
This is your last chance to check out the March issue of UK Youth’s monthly online magazine, The Source, before the April edition gets posted. The March edition features Young Leaders.
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Young Leaders
Full Participation?
Perhaps the pinnacle of ‘youth involvement’ is reached when young people become ‘youth leaders’ themselves, argues Alan Rogers.
One of the most rewarding experiences for a youth worker must be seeing someone, who began as an ‘ordinary’ member, grow over time to take on responsibility as a full member of the staff team.
Promoting young people’s increasing involvement has always been part of the youth work approach. With the shadow of cuts hanging over most services for young people nowadays, the philosophy of ‘growing your own’ leaders may become a practical necessity, if youth groups are to survive.
Fortunately, as the following pages show, there are a number of structured programmes designed to help build leadership in young people. UK Youth’s own Youth Achievement Awards are explicitly structured to encourage young people to challenge themselves to take on more responsibility in their groups.
Programmes, such as the Sports Leaders Awards and the Arts Award are designed to encourage leadership in specific areas of activity. With the UnLtd Sport Relief Awards, described on these pages, as well as other funding streams, there are also opportunities to attract funding to foster those leadership qualities.
Whether to fulfil traditional youth work goals or simply for long-term survival, everyone working with young people needs to consider how they can build the youth leadership skills of the young people with whom they are working.
-Alan Rogers, Editor of The Source
excerpt from the March Edition
Read more about UK Youth’s Young Leaders.