Youth Leadership in Action
14 May 2015
14th May 2015
Youth leadership is at the heart of all we do at London Youth; from our Dare London advisory board, who support and guide our work at all levels, to young people having a key role in leading their own experience through our programmes. Youth Leadership is also at the core of our Talent Match London programme, a youth employability scheme designed to support young people get the skills, confidence and support they need to build a fulfilling career.
A core component of effective youth leadership is empowering young people to assist other young people, and to be able to take part in peer support. Sela (19), who sits on our Talent Match Youth Board, was referred by Talent Match to Quarrel Shop, a 6 day course that explores young people’s relationship to conflict, supporting them to make positive choices in their lives. Having completed the training, Sela returned to London Youth to teach the skills himself to a group of peers. Sela was able to use his leadership learning to guide the young people through exercises designed to create greater self-awareness of conflict, as well as some fun games! As well as a great learning opportunity for Sela, it also ensures the opportunities such as these are sustainable, enabling young people to share their learning even further.
We asked Sela some questions about Quarrel Shop and what he felt he had gained from the programme, which in turn he could use to teach others.
What inspired you to complete the Quarrel Shop Training ?
The fact that there was a lovely team that was delivering decent knowledge which would be beneficial for me now and in the future.
What in your opinion is the best aspect of the training?
I believe the whole course was useful and other than having a break not even a minute was unproductive.
What is the most important thing you have learned?
I personally learned how to deal with conflict in a more professional manner, since the first day of me attending to the course I was able to apply what I’ve learned from then on, and also share my knowledge with my friends.
How do you hope to use what you have learned?
I am able to use it in most areas in my life, mostly the whole of Confronting Conflict, I was able to relate it with my life as I was learning and now understand my mistakes in past experiences.
What would you say to someone thinking about doing the training?
Stay focused and absorb every part of the information you can.
