Young Leader - To create the volunteers of tomorrow

Young Leader - To create the volunteers of tomorrow Young Leader Side 1

Index 1. Introduction... 3 1.1 Background... 4 1. 1. 2 Challenges in Norwegian athletics... 4 2. What is Ung:leder... 5 2.1 Vision... 5 2.2.1 Main goal... 5 2. 2.2 Interim goals per year in 4 years... 5 2.2.3 Target group... 5 3. Methods - 100 new leader talents educated... 6 3.1 Seminars. We re filling the toolbox... 6 3.2 Summer school or training group. The local society harvests the fruits.... 6 3.3 Personal follow-up... 7 3.4 The Competence Weekend... 8 3.5 Networking gatherings for classes that have finished the education... 9 4. Findings and results. What has happened so far in 2011?... 9 5. Discussion and Conclusion... 10 6. Recommendations... 11 7. Appendices... 12 Young Leader Side 2

1. Introduction The Ung:leder programme has grown from youths that saw a need for change in the organization, and thinks at athletics as a good arena to develop secure resource persons for athletics as well as the society in general. The main goal of the project has been divided in two: 1. Education: To give young leaders the confidence and the tools they need to take on leadership roles and hereunder take responsibility for their own local community. 2. Increase the number of people active in athletics. We wish to continue our work with creating the leaders of tomorrow combined with creating activity for children in the local community. The Young leaders create projects, summer schools and training groups. It all started with a dream of giving youths the possibility to show their strengths and their commitment to athletics. We are in great need of more volunteers in athletics, we are in need of new ideas, and we have a need of enthusiasts who can initiate new projects. Because of this we contacted Gjensidigestiftelsen, which is a foundation in Norway. They thought we had a great idea, and that maybe this was the turning point for youth commitment and influence. They decided to grant us 3,5 million NOK in 2011. These funds were marked for initiating a programme where 100 youth leaders were to be educated, and that they would have local projects for recruiting new members to athletics. The results from 2011 were so astonishing that the foundation decided to grant us another 7,5 million NOK to educate 100 new youth leaders each of the next three years. Below is a description of the project, the results we recorded the first year, and a discussion concerning the many challenges we face because of the lack of volunteers. The education hasn t only exceeded all of my expectations. I ve gotten to know myself better; I m more secure in my choices and I ve gotten a new perspective on things. It isn t only on the track, but also at school amongst other. Qualities that are important for a good leader have been nurtured, aware or unaware, through the lectures of the amazing lecturers. Ung:leder has changed me, through the education have I seen a lot of new possibilities! Thank you very much :) - Kristiane Rygg, 18 years, Sogn og fjordane Ung:leder has given me an opportunity to become a better leader, meet new people with the same interests and form a good background for work within athletics and in everyday life. I ve learned a lot of new things and had it super fun at the same time! - Marianne Huseby All has exceeded far over what I had expected in advance, I ve really learned a lot! And how much fun it has been! -Jostein Homgren Young Leader Side 3

1.1 Background Norwegian athletics depends on skilful leaders at all levels of the organization. We are facing increasing expressions of concern for the future of volunteer labour. We know that youths both want to and can contribute, and that is why we invest in Ung:leder. At the same time we wish for new leaders that contribute to activity for kids in the local community. 1. 1. 2 Challenges in Norwegian athletics A query amongst the clubs showed that the clubs look at the lack of volunteers, trainers and leaders as far the biggest concern in Norwegian athletics. Furthermore the query tells that nearly 70 percent of the of the clubs lack board members under the age of 25. Norwegian clubs are very dependent of volunteer labour. As much as 70 percent of the clubs reported that all the labour in the club was done by volunteers. In this context, one can find a concern about the decrease in the voluntary efforts, and that this will be a crisis for the clubs. ( ) It s being shouted about the lack of volunteers; It s warned against an ever increasing professionalization that the sport is said to reflect through more individualism and less collective binding values and not least, one can sense an increasing commercialization ( ) (Enjolras/Seippel 2001). We can see that an absence of volunteering will have huge consequences for athletics. In 1999 the total value of volunteer labour in sports organizations in Norway could be valued to 7,3 billion NOK. In addition to generate income to the clubs, this volunteer economy is a social system where individuals get the possibility to meet and make personal relations. Through relations like these a network is made that can contribute towards social integration in the club and in the local community it is a part of. This concern for volunteering, and the fact that we are missing sufficient young leaders in the athletics community, was the background for Norwegian athletics to apply for funding to do something with this challenge in 2011, and make young leaders able to meet the challenges of tomorrow as leaders in Norwegian athletics. When we started the project in 2011/12 we did a query where we asked the youths if they wanted to take on leader duties for club or county. 80,7 percent answered that they wanted to do this, while 19,3 percent did not have an opinion. It is a significant difference from this and the total number of participants who has gotten the possibility to use their commitment in an organization. Young Leader Side 4

