Giving to get in return

Over the last year a new innovative project has come to my attention that being Orange RockCorps. The idea behind the project is to get young people to volunteer for four hours to help out with a project that benefits the community in return for getting a ticket to a special concert only for Orange RockCorps volunteers headlined by some of the most popular and biggest musical acts.

I am a huge fan of big companies like Orange giving back and getting involved with helping the community and young people. Mobile phones are so important to young people and its great to see them using that influence they have with young people to get them involved in volunteering. I think every commercial company that sells product and services to young people should be doing something to give back to them.

The one thing I hope is that the Orange RockCorps experience encourages the young people that volunteer with the project to continue volunteering after their four hours commitment is over. The principal behind volunteering is to do something selflessly for other people without expecting a reward so there are some issues with this project.

The problem comes when the young person who volunteers with Orange Rock Corps then goes to do more volunteering and expects to get something in return where that charity or organization may not be able to afford to reward their volunteers no matter how much they might want to. Some people may not even get involved in volunteering expecting a reward they may instead not even apply to be a volunteer without a guarantee of a reward.

The other problem is if the young person is just doing the volunteering for the ticket and don’t get anything out of the experience or have any intention of volunteering again after the project. However if they never planned to volunteer regardless of the project if we can get four hours out of them is that better than nothing some may argue.

I think projects which encourage young people to volunteer and get more people involved in volunteering are great and much needed. Projects like Orange RockCorps need to be careful though. I know Orange RockCorps do work to try and help people to continue with their volunteering but if you give people a big reward after just four hours what is there to encourage them to continue to keep involved.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Pay it Forward

Many years ago the Pay it Forward movement began. Pay it Forward was an idea to change the world which started from one person doing a random act of kindness for someone and then getting the person who has received the kindness to go and do the same for someone else. The movement got that big that there was an even a Hollywood film made about it starring Kevin Spacey.

The principal for the idea is so good as it is an idea which is so simple, requires no money and actively involves people in helping to change the world. The only problem is that this system depends to society reacting to it and the person receiving the act of kindness to then go and pass it on in a way which will get the person they pass it on to, to pass it forward again.

However I think it is a great concept and one which can be used to help change the world for young people. It’s like if we could get one young person to go and inspire / motivate another young person and get that young person to do it to someone else then schools, youth groups and so on would better places with less bullying and students supporting each other.

All of us should always be looking for ways in which we can pay it forward. It just may be that you start a chain that makes real difference in this world. If at first you don’t succeed try again, even if the person you are passing it forward to doesn’t pass it on again at least you have done something nice for one person and you never know that person in years time may remember it and do something nice for someone else.

So why not start a Pay it Forward movement in your own school or local community, see what differences you can make.

This week our topic of the week is all about Paying it Forward and you can join in the discussion by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=579

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"
”Shaking up the Youth of Today”

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Facebook Fatigue

The last two years has seen an explosion of social networking activity on the Internet. With websites like MySpace, Bebo and Facebook attracting millions of users who log on each day to check their profiles, upload photos and talk with their friends.

Over recent weeks Facebook has reported in a downturn in activity on their website and it is lead to people claiming “Facebook Fatigue.” With so much hype about Facebook and so much to do on their websites with millions of applications that you can download or get invited to take part in people are now starting to get bored of their product or are starting to use it in a less active way.

I think social networking has its good points and its bad points. I think social networking websites are great for developing confidence and networking skills as well as sharing information and getting back in touch with old friends. However instead of using social networking as a tool and part of your life people over the last couple of years have let social networking become their life with a high percentage of their daily interaction with other people happening through social networking and not real life. Some users have not been able to go five minutes without checking their profile to see who has commented or left them a message it has become like an addiction and a way for people to waste time.

The biggest concern I have with social networking is the security implications of using them. if used sensibly and run sensibly these sites can be safe places but with so much information being posted and made freely available to the general public it is now becoming too easy for people who you wouldn’t want getting your information getting hold of it. Also on the security side it is now all to easy to set up an account in which the user can pretend to be someone they are not in order to engage in criminal activity.

