

He believed in being himself. He believed in looking out for others. He believed you didn’t need to follow the crowd to earn respect or to fit in to be accepted. That belief – that young people have the power of choice – is what has driven everything I’ve done since Kiyan died. 

But if I’m honest, 20 years on, we haven’t built a country that makes that choice easy. We’re still responding to youth violence after it happens, instead of preventing it before it starts. I’ve spent the last two decades working with young people, and what I see from people in power doesn’t match how we talk about this issue.

Read more:

• Two-thirds of adults predict kids today will be worse off than their parents
• Tackling violence against women and girls means dismantling the systems that enable it
• Andy Burnham: ‘Making space for people to create is how we build a healthier, more hopeful society’

Young people are not waking up wanting to hurt each other. They’re looking for belonging. They’re looking for purpose. They’re looking for success and respect. They are looking for role models and, if those things are not available in dedicated places and spaces just for them, they will find them somewhere else.

That is the reality – and it’s why, 20 years after Kiyan’s death, I’ve created a blueprint with 20 ways that young people in Britain can move from a mindset of surviving to one of thriving and becoming future champions. If we want to change outcomes, we need to be clear about what needs to change – not just in the system, but in ourselves as well.

Part of that blueprint is aimed directly at young people. It starts with understanding that the choice is yours. Your environment might not be perfect, but how you respond to it is what defines your future. That means building confidence from within, not chasing validation from people who don’t value you. Or seeking likes on social media to feel worthy or valued. It means choosing your circle carefully, because the people around you will either lift you up or pull you down.

It’s also about discipline. Small things matter. How you start your day. How you treat your body. Whether you show respect at home. Whether you stay consistent and stick to the actions that lead to achieving your goals even when things get tough. These are not soft ideas – they are the foundation of success. 

But here’s the truth: it’s much easier to make those choices when you have the right support around you. That’s where we, as a country, are falling short.

The second half of my blueprint is aimed at policymakers, because we cannot talk about personal responsibility and accountability without also talking about responsibility and accountability at the top. If we are serious about reducing youth violence, we have to stop treating youth services as a “nice to have” and start treating them as essential infrastructure.

That means properly funding youth clubs – not as short-term projects, but as long-term investments. It means recognising youth workers as professionals who can change lives. It means creating safe spaces before problems start, not just responding once they’ve already happened. And it means backing the organisations that already understand what young people need.

At the moment, we are too focused on enforcement. Tougher sentences. More policing. Those things have a role, but they cannot fix a problem that begins before a crime is committed. You cannot police your way out of a lack of purpose, lack of self-belief, lack of hope, or a lack of emotional and mental support.

When they don’t feel they belong, young people will find something – anything – to give them identity. If we don’t provide positive pathways, we shouldn’t be surprised when they take negative ones.

That’s why, alongside launching this blueprint, we’re working to open a new youth space in Kiyan’s name. Not just as a tribute, but as a living example of what needs to exist across this country. A place where young people can feel safe, feel supported, and start to believe in themselves again. 

Twenty years on from losing Kiyan, I’m still fighting – not with anger, but with a system that has a top-down approach which has proven to be a deficit model. But I know that change is possible.

Kiyan believed everyone has the potential to be a future champion.

Now it’s time we build a country that makes that possible.

To find out more about the Kiyan Prince Foundation, visit ww.thekpf.com. To donate £20 to the charity, text CHAMPIONSCLUB to 70490. Texts will cost standard network rate plus the donation amount.

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