I recently had the opportunity to spend time with Johan Vilhelm Eltvik, the Secretary General of the World YMCA. Over the last few months, the organisation has undertaken one of the largest pieces of direct research with young people ever undertaken. The aim was to hear their views and to better understand their needs, with…
James Baird (18) writes from Chegutu, Zimbabwe: As the first Zimbabwean to be awarded The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Gold Award at Peter House in Zimbabwe, I am hugely proud and wanted to share my journey with others in the hope that I may inspire them. My Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award programme started back…
Over the past few years I’ve been getting increasingly concerned about some of the language that folks in the voluntary sector are using. In particular, there has been a creeping reliance on the terminology of the workplace. In the organisation in which I volunteer, it’s commonplace now to talk about ‘line managers’, ‘targets’ and ‘key…
A presentation I made to voluntary youth leaders in Oxfordshire today… Click here to access the PowerPoint slides and associated notes.
Tonight, France is in mourning. Last night, between 21:20, local time, and 22:00, Paris suffered a series of deadly attacks, described by President Francois Hollande as “unprecedented”. They were, he said, an “act of war” organised by Islamic State (IS) militant groups. Shootings, bomb blasts and a hostage siege have left at least 128 people dead and hundreds…
My address to delegates of The Duke of Edinburgh’s International Award Forum 2015 in Toronto, Canada Your Royal Highness, Honourable ministers, Chairman, My Lord, Ladies and Gentlemen Good morning. We are the people we’ve been waiting for. I was in the office of a ‘master of the universe’ the other day. Or at least that’s…
Many years ago, I worked as a volunteer in a refugee camp on the border between Uganda and Rwanda. The experience changed my perspective on life and fuelled a thirst for social justice. Over the last few days I’ve been contacted by a number of people, asking if I could recommend any materials to…
