Young volunteers from Wales attended the second annual Youth Lead Support Weekend at Gilwell Park, Scouts UK’s headquarters, earlier this month.
They were among 60 Youth Leads from across the UK who took part in sessions and workshops to help them deliver youth-shaped scouting in their local areas.
Youth Leads are volunteers between the ages of 18 and 25 who ensure Scouts is shaped by young people aged 4 to 25. They play a key role in the leadership and management of their Area or District, ensuring young people are at the heart of decisions made locally, as well as helping to raise awareness of opportunities available to young people in scouting.
The young people took part in several workshops helping them to interact with different generations, including learning how to lead a successful team of volunteers, how to promote a youth-shaped programme, and how to run programmes that are both safe and enjoyable.
They also took part in some of the adventurous outdoor activities at Gillwell Park, including Archery and Jacobs Ladder.
Jamie Lee-Brown Youth Lead for Pembrokeshire attended the weekend for the first time and said: “As a new youth lead this was a great chance to be introduced to those who have had many years of experience and knowledge built up and see how they approach youth-shaped scouting in their geographic areas.
“It was a great weekend with much to bring back to Pembrokeshire to help me improve in my role and to support those around me effectively.”
Dafydd Talbot, Youth Lead for Carmarthenshire, added: “The guidance we received from various leaders was invaluable in giving us a better understanding of how we as Youth Leads can help adult leaders to develop a better youth shaped programme.”
More information on Youth Shaped Scouting