Posts Tagged ‘youth volunteering’
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Infocow: a site for young people made by young people
This morning, I went along to the ICA for the launch of Infocow, a really social site connecting young people (aged 14-19) to useful and reliable information and services on line.
Infocow came out of a three-year Futurelabs project called Greater Expectations, which was funded by BECTA. The project aimed to use digital technology to equip young people with the information and contacts they need to take control of their lives.
I was really excited to see that it doesn’t shy away from integrating with social networks and encouraging young people to make informed decisions about their privacy - refreshing as so many opt for the “pretend the rest of the internet isn’t happening” approach when it comes to under 16s. We all know that young people’s engagement online is hugely influenced by recommendations and online sharing, so features like Facebook Connect make sense for this audience.
The other thing that really stood out was the involvement of young volunteers, as well as teachers and other stakeholders, throughout the development - a process which is outlined in the research report. The brand, the name (love the logic), the social features and the simple, easy sign-up all seem to have been built with the end user in mind, rather than predetermined objectives or monitoring requirements.
From what I’ve seen and heard today, it seems that this site is an example of how genuinely involving the target audience right the way through can deliver great results - not to mention offer the opportunity to film a Windows 7 spoof, which I’m hoping to see on YouTube soon…
Decide for yourself at www.infocow.org.uk.
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Failed by short-termist politics, 16-25 generation needs an injection of political capital
The upcoming election will bypass Britain’s 7.4 million 16-25 year olds because of a focus on short-term vote winning rather than the long term problems facing younger generations, according to a major report published by Demos.
An Anatomy of Youth, which was produced with v, The National Young Volunteers Service, says that the failure of the current political debate to adequately discuss problems like long term economic recovery, climate change, the care gap and communities under strain is turning youngsters away from politics altogether, despite evidence that many are passionate about politics and social issues.
Demos’ Celia Hannon, co-author of the report, said: “The idea that our young people don’t care about society or serious issues is wrong, but they don’t feel that politicians are speaking about the issues that will affect them in future. And they’re right about that. As we head into an election, the campaign won’t get near the debates young people need to have about our future. We’re going to see serious generational injustice on a number of issues unless we tip the scales towards young people.”
One interviewee Babatunde, the 21-year-old founder of think tank New Turn, said: “Politicians talk about ‘young people’s issues’ but they’re only trying to push young people on ‘young people’s issues’. By letting them do that we alienate ourselves and allow politicians to patronise us. If we fail to challenge thought on wider issues we will just be affected by those very same issues we choose to ignore now, tomorrow.”
Stereotyped by newspapers, sensationalised by marketeers and pigeon-holed by politicians, our cultural narratives about young people are not fit for purpose. The report looks at what young people have to say about world they find themselves in and how they are meeting the challenges they face.
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Young volunteers can create income for charity
Ethical fashion label 50FIFTY clothing, which is run by ex-teachers and youth workers, is pioneering an innovative way to combat the rising tide of gun and knife crime affecting young people in the UK.
They’ve combined their business knowledge and their previous lives in youth work to show young people (many of whom facing social exclusion) how to make money legally by designing, making and selling clothing and promotional goods. Through their Made by Young People project, the team says they’ve helped dozens of young people move from criminal activities into entrepreneurial ones.
With research warning that charities will lag behind the rest of the UK economy in recovering from the recession, it’s interesting to see Made by Young People offering to work with voluntary organisations to show them how to raise money through social enterprise. I’m really inspired by the thought of harnessing the talents and entrepreneurship of young volunteers and diversifying funding as a result.
Trekstock is a great example of this approach. It started as a simple idea from a young volunteer, Sophie Epstone, who wanted to put on a gig to raise money for a Teenage Cancer Trust trek. Since then, Trekstock has launched its own fashion line during London Fashion week, toured the UK festival circuit, gained charity status, attracted support from big name celebrities and raised thousands of pounds in the process.
Sophie says: “It may look big now but it all started with a small idea to hold a little fundraiser for a trek and over time the ideas and the drive grew along with the hope that it was going to make a difference to the charities that it supported. I think that you have a great idea, how ever big or small, you must believe that it’s always doable and there is always support out there to help you make it grow.”
I’m sure there must be countless young volunteers out there bringing innovation and money to charities, and I’d be really interested to hear more about them.