I think social networking can help make your social life more efficient but this is if only used correctly and as a tool. I think that social networking needs to be made a lot safer before I would encourage children to use it as at the moment there are too many dangers. Regardless of how many good points there are if there is one small danger to young people I would not recommend it.

Social Networking is now big business with Facebook, Bebo and MySpace all making millions of pounds each year so there are always going to be new companies trying to break the market so like Facebook has grown over the last year I’m sure next year there could be a new major player.

As well as the companies that provide social networking not getting complacent companies that market through social networking or have social networking pages also have to guard against compliancy. Social networking pages are a great publicity tool but you have to make sure you are getting the most out of your page and providing a service that your viewers want. Also social networking is great for young bands as they can now have their own page for free which can easily be updated and that they can drive viewers to which is another way it can be used for good reasons.

So overall I say yes there is a place for social networking but don’t let it rule your life. Customize the experience to suit your needs.

To share your thoughts on social networking come and check out our topic of the week on our forums by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=375

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Talented Young People is one year old!

This week marks the first birthday of Talented Young People. We started with a bang last year on fireworks night and haven’t looked back since. With no government, grant or corporate funding Talented Young people has grown like wildfire thanks to the support of you guys our viewers and our users.

We started off only attracting one hundred people a week to the site but now thanks to support from organisations like the BBC we now receive 2,000 unique viewers a week and in one year have helped close to 50,000 young people get that step closer to their dream.

In a world where the internet has been used for so many unlawful or just unpleasant acts like spreading viruses, spamming your inbox or committing identity fraud I think it is important that we get more websites online that want to help people. At the end of the day you aren’t going to stop people from using the Internet we are never going to win that battle but if we can create more websites that are there to help people we are going to make going on the Internet a safer and more helpful experience. The Internet needs to be used as a tool to educate, motivate and inspire young people.

A vast majority of young people now use the Internet and big corporate companies know this so they are using the Internet to target this important audience. This is another reason why it is so important that there are websites on the Internet, which aren’t driven by corporate greed, and that put young people first and whose sole purpose is to help young people.

The one thing that any website or online entity that is designed to help young people has to remember is that although many young people use and have access to the internet there is a large population of young people that don’t have the internet at home and it is often these that need help and need to be reached the most. Just because the Internet is popular with young people it doesn’t mean always that it is the only way or the right way to help young people.

The one thing though with the Internet that amazes me is the amount of people that have visited www.talentedyoungpeople.com who have been helped, inspired or motivated by what they have read. With any website the amount of people hat get in touch with the people who run the website is a very small percentage of the total number of people who visit the site this is why sometimes you never know how many people you have truly helped. I just think that it’s great that at any time of the day and in any part of the globe somebody could be logging on to the website and without me ever knowing could be using the information and the motivational words to achieve their dreams. Whenever I get up in the morning I could have already helped 100 people whilst I was asleep which I think is an amazing thing and the true power of the Internet. Some people are afraid to wont ask people for help and this is why I think the internet is such a great tool as it provides a degree of anonymity for the user to seek help and advice without having to go and ask someone or for those that live in rural areas where it may be a long drive to find an expert to speak to.

I have big hopes for Talented Young People in the next year which have been helped by the change in command at the top with new Prime Minister Gordon Brown. In many of his speeches he has talked about wanting to create a country with young people who have aspirations and that are encouraged to follow their dreams and find their talents. He has also talked about bringing back the old school mottos which I think is a good thing and one day I would love to see our motto “envisage it, believe it, achieve it!” used in schools across the country. It is good to have a prime minister who has the same visions as we do as an organisation. Never has there been a more important or better time for the Talented Young People organisation to exist in.

So here’s to a brilliant first year at www.talentedyoungpeople.com and I for one can’t wait to see some of the exciting things we have planned for the new year.

