YouthLeads heads to Hindleap
19 May 2017
On Saturday the 13th of May, we held our second YouthLeads residential at Hindleap. Thirteen young people attended from four of our members: Salaam Peace, Haringey Shed, Enact, and Collage Arts.
The weekend kicked off on Friday night in Old Street, where we explored what leadership is and who the group could identify as examples of great leaders. After that the group travelled to Hindleap Warren together to settle in ready for a busy weekend.
Saturday was jam-packed with different indoor and outdoor activities, discussions and writing using their experience from the YouthLeads programme. This enable the group to complete the OCN Youth Leadership Level One accreditation.
The weekend enabled young people to explore a number of varied tasks and activities. There was a strong focus on considering what the skills, qualities and characteristics of a good leader are and identifying those that they had developed as part of YouthLeads. A session on leadership styles encouraged a lively discussion, before each young person reflected on what style they prefer. They were then able to put their skills to the test by leading different sessions over the course of the weekend.
In the afternoon the group got to grips with the communication skills that are key for effective leadership, such as active listening, open body language and how to adapt communications to different audiences. The session led one young person to say that they had learnt, “how to communicate more effectively.”
With this being the second YouthLeads residential of the year, we were also able to run a session where the young people reflected on the project that each group had completed since January. It was brilliant to hear about the success of these diverse projects, from a series of sports sessions to a film about young peoples’ views of their local community.
As well as learning leadership skills and designing and delivering their own projects, the young people reflected on the chance to meet each other and learn about youth provision taking place nearby which may provide them with further opportunities in the future.
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