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Robot enters House of Commons to Show MPs what Young People Care About
As MPs go back to work at Parliament today, v’s new research has shown that just 10% of young people believe politicians are best able to change the country. The data collected through Voicebox shows that young people are caring, considerate, articulate and passionate. We hope our interactive robot in the Houses of Commons is an innovative way to make MPs sit up and take notice.
At a time when only 3% of young people have ever contacted their MP, the robot – nicknamed Voicebot - is a very modern twist on writing a letter to your MP. Until Thursday, young people can visit a website, put in what they care about and the robot will write it out, stroke by stroke, word by word, directly to the politicians.
Voicebot has been collecting comments from 1000s of young people.
The study and robot come at a time when respect among the public for the political classes is at an all time low. A study published earlier this year by Hansard Society indicates that currently only 24% of 18 to 24 year olds are certain to vote in the next general election - the lowest of all groups by a long way. And, contrary to some images, young people are the least likely of all age groups to be politically active - just 4%.
The full results of the Voicebox are also being fed into even more detailed work with the think tank Demos, looking at young people and their relationship with power and politics. This project, titled An Anatomy of Youth will review: young people’s portrayal in media, their presence in recent policy debates and existing information on young people’s behaviours and their attitudes.
Voicebot is part of v’s proactive research campaign called Voicebox, with over 5,000 people having taken part so far. The project is live and constantly evolving. The more young people that participate the more accurate picture we’ll create of young Britons today. Over the coming months, Voicebox will continue to collect and share data about lifestyles, attitudes and behaviours of young Britons. In an age when young people are using social media more and more, Voicebox uses new and interactive social media to engage young people.
Want to find out more about the data we’re collecting? Have a look at the results here.
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Time to unite against climate change
With the United Nations Climate Change Conference looming in December, the pressure is on to get the world working together to cut carbon emissions. Today sees the launch of the 10:10 campaign to cut persuade the UK’s individuals, schools, hospitals, businesses and organisations to pledge to cut their carbon emissions by 10% in 2010. Created by the Age of Stupid team, the campaign has already drawn support from celebrities and environmental campaigners, but also from the likes of British Gas, Tottenham Hotspur FC, and the NHS.
747 to 1010 in 34 seconds from Age of Stupid on Vimeo.
It would be easy to dismiss the role of 16-25 year olds in taking practical action to cut emissions - after all, they’re less likely to hold the power in businesses, schools and even in households. Yet many charities are harnessing the enthusiasm and dedication of young volunteers for climate change projects, and what’s inspiring is the way that diverse organisations are working together.
The UK Youth Climate Change Coalition isn’t just another brand-new organisation, it’s a youth-led coalition of youth organisations, large and small which have joined forces to reach out to millions of young people up and down the country. Their vimeo site creates a platform for the voices of climate change activists from all over the world.
Climate change and Nepalese Youth from Avishek Shrestha on Vimeo.
Also in the UK, the digital team at vinspired and the team at Made by Many have just launched a new website for Climate Squad, a network of young volunteers taking practical action against climate change. Supported by v and Bank of America, and delivered by Global Action Plan, Climate Squad will train 300 young people to lead their own carbon-cutting projects in their own communities. These young leaders will work with businesses, schools, colleges and householders to show them how to measure their carbon footprints and make small changes in their behaviour to produce measurable reductions.
Recently published research, Climate Squad: young people’s views on climate change, shows that three quarters of young people in England would like to volunteer on a climate change project. So we’ll be down at the Tate Modern this evening to find out more about what 10:10 have planned, and will be keeping an eye on The Guardian’s new 10:10 portal.
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Calling all employers!
The great and the good of business and charities are all ‘Backing Young Britain’. Business in the Community, the Institute of Directors and the Confederation of British Industry, the Federation of Small Businesses and the Princes Trust are all backing the government’s campaign to get businesses to support young people through the recession. Employers across all sectors are being asked to offer work placements internships, apprenticeships and jobs as well as allowing staff to volunteer.
It is great that employers play their part in making sure young people are not left floundering during the recession. But are we missing a trick here? If reports from volunteering organisations are anything to go by (contrasting with recent Citizenship Survey findings), young people are turning to volunteering in increasing volumes. As well as helping communities, they are gaining an incredible amount of skills and experience while doing so. Employers can do more to make sure that experience is valued as much as work experience and internships.
