Making leaders

Wednesday saw the official announcement of the new National Body of Youth Leadership. And I’m really rather excited about it.

For more years than I care to remember (from 1995), I’ve been involved in running, and then writing and developing, youth leadership courses through my volunteering with St John Ambulance. The Youth Hostel in Matlock became my second home for a while, the number of courses I was delivering there. The organisation’s Cadet Leader 2 course was the single reason that I didn’t leave St John when I was 17 and, as a trainer, has since provided some of my most memorable and enjoyable weekends.

I’ve been aware that similar organisations are doing equally as wonderful things, and when I came to help rewrite the Cadet Leader 1 course in 1997, I remember thinking there must be other excellent resources out there. This was in the very early days of the internet, and although the fabulous Scoutbase existed, it was run by a bunch of keen enthusiasts rather than as an official programme resource. And before the internet, it was decidedly more difficult to do casual research on what other people were up to.

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award demonstrates the power of putting a universal name to what effectively could be fitted into every informal education / youth development programme going. The DofE not only helps employers and universities/colleges identify the commitment and development that a young person has been through, but also ensures that the young people see their effort for what it’s worth. It’s only as I moved from young person to youth worker that I recognised the enormous value of those random weekends I’d be sent off to go and learn about John Adair‘s model of leadership, or do blindfold exercises around a car-park.

What I really hope if that the NBYL becomes a centre of excellence, using the vast knowledge already in the sector to develop a way of making youth leadership training as recognisable as the DofE. That doesn’t mean having a single programme that all operators have to work to, but valuing particular elements of learning and from that being able to issue young people with a universal certificate that is recognised by employers, educators and peers alike.

Photo credit: Corypina. Used under licence.