V team cohort 3 debut speech at the House of Lords

Rarely do I get a lump in my throat and a tear in my eye as quickly as I did last Thursday when cohort 3 of the young V team did their debut presentation on their work. Little more than two months into their 44 week placement, the team of nine volunteers made it very clear that society needs to change its attitude to young people and sex, that government has its part to play in improving education and services, and we all have a part in getting more sensible and most of all to trust young people.

They also made it clear that they don't want to put up with second best for themselves or future generations of young people, and that they are determined to make some loud noise about this over the coming months. They teased us with a glimpse of the determination and verve with which their sex positive campaign is being developed, without telling us what they were going to do and how. So watch this space, follow @brookcharity and @simonablake on twitter, visit our website www.brook.org.uk to find out more about their campaign and how you can get involved in making a noise when it launches.

The V team may have stolen the show, and I was enormously proud of them. And I was equally proud of the the rest of the Brook team from across the Network and the national office. Margaret Mead's quote 'don't ever think a group of committed citizens can't change the world, indeed it is the only thing that ever has' was certainly fitting for Brook's Parliamentary Reception. When I looked across the room at our partners, stakeholders, colleagues, friends, members and supporters we were there united in our commitment to enable young people to enjoy their sexuality without harm - a force to be reckoned with indeed.