When the recovery eventually starts and new jobs emerge young people need to be given the support and incentives to make the most of all that they give and gain through volunteering when they move into employment. Employers need to be more vocal about valuing volunteering experience so that young people make the link between volunteering and employability.
A survey commissioned by v earlier this year showed that almost half (49%) of employers felt that volunteering experience is relevant when considering a job application. But what about the other half? And does this translate into their recruitment practices? Employer recognition for volunteering will help young people to see even more of the knock-on benefits of spending time helping others while the economy has gone to pot.
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Strong foundations for homeless young volunteers
This week Crisis released a report on engaging young homeless people in volunteering. The report captures good practice from Crisis experience of running a one year v funded programme providing volunteering opportunities for homeless young people. The report is an excellent example of the type of information we need to be widely available to enable us to get better at involving disadvantaged young people in volunteering.
As Angela Ellis Paine, Director for the Institute of Volunteering Research, spells out in her introduction to the report ‘rather than providing (more) ‘good’ practice advice and guidance in the traditional sense … the report tells it as it was or at least how it was for one organisation … in an honest and engaging way’.
As part of v’s 2009/10 research programme we will be looking at engaging disadvantage young people in volunteering with the aim of providing practical information to support organisations. A literature review will be a key part of this work, if you have relevant reports or documents please get in touch.
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Youth volunteering drops in the US: What should we learn?
For the first time since 2001, volunteering amongst youth in the US is seeing a downward trend. The Washington Post speaks to Peter Levine, director of Tufts University’s Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning & Engagement or CIRCLE, who acknowledges a ‘loss in momentum’ in youth volunteering based on research by the institute, though young people below the age of 25 are still ‘volunteering in higher numbers than their parents did’. (That shouldn’t be cause for comfort per se because the population of the country has grown significantly as well). Levine is hopeful that the Serve America Act which will inject funds into AmeriCorps will be instrumental in changing this situation. Well-known US site Volunteer Match, that lists opportunities for volunteers, also had similar findings from a separate research study though they believe that the situation isn’t as bad as it sounds with thousands of young people having volunteered recently for the Obama campaign, for example.
Another potential reason for this drop is the bad economy, with young people preferring to work at McDonald’s for money rather than to volunteer their time for charity. Surprisingly, however, a lot of young people are applying to programmes like AmeriCorps and Teach for America, but are often failing to gain admission because they are so over-subscribed. So there are two clearly demarcated kinds of groups applying to volunteer - one, those that would volunteer locally but can’t afford to anymore, and the other, those that are willing and qualified to work in specific well-known, community service-focussed government paid schemes but don’t get admitted. What is important then is to create opportunities that make volunteering attractive enough for those who are unsuccessful in getting admission into these schemes not to give up community service altogether.
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Peter Bull on vInspired and youth volunteering
Peter Bull, HSBC’s Head of HSBC in the Community, speaks about corporate social responsibility and the impact that corporate initiatives can have not only externally but internally as well, and why encouraging youth to be active in their community is important. HSBC is part of the vCashpoint programme, which along with v, provides grants for young people to realise projects of their own that benefit the community. Mr. Bull says that not only does volunteering help a young person’s self-esteem and encourage her to participate in local initiatives, it also makes her much more employable and from that point of view helps secure her future. Words that have particular significance in the current economy, when graduate jobs are few and far between.
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Spotlight: Young People We Care
We’ve all heard of charities or voluntary organisations run by adults, but this is the first time I’ve heard of a non-profit that is run entirely by young people aged 15-30, with older adults providing guidance from the outside. I think Michael Boampong, the founder and Executive Director of Ghana-based Young People We Care, explains what the organisation is about best:
“At the age of twenty, I took a gap-year before attending university to pursue my dream of creating a non-profit organization to inform, educate and empower young people to change the world. With little or no funding, many said it would be impossible, but the achievements of YPWC, through the efforts of the volunteer staff of YPWC and the team of online volunteers, prove otherwise. Today, we even have offices in the UK, Canada and the USA”, says Michael Boampong, YPWC founder and executive director.
The focus of Young People We Care is to work on ensuring that the Millennium Development Goals are achieved satisfactorily. Michael hopes that everyone will ‘be the change they want to see’, as Mahatma Gandhi once said. A noble ambition, which every single organisation that works in youth volunteering is no doubt helping achieve, little by little.
Young People We Care-Promotional Video from Michael Boampong on Vimeo.
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Nice piece, yourself.
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