The Young Leaders Network is a platform for young leaders aged 18-26 to be informed, share experiences, build skills and grow as leaders.

The network was launched in 2022 by the Young Leaders Group. This group is made up of young leaders from across the UK who are passionate about championing the views of young leaders and helping to develop and improve the support structure for those starting out in leadership roles within the BB.

The Network continues to be coordinated by the Young Leaders Group, ensuring that the work of the Network remains relevant to the needs of 18–26-year-old leaders as it evolves.

The Young Leaders Network has three main aims. These are:

To inform & support young leaders

• Using social media & termly emails to put relevant information into the hands of young leaders.
• A dedicated Young Leaders Facebook Group to share opportunities, encourage discussion and allow young leaders from across the country a chance to network and share.

To provide opportunities to young leaders

• Build skills appropriate for your role via training, gatherings and leadership opportunities.
• Share experiences and learn from others through gatherings, online forums, informal conversations, profiles and more.
• Leadership opportunities promoted and/or made available through the network, to help you to put your leadership skills into action and learn by doing.
• To Develop as young leaders, helping you to feel confident, empowered and valued as a young leader in The Boys’ Brigade

To amplify the voice of young leaders

• Raising the profile of Young Leaders and their experiences of their role(s), helping others to see the opportunities available to them and the value that young leaders give to the BB.
• Promoting decision making roles available on committees and groups within The Boys’ Brigade, including the under-26 positions on the Brigade executive and regional committees.
• Empowering young leaders to become ‘Comms Champions’ for the organisation and ambassadors for the work of the Brigade.

There are a number of ways for young leaders to get involved and start benefiting from the Network. Please note these opportunities are only available to registered BB leaders aged 18-26.

Young Leaders Weekend 2024, 26th – 28th April

We’re excited to announce that bookings for our Young Leader’s Weekend are now open. This will take place from Friday 26th– Sunday 28th April 2024 at Carronvale House, Scotland.

The aim of the weekend is to bring young leaders together, helping them to build connections, grow in confidence, share experiences, and add your voice into shaping the future of our organisation.

This will include a number of workshops looking at enhancing your skills as a young leader, as well as feeding into your experiences to shape the BB at local and national levels.

Alongside having the opportunity to participate in workshops and discussions, there will also be plenty of time for socialising, getting to know other young leaders, and taking on some great activities.

The cost is £85 per person which includes all food and accommodation. Please note that spaces are limited and will be available on a first come, first served basis. A deposit of £30 per person is required to secure places.

Book your space by visiting https://fs29.formsite.com/Sekzns/60ctvctklo/index

Spotlight Programme Opportunity

Have you ever fancied writing your own BB themed programme, which gets used across the UK?

We’re looking for a small group of Young Leaders to help us to write two themed programme cards for the Summer 2024 term.

These cards will be written by young leaders, aimed at being delivered by hundreds of young leaders across the country. This will form part of a special ‘Spotlight’ week later in the session, aimed at shining the spotlight on some of our brilliant young leaders.

If you’d like to find out more about the Programme role and to register your interest in joining this working group of young leaders, then please email us at youngleaders@boys-brigade.org.uk. Please share a little bit about yourself and why you’d like to get involved with creating the programme.

Please register any interest by the 9^th February. We look forward to hearing from you!

Easter Course 2024  

We’re looking for 4 people aged 18-30 to attend ‘Easter Course 2024’, to represent BB. The course will be hosted by IKE at the youth centre of Algyógy (Geoagiu), in Transylvania, Romania, from the 23rd– 30th March 2024.

Last year, a group of BB young leaders had a great time at the Easter Course in Denmark, and we’re pleased to once again offer this opportunity in 2024.

The course for 2024 is built around the main topic of conflict transformation. There will also be a day dedicated to mental health and discrimination. This is a fantastic opportunity to meet young leaders from different Christian youth organisations across Europe to share ideas, have fun and learn.

The course is free to attend, with participants needing to sort travel arrangements to Avram Iancu Cluj International Airport. A reimbursement of up to 100 Euros is available to support travel costs.

Interested? Please contact Vaughan at BBHQ who will be happy to share more information and register your interest. v.staples@boys-brigade.org.uk. Closing date Thursday 15th February 2024.

Join our Team at Satellites Festival

Satellites is a Christian youth festival which takes place between the 2nd to 6th August at Bath & West Showground. We are planning to get involved this year, by both encouraging BB groups to attend as well as hosting our own venue at the event.

The 5-day event, attended by over 2,000 young people aged 12+, is focussed around helping young people to explore their faith and provides a range of activities including worship, workshops, sports, games, creative spaces and more.

We are looking to form a team to assist us in running a venue for all those attending. The venue will be based around offering a range of activities for young people to enjoy during the afternoon, including inflatables (bungee run, gladiator duel, etc) and some team-based challenges. If you would be interested in being part of this team, you would get a FREE ticket to the event which includes all food and refreshments as well as accommodation (camping). We may also be able to support reasonable travel costs to and from the event. As well as supporting the BB venue (4-5 hours each day), you would have plenty of time to join in other parts of the programme, as well as time to relax.

You can find out more about Satellites at www.youthscape.co.uk/satellites/. If you are interested, please get in touch with Chris Norman at chris.norman@boys-brigade.org.uk

Young Leaders Facebook Group

Want to be the first to hear about opportunities specifically aimed at Young Leaders? Then make sure to join our Facebook Group.

We have a dedicated Facebook group for young leaders, providing you with a space to be informed and better equipped in your roles as leaders in the BB. The group is used to share new opportunities that are available for you, as well as sharing news on what young leaders have been getting up to across the UK.

If you are on Facebook and are not currently signed up, then head to our Young Leaders Facebook Group and click ‘Join’.