Embracing the future, shaping it together
...Youth Involvement in a nutshell Young people having influence over decisions and action taken A wide range of opportunities for young people to get involved with A chance for young people to improve the future of Scouting in Cambridgeshire As part of The Scout Association's vision towards 2018, Cambridgeshire Scouts aspire to be a movement shaped by young people in partnership with adults. Young people are already taking a greater role in decision-making locally and nationally, and have become the face and voice of Scouting. Our Young Leaders help to deliver great programmes across the County and our Young Spokespeople are working towards spreading the word about how great scouting is. We want young people to be involved in every aspect of Scouting and that is why the Youth Involvement Project (YIPEE!) has been established. We feel that there is a need to work closely with young people to gain their ideas and feedback, include them in decision making and ensure that their voice is not just heard but also acted upon.
Honest feedback and information from young people New ideas and suggestions Increased understanding of our members Successful events Increased skills & development opportunities Interaction with young people (if not in direct delivery role) FUN!
Responsibility Increased confidence Practical skills Communication skills New friends FUN!
Become a YIPEE! team member: Youth Captain or Youth Agent Take part in District Forums Take part in County Forums Be a Young Reporter Be a Young Photographer Join the Young Leaders scheme Be a Youth Representative on County event teams Assist with Social Media Assist with web page production for the YIPEE! area of the Website Be a Young Spokesperson Be a District Youth Representative Assist on events Promote Scouting to young people Assist with volunteer recruitment
There are lots of opportunities for young people to get involved. We appreciate that we are all very busy people but any time that can be given alongside other commitments will provide fantastic opportunities to have fun, get involved and learn transferable skills that will enhance young people’s education and even future careers.
Youth Involvement Project - Empowered & Engaged!
Scouting has changed over the last decade. We've changed the way that we look and do things. We've introduced a new uniform, programme and training scheme. We have become smarter at how we deliver Scouting through better support for volunteers, and enabling people to volunteer flexibly. As a result, Scouting today is growing. We are more diverse with more communities turning to scouting for opportunities, activities and expertise. Young people are now taking a greater role in decision -making locally and nationally. They have become the face and voice of Scouting, and our Young Leaders are helping to deliver great programmes. Our campaigning work has shown that we are relevant and engaged in issues affecting today's society. We're more sound and focused as an organisation, with a clearer idea of who we are delivering everyday adventure. We've improved the way we take decisions as well as our centres and facilities. But all of these achievements did not happen by chance. Our Members took responsibility for bringing about the changes we all knew were necessary. Over the past two years, we have been thinking about what the next decade of Scouting might look like. What the new challenges will be and how we can work together as a Movement to meet them. As a result of this work, we have developed the new vision for the future, taking us to 2018.
make a positive impact in our communities prepare young people to be active citizens embrace and contribute to social change
shaped by young people in partnership with adults enjoyed by more young people and more adult volunteers as diverse as the communities in which we live
empowered valued proud
Youth Involvement Project - Empowered & Engaged!
Following the Vision 2018 national launch, members of Cambridgeshire County Team, District Commissioners, Group Scout Leaders and Leaders took part in a series of exercises that identified a number of changes, improvements and developments that will help Cambridgeshire achieve Scouting's vision for 2018. One of the outcomes of this exercise was that we need to work closer with our young people to gather their ideas and feedback, to include young people in decision making, and to ensure their voice is not only heard but acted upon. In a nutshell, those consulted identified a need to involve young people in every aspect of Scouting, which is what we as leaders are volunteering for.
The Scout Association's vision for Youth Involvement: "Scouting will be a movement that is truly youth focused, shaped by young people in partnership with adults. It will be a Movement where all young people are able to contribute to the running and shaping of all aspects of their Scouting journey and experiences." The method of achieving this vision will reflect the age, maturity and ability of the young people concerned particularly those in the Beaver Scout, Cub Scout and the early part of the Scout Section. Youth Involvement in Scouting is enabling young people to play an active part on the life of their section, their Movement and their community in the following ways: Sharing their ideas Learning from and teaching each other and adults Taking part in decision-making Assisting with planning Becoming more involved As you can see, this definition means that Youth Involvement touches on nearly every aspect of Scouting and if we truly expect Scouting to be shaped by young people it is likely that we shall have to work differently in the future both to obtain the ideas and more importantly to implement them with as much involvement by young people as possible. For the purpose of this project "Youth" is defined as young people from the age of 6 and up to the age of 25.
Youth Involvement Project - Empowered & Engaged!
Youth Involvement Project - Empowered and Engaged! (County Advisor - Youth Involvement) Heading up the team are our Youth Captains; appointed roles for young adults, aged 18-25 that are either members of Network or hold an active adult leadership role. They have responsibility for ensuring the youth voice is listened to and acted upon, helping all sections/events/teams within the District and County embrace and encourage youth involvement at all levels. With responsibility for recruiting and supporting Youth Agents, the team of Youth Captains will also ensure ‘Forums’ to review, discuss and shape future Scouting from a youth perspective, are a part of our everyday scouting.
As part of the team are our Youth Agents are the youth voice of the County. Made up from young people, aged 13-19, from every District, there role is to speak up on behalf of all youth members in Cambridgeshire. They are the link from County to District youth forums and will help to ensure a true partnership with adults in Scouting is embraced. Youth Agents have to apply for a position and, if selected, can join the team for a maximum of 3 years.
