15 November 2018
#iwillWeek is an annual event focussed on young people and social action. This year we are very excited to announce a new programme funded by Sports England and iWill which will engage young people through physical activity.
We know when young people take part in social action, everyone benefits. Here at UK Youth we want all young people to have the chance to take part in meaningful social action and volunteering. That is why we are incredibly excited to announce a new UK Youth programme in partnership with Sports England. The programme will give young people the opportunity to take part in social action for the first time through sport-based volunteering.
UK Youth is uniquely placed to help engage underrepresented groups of young people through the existing reach we have into communities through our members. The new programme with Sports England will target disadvantaged 12-20 year olds facing social mobility barriers. Over three years, 700 young people from communities in Newcastle and Coventry, Northumberland and Buckinghamshire will undertake social action projects. These will benefit the communities as well as developing key life skills through physical activity, sport and a link to the natural environment.
The programme will embed the Principles of Quality Social Action, engaging Young Leaders to tackle an issue they are passionate about in their community. The Young Leaders will lead a group of their peers to develop a social action project that relates to physical activity and the environment. Through the programme and the social action project, young people will gain the life skills they need to build a bright future, along with feeling the benefits of physical activity.
We hope that local communities will enjoy directly the benefits of social action through stronger community relationships and improved attitudes towards physical activity and the environment. For UK Youth, we are excited to share our expertise and learn more about how to use sport and the environment to engage young people and start them on the social development journey. We are committed to sharing these learnings and the stories we hear across our membership network and beyond, to enable transformational change in engaging groups of young people in volunteering.
We can’t wait to hear the impact stories from our delivery partners across the country, which include: NE Youth, Action4Youth and Positive Youth Foundation.
What are you doing this 12-16 November for #iwillWeek? Join the conversation on Twitter. Want to know more about our new social action programme, or do you have an idea for a programme you’d like to see in your community? Get in touch at programmes@ukyouth.org