The National Youth Agency - e-youthaction

e-youthaction - No.34 February 2008

6 May 2008

VOLUNTEERING

Also of interest...

The Commission on the Future of Volunteering has called for a culture of youth action to be embedded throughout the education system, and for young people to have real choice about their volunteering, to be rewarded meaningfully for their involvement, and for control and leadership to be handed over to young volunteers. Its recommendations include a greater focus on training for volunteers and those who manage them, and developing a recognised accreditation scheme.

Headline findings from the first two quarters of the 2007-08 Citizenship Survey show that levels of formal volunteering have risen since 2001 (from 39% to 44%), while informal volunteering has fallen (from 67% to 64%). When asked about regular volunteering, (at least once a month), young people aged 16 to 24 reported higher than average involvement in informal volunteering (39% compared to 35% for all age groups) but lower than average involvement in formal volunteering (23% to 27%).

Volunteering England is looking for young people aged 16 to 25 to take part in a virtual volunteering project that will help over 20 national and international charities ‘youth proof’ their websites. Volunteers will be asked to log on to these charities’ websites on 26 February (during Student Volunteering Week) to provide constructive feedback on the ease of use, accessibility and image of sites. Young people interested in this project should e-mail Clare Davies. More information about Student Volunteering Week is available on the VE website.

A reminder that evidence to the Morgan Inquiry into volunteering by young adults (18-24) should be submitted by 8 February. There will be additional opportunities to give views through events being organised by the three MPs on the Inquiry panel.

Charges for Criminal Records Bureau checks will remain unchanged during 2008-09, while checks on volunteers will remain free.

Third Sector article discusses recent conflicting statistics on levels of involvement in volunteering, and looks at the factors, including different definitions, which cause these differences.

v20 BOARD

v is recruiting 20 young people aged 16 to 24 living in England to form its next youth advisory board, v20. v20 members help shape the development and implementation of v’s goals, with the board meeting eight times a year. Four members of v20 also join the board of trustees. The closing date for applications is 13 February.

FUNDING

02’s ‘It’s your community’ programme offers grants of up to £1,000 to help people make real differences to their communities. It funds a range of projects bringing people together to benefit their communities, including improving local facilities, practical conservation activities, and litter or graffiti removal.

LIBRARIES

Public libraries should offer young people opportunities to volunteer with younger or older library users, as well as a chance to shape library services and develop their citizenship skills, as part of a library ‘offer’ launched on 29 January. The offer has been developed in consultation with young people by the National Youth Libraries Board, a partnership chaired by the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council and managed by The Reading Agency, with members including The National Youth Agency and government departments.

ARTS

The Department for Culture, Media and Sport has launched the first ever national survey of amateur arts groups in England. Groups of voluntary and amateur participants in all kinds of arts - from music, dance and crafts, to theatre, visual arts and literature - are being encouraged to complete the online survey by 29 February. The survey aims to map voluntary and amateur arts groups and look at how they are supported and how more people could be encouraged to get involved.

EUROPE

Nominations are invited for the new Charlemagne Youth Prize, which will recognise projects which involve young people aged 16 to 30 and promote understanding between people in different European countries. Winning projects will receive prizes of €2,000 to €5,000, and the best projects from each of the 27 EU Member States will be invited to Aachen (Germany) on 29 April 2008. The deadline for applications is 8 February. Applications are available on the European’s Parliament website (click on icon on bottom left of page).

CAMPAIGNING

Nominations are now invited for the 2008 Sheila McKechnie Awards, which provide bursaries for emerging and grassroots campaigners to improve their skills. There are 12 awards for different categories of social action, including two targeting young people. Young Activists awards are for young campaigners supported by Foyers, YMCAs and similar organisation, while the Shout Out Award targets 15-18 year olds living in London. The closing date is 14 March.

MEDIA AND MARKETING

Two new publications from Volunteering England, based on research undertaken by the Institute of Volunteering Research with the Voluntary Action Media Unit and the Media Trust, offer volunteer-involving organisations an introduction to working with the media and developing their marketing skills.

TRAINING AND EVENTS

The Youth Action Network is running a series of nine free events across the country during February and March to help projects improve their youth led work and measure the impact of their work. The events will focus on applying for funding; running the project; and evaluation. The events are intended for any organisation working with, or seeking to work with, young volunteers.

Bookings are now open for Volunteering England’s National Convention 2008, taking place in Newcastle between 23-25 April. The theme of the event is ‘Transforming Passion into Power: Volunteering at the heart of social change’, and the programme will include a ‘question time’ panel including minister for the third sector Phil Hope, keynote speeches and over 70 workshops.

YOUTH WORK

The NYA has revised its Guide to Youth Work. The guide looks at what youth work is, the policy context, how it’s carried out, what it offers young people, what skills youth workers need, and becoming qualified, alongside case studies and further information.