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com

Are young people at risk?

Hey guys

Hope you all had an awesome week. I have a brilliant time down at the YoMo national youth conference. There was so much energy and passion for helping young people during the conference it was unbelievable. On my journey home from the conference I started thinking about this blog that I wanted to share with you.

In this week’s blog I want to talk about a term which I find is banded about very wrongly and that is the term ‘at risk.’ It’s a term which is a buzz word when it comes to young people and working with young people. So today I want to tell you all about what I feel the true meaning of ‘at risk’ is.

The one problem I have with many people is that they only see areas with huge crime levels and social problem as the areas to help. We need to start getting proactive. Youth work needs to be the prevention business not the cure. Just because you live in a nice area now doesn’t mean that it is going to be a nice area in a year’s time.

You never know what is going to happen if you don’t do something to help young people in the area and I want to keep it that way I don’t want to find out what would have happened if I didn’t do something. You know just because a young kid is doing great today and achieving many great things you don’t know what the future is going to hold for them unless you help them.

I hate it when people use the term at-risk for young people when the government says this demographic or kids in these situations are at risk. Every young person is at risk every day in this country if we don’t help them. Just because some young people’s problems are more obvious than others it doesn’t mean they don’t have any or that there problems are less important.

It’s like a few weeks ago I was watching the pride of Britain awards. Anyone catch it? I love that programme as it reminds us all that there are amazing young people doing amazing things all over Britain everyday that we never know bout. But the only way we are going to find these amazing young people or to help young people become amazing is by looking for them and supporting them. There are amazing kids in every city, town and village it’s just up for us to help them and find them.

The youth of today is at risk and it is up to us to make it a safer environment for young people and an environment which gives them the confidence and the motivation to succeed and achieve in life.

To share your views on this blog and to discuss youth work and young people visit our forum topic of the week by going to:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=230

Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/

Pride of Britain Awards

Tonight (10/10) sees the annual screening of the ‘Pride of Britain Awards’ on ITV.

The Pride of Britain Awards are my favourite award ceremony of the year. With so many programmes on TV being about celebrity and so many pointless award ceremonies screened each year it is good to have one night year on national TV which recognises the true champions of our country.

Each year there are more and more award ceremonies on our screens especially for music and film which are so unneeded and devalue other established award ceremonies. These days award ceremonies are just seen as ways to get millions of viewers to tune in to the TV, to promote celebrities and to make money through sponsorship. It’s like these award ceremonies are just set up to give celebrities somewhere to go in the evenings and hang out with other celebrities whilst getting their photo in the tabloids.

I’m all for recognising talent and award shows are great ways of doing that but do the whole point of an award is that it is suppose to mean something and be important. The more awards that there are for each industry the less important each award becomes. This is why I’m glad that we only have one big national awards like this a year.

With many award shows looking very staged and in some ways fixed for certain celebrities to win I think the general public are growing weary of awards shows but I hope that this is one they tune in for. One where celebrities aren’t promised awards for turning up or one where organisations are choosing winners because of their own political agenda and not because they deserve to win.

On the show tonight we are going to see people who are more deserving than any Pop star of Film star will ever be win awards that they richly deserve. Tonight is about recognising the people who don’t get the column inches in the newspapers but who are more newsworthy or have done more newsworthy things than actually get in to today’s newspapers.

Tonight is about doing exactly what the title says honouring the pride of Britain. Those people who have battled through adversity we couldn’t even imagine or those than have done heroic things that have truly saved or changed people’s lives. Those people who have truly made a difference to the world and those people that keep my faith in humanity.

It’s about everyday people like you or me doing extraordinary things and showing you what difference one person like you can make to this world.

To share your thoughts on the awards join in our topic of the week:

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=253#253


Adam Sibley
Founder of the Talented Young People organisation
www.talentedyoungpeople.com
"Envisage it, Believe it, Achieve it!"

http://www.talentedyoungpeople.blogspot.com/