The National Youth Agency - e-youthaction no. 42, October 2008

e-youthaction no. 42, October 2008

5 Oct 2008
This issue of e-youthaction contains news of v’s new campaign to change the image of volunteering, and the next steps in implementing the recommendations fo the Commission on the Future of Volunteering.

VOLUNTEERING

Also of interest...

National youth volunteering organisation v has launched a new ‘Favours’ campaign, intended to transform the face of volunteering among young people aged 16 to 25, while making it accessible and a natural lifestyle choice. The campaign will take the form of a series of initiatives reflecting young people’s awareness of social and ethical issues. The first initiative is ‘Fashion Favours’, which offers young people a chance to work with top designers to create fashion collections from recycled and customised clothing.

Volunteering England has brought together a range of ‘influential figures spanning the private, public and voluntary sectors’ – including v chair Rod Aldridge - to lead on implementing the Manifesto for Change from the Commission on the Future of Volunteering. Six action groups will look at different aspects of volunteering: promotion of volunteering; modernising the infrastructure; public sector action; skills for volunteers; skills and empowerment for volunteer managers; and employer action.

VOLUNTEERING AND BENEFITS

The government has issued a revised guide to volunteering while receiving benefits, intended to give a clear message to potential volunteers and volunteer-involving organisations that volunteering should not affect an individual’s benefits.

VOLUNTEERING AND SKILLS

v has urged employers and educational institutions to promote volunteering as a way for young people to develop skills in a new report, ‘Discovering talent - Developing skills: the contribution of volunteering’. The report draws on evidence to show how volunteering in community projects can help young people develop self-confidence, communication and team work skills, which employers say they need. It refers to earlier research into volunteering and skills development carried out by The NYA.

RESOURCES

Resources on post-16 citizenship available on the Quality Improvement Agency’s website include a series of briefings highlighting 14-19 opportunities for citizenship, with specific topics including community cohesion, employability and learner voice.

The NYA has published an online toolkit aimed at young researchers and those working to support them. It is intended as a guide to each stage of the research process, from finding and defining a research interest to sharing findings and making change happen.

The NYA has produced a pack for Youth Work Week, 1-7 November 2008, which has the theme of ‘promoting young people’s voice and influence’. The pack includes ideas for activities, case studies and a summary of public policy initiatives promoting young people’s voice and influence.

CONSULTATIONS

The Department for Communities and Local Government has published a consultation document outlining plans to extend the current entitlements to paid time off from work for people serving as magistrates or school governors to a wider range of civic roles. It discusses how to involve more people – including young people – as trustees of voluntary sector organisations, but does not propose to extend statutory time off to these roles. The closing date for responses is 19 December 2008.

Young people and youth organisations are being asked for their views on the future development of youth policy in Europe through an running a short film competition on the topic of ‘exploring learner voice’. The competition invites young people involved in post-16 education in all settings to make a short film – individually or in groups – setting out how they think their voices can be heard most effectively and their ideas for making learner voice really work. The two winning entries will have the opportunity to take part in intensive film training, and will have their films screened at a high profile event next year. Expressions of interest must be submitted by 17 October 2008.

The British Youth Council is offering young people a chance to have a say through photography through its Snapshot60 competition, as part of its 60^th anniversary celebrations. Young people under 26 are invited to submit photos in one of three categories: inspiring; empowering; or campaigning. There is a range of prizes including work experience with a major style magazine. The competition runs throughout October.

EVENTS

A reminder that CSV Make a Difference Day takes place on Saturday 25 October. There is still time to register activities or to find out what is going on locally.

Rainer Crime Concern is running a conference on accessible volunteering in London on 11 November. Using a mixture of presentations and practical workshops, the conference aims to offer practitioners a chance to learn from each other, share skills, knowledge and good practice, and influence policy makers and those at the forefront of inclusive and accessible service delivery in volunteering.

The Community Transport Association and The NYA are running an event on young people and transport in Manchester on 29 October. The day will explore the key role of transport in delivering the Aiming High agenda, and will examine the issues faced by young people when using public transport, identify solutions that meet young people’s needs, and explore young people’s involvement in the planning and delivery of public transport.

Participation Works is hosting a national conference focusing on young people's empowerment and leadership, taking place in Birmingham on 13 November. Design, Develop, Deliver – Young Leaders in Practice will showcase different models of youth leadership and the pathways children and young people can follow to develop leadership skills, discuss the benefits of youth leadership, compare young and adult leaders and showcase top-down commitment to children and young people as leaders.

The Young Researcher Network (YRN) conference is to be held on 14-15 November at the University of Warwick. The second day (15 November) will be open to policy makers, practitioners and researchers and will provide opportunities to hear from the young researchers about their choice of topics, findings and next steps.