The Youth Captains, along with the ACC Youth Involvement will work with District Commissioners and District Explorer Scout Commissioners to help implement the creation of Youth Forums across the County. Each District will be urged to establish a forum which will bring together young people (13-19 years of age) to help shape Scouting across their District as well as expressing the views of Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorers they will be responsible for communicating the recommendations of the Youth Forum back to Groups and the District. One of our biggest concerns is the way we select young people to be a member of the forum. We don't simply want the most eloquent or intelligent, or the most capable or highest achieving Scout. We would like a diverse mix of young people from differing backgrounds and geographical locations, of varying ages, and a representation of both male and female members. We are searching for young people that can represent all corners of our communities and provide a varied view of Scouting. To assist with this process, the Youth Captains are available to offer support and have also produced a questionnaire to be used for Youth Agents that draws out each young person's individual characteristics. We would recommend that each District Youth Forum is made up of 8-12 youth members and meets 3-4 times per year. Two (or three) members from each District will be asked to join the County team, these young people will be selected by the County Youth Captains, and will spend a maximum of 3 years on the County team as ‘Youth Agents’.
Youth Involvement Project - Empowered & Engaged!
The full County team will be made up of 18-27 young people (13-19 years of age) representing their District and holding the role of Youth Agent, and a further 6-8 young people (18-25 years of age) as County Youth Captains, there to lead the team of young people, represent the views of the County Scout Network and young adult leaders. It is envisaged that the team will meet 3 times a year and use variety of communication methods to continue the work outside of these meetings. In addition to this, the aim is to hold an annual event, which additional members from each District (13-19 years of age) will be invited to attend.
Hold forums at a varied accessible locations Involve interactive activities (not just sitting around tables) Be on-going through social media Have a presence at events to gather feedback Identify young people's specific needs Meet three times a year Host an annual event, open all to County and District youth forum members.
Publicity and promotion of Scouting Youth programme Activities and events Volunteer recruitment Selection of volunteers County strategies and aims
Although the majority of the representation will be delivered by Explorer Scouts, plans will be unveiled as we move closer to 2018 to ensure we are involving our younger members and how best capture their thoughts and ideas. In tandem with the team we will have a team of trained Young Spokespeople who will help raise awareness of the needs of young people, campaign on behalf of Scouting and help promote the FUN, CHALENGE and ADVENTURE that Scouting offers. 2012/13 is very much the starting point, as there will be many developments to come and you will see a lot more of the County Youth Captains as they get out and about across the County. The plan is, by the end of 2014, to have established district youth forums across all Districts in Cambridgeshire so that young people can help shape the future of Scouting and so that we can seek the views of the young people from across Cambridgeshire.
Youth Involvement Project - Empowered & Engaged!
A bold statement, but one we all know is achievable if we all work together. By working in partnership with young people we will gain a better understanding of young people’s needs, improve the programme we deliver, organise more successful events, further enhance the development of young people and provide a more enjoyable experience for all members. If you wish to receive further information about the Youth Involvement Project or have any questions, please contact Marcus or the County Youth Captains by email: yipee@cambridgeshirescouts.org.uk We look forward to working with you to continue to shape Scouting in Cambridgeshire. Kind regards
Alex, Chris, Duncan, Jake, Lucy, Nessa, Marcus & Marc Alex Fogg - County Youth Captain Chris Paines - County Youth Captain Duncan Anderson - County Youth Captain Jake Stephens - County Youth Captain Lucy Slatter - County Youth Captain Vanessa Cann – County Youth Captain Marcus Coulson - Assistant County Commissioner - Youth Involvement Marc Wiseman - Director of Youth Programme
Youth Involvement Project - Empowered & Engaged!
Cambridgeshire Scouts overarching project to engage young people in all aspects of Scouting; to enable a more balanced view of the programme and services that are delivered across the County.
The assistant county commissioner responsible for promoting, managing and coordinating youth involvement, chairing the YIPEE! team and providing adult support for youth involvement to groups, sections and districts on behalf of the County.
A member of the association aged between 6 and 25 years old.
A young person asked to represent a group, section or district to give a youth perspective/view. This young person may be nominated to the relevant executive committee.
An appointed role, open to 18 to 25 year old youth representatives, with specific responsibilities on the YIPEE! team, assisting youth members in groups, sections and districts.
A young person aged between 13 and 19 years old, appointed to represent their district on the County youth team. They are the key contact for representing the views of youth members in their districts and a link back to the District Youth forums.
Youth member specifically trained to speak positively to the media, local decision makers and the public to advocate Scouting in order to encourage young people to join, adults to volunteer, or raise the profile of Scouting within communities.
An opportunity for young people to represent the views of all youth members across the Scout County and help influence decision making at County level.
An opportunity for young people to represent the views of all youth members across their Scout District and help influence decision making at District level.
Adult support to facilitate the District Youth Forum and promote the Youth Involvement Project ( ) and youth opportunities.
Discussion groups for young people to influence the delivery of the Explorer Scout, Scout or Cub Scout programme.
A young person aged between 14 to 18 who is participating in the Young Leader scheme by assisting the delivery of the balanced programme at a Beaver Scout Colony, Cub Scout pack or Scout Troop.
Youth Involvement Project - Empowered & Engaged!