British Youth Council Leadership Residential

Young people from the UKYP and Youth Cabinet attended the annual British Youth Council (BYC) Leadership Residential at Doncaster over the weekend with over 200 young people participating.

On the arrival which was Friday, we had brief assembly with all the young people from different areas, the assembly was informing us on what BYC is and how it is beneficial. We were then split into our groups from which then went to our allocated areas with youth worker which was josh. I was in group 14 which consisted of 10 people who were similar ages to me 16 and 17. As a whole group we had to discuss the different skills a leader had, from there we split in to groups of two and had to discuss one thing we are good at and one skill we needed to improve based on the skills we had discussed in the previous session.

On the Saturday we did our Forgeford activity in which we had different tasks to complete as a group within a restricted amount of time, this allowed us to use the different skills we individually had and combine them. One of the tasks was to campaign about a issue that we were passion about, we had to create a chant. We had completed this successfully and had achieved all the goals we had set as a group. On Sunday which was our last day we had a course group session in which continued the Forgeford activity. This completed successfully and allowed us to share ideas and thoughts both issues in our local area and how we would overcome them. Overall I really enjoyed this as I had an amazing group all which I got along with and had a great time with. This was a great opportunity as I got meet some really inspiring young people. Gulshan

Over the weekend I met with many young people from all over the country, who included MYP’s, DMYP’s and other Youth Representatives like me. As well as getting to hear all the other accents (which gave us ample opportunity to make fun of each other), we were reminded that there are others just like us working to improve young people’s lives. We spent time finding out what it’s like to be a Youth Representative around the country, and learning teamwork and leadership skills through indoor and outdoor activities like high ropes. We also learnt practical ways to work as a youth council through the imaginary world of Forgeford and in general, learnt lots of ways to represent young people’s views in the best ways. It was a great weekend I’d recommend to anybody who has the opportunity to go. Emma

The rally was a fantastic time to enjoy and celebrate a vibrant flourish of differing cultures, whilst serving as a solemn reminder that there is still great work to be done in the name of combating discrimination. It taught us how to effectively organise campaigns and to demonstrate effectively the peak of what a Campaign can be, that is a rally. Sebastian

How has this weekend supported you in your role?

This weekend has supported me in my role by helping to see how I can develop what I would like to do in my constituency. Also it has given me more confidence in speaking out and meeting new people that could also help with my role. Daisy

It will help me to form better ‘professional’ relationships with the rest of the Youth Cabinet and therefore represent my constituents views more efficiently. It will make me more confident in my abilities and therefore able to take different roles and fit better into a group, meaning we’ll be able to get more work done. It has taught me practical skills on how to change things, which is the reason I became a youth cabinet representative in the first place. It has also allowed me to meet others in similar roles that I could share ideas, experiences and problems with, and reminded me that most West Sussex campaigns are also ran throughout the country so we don’t need to feel like we’re fighting the world! I feel that my improved leadership and team working qualities will enable me to get my constituents views heard and acted on, whilst considering that the whole of West Sussex’s ideas are not the same. Emma

It has taught me many different ways in which I can progress as a youth representative and work more effectively. It has also aided me in better understanding the format and structure of different youth political institutions across the country, which permits us to now review and advance our own models. Sebastian

I have seen what others in the same position as me have done and achieved, allowing me to see what more I can do in my year as DMYP. Dominic

By sharing the different techniques to achieve certain goals. Discussing comparison between the different county councils and how they run which could help us as West Sussex to improve in certain aspecst for example campaign groups and how we can make people more aware by using the watermelon technique which allows us to explore the different methods in communicating our campaign across to young people for example social media. Yes as I am more confident in what I have to do as a member of the youth cabinet and how to promote our campaigns. Overall I have learnt loads of different skills which will help in communicating with young people and sharing ideas. Gulshan

What has inspired you this weekend?

I think I have been inspired by the successes of the other youth reps. This has inspired me to work hard and try my best to be a great MYP and play my role to the best of my ability so that I can make a positive impact on the communities of the young people of Horsham & Mid Sussex. Marvelous

I’ve been reminded that many youth councils are fighting for similar causes and one general goal: to make young people’s lives better. This means that our efforts are going into a bigger end goal. Emma

Read more blogs from the West Sussex Youth Cabinet

What is the West Sussex Youth Cabinet?