2. What is Ung:leder Ung:leder is an all new commitment and a new way of thinking in Norwegian athletics. The education should complement the education of trainers and officials, and lift the strategic leadership within athletics. The education should be a tool for developing the organization and build relations between organization and its leaders. 100 youths are included into the Ung:leder programme after sending in an application, and commit to participate in 4 weekend gatherings. In between the gatherings they are faced with different tasks, and during the education they are to arrange either an exercise event or a summer school for kids. 2.1 Vision The Norwegian Athletics federation is to have a culture that has youths in all deciding organs. 2.2.1 Main goal Through the Ung:leder project we are going to give basic support so that youths between the ages of 15 and 25 will and can take on leader tasks in the Norwegian Athletics Federation, and thus affect the development of Norwegian athletics and be an including resource person in the society. The organization is to experience a positive growth through the commitment to the youths. During 2011 100 youths has gone through the program, in line with the interim goals of the project. 2. 2.2 Interim goals per year in 4 years - Give 100 youths the possibility to develop themselves as leaders. - Give clubs and counties access to 100 self secure leaders - Give 100 youths the opportunity to take part in the development of Norwegian athletics. - We want to give 100 youths the opportunity to take responsibility for leadership within the children s sport, and make approximately 5.000 children active in athletics. - Establish a youth network in four regions to secure the continuity - Give 100 youths the possibility to participate on the organizations yearly weekend of competence - Work targeted with giving the organization information about the youths commitment, and what they achieve. 90 percent of all active clubs are to know about the project before it comes to an end. 2.2.3 Target group The Ung:leder project is for youths that can function as leaders in athletic clubs i.e. boards and committees, as project leaders, employees, trainers and others with an interests and ambition of helping their club with a long term evolution. Young Leader Side 5

Recommended target group is between the ages of 15 and 25. Furthermore we recommend clubs that participate in the project to sign up at least two participants to the project. Our experiences show that this project gives the participants the confidence and a better possibility to succeed with their projects, when they re more young leaders supporting each other. We also look on the education as a great opportunity to start a development process within their club. 3. Methods - 100 new leader talents educated The programme remains a combined education with theoretical competence, practical work and exchange of experiences. The Ung:leder programme is to have a duration of at least one year. We are to maintain the youth s experience of meeting a professional programme that inspires. 3.1 Seminars. We re filling the toolbox We arranged four seminars for the participants. They were to feel safe and secure within the group, and at the same time there were to be an opportunity for growth. The aim for the seminars were to fill the participant s tool box so that they were ready to continue to develop their skills as leaders further when the program has finished. Coping is in focus for the self-security. The values of the sport, modern leadership and coaching are the most important themes. The project groups and one s own reflection are the main methods of learning. The main subjects: To lead a project To lead others Experience, learning and the way forth Myself as a leader When the program has finished the participant is to: 1) Have gotten practical experience as a leader through individual projects 2) Have gotten basic knowledge of the organization, theories/perspectives on leading and organization. 3) Together with a mentor, have made an individual development plan, where the participant gets the possibility to reflect over one s own development as a leader, and facilitate further engagement to athletics. 4) Have gotten the possibility to specialize oneself in a certain area of interest: event, trainer or organization 5) Get the possibility to meet other contributors to Norwegian Athletics, network and share experiences 3.2 Summer school or training group. The local society harvests the fruits. For Norwegian Athletics volunteering and good leadership are measures to create activity. We wish to make kids healthy through the possibility to exercise their basic skills with running, jumping and throwing. Competence with motor control is important for children both in general self-esteem, popularity and status amongst other children and not least to master practical everyday tasks that 6-10 percent of Norwegian children between the ages 7 and 10 have problems with their motor control (Tidsskrift for den norske legeforening nr 25, oktober 2000) Young Leader Side 6

We are creating the leaders of tomorrow combined with creating activity for children in the local community. There is a goal that the participants quickly get the possibility to contribute to their local community. This is to also be an incentive towards the clubs so that they will work for young leaders to join the programme. Therefore, the participants had to manage and carry out a summer school/camp for children in their local community or a exercise group/race where that is desirable. This practical experience was to be lead by the participants in cooperation with their local club. The Norwegian Athletics Federation contributed with manuals, marketing material, t-shirts and prizes for the children/participants. Experience from 2011 shows that this way of working was very effective. For example, the leaders who arranged summer schools set thousands of children in activity. These kids have gotten the possibility to exercise, get new friends, they have been seen by a person, the families have gotten an experience, the local communities have been engaged, and the media have covered it. Most important is that the participants have gotten the possibility to take responsibility on a safe and sound arena that has given trust, security and persistence and not least selfesteem. 84,7 percent would like to arrange it again (see table). 3.3 Personal follow-up During the first year of the project a model for organizing with the purpose to optimize and increase the efficiency, has been worked out. The philosophy of developing a good leader demands personal follow-up and local anchoring. To do this we, in the organization, comes even closer to the participant. The organizing has five parts where the purpose is to be spot on- the best follow-up of Ung:leder. 1.Board The board for Ung:leder has as its main purpose to have a comprehensive overview over the project, and secure the projects ground values are followed. 2. The project manager and the project group The project manager and the project group, together, has the main responsibility for the execution of Young Leader Side 7

Ung:leder according to the project plan. The project group has been put together with persons who have special competencies within their area of responsibility. 3. Team leaders- Safety and acknowledgment We are to have 10 team leaders who have as their main task to follow their team of approx. 10 participants during and in-between the gatherings. The main goal is that the participants are to feel safe, and that we have an overview over all the participants. The team leaders have an important role as a anchoring towards the Ung:leder project. The team leaders have been recruited from athletics through their earlier and present volunteering. All are in age 20-35 years and well merited for the task. There is also an aim that the team leaders will get new knowledge and experiences through this project, and that we can anchor their volunteering even better. 4. Mentor the heroes of today meets the heroes of tomorrow In sports there are many great leaders, we want to continue to make use of these persons through transferring their knowledge to the participants. All the participants get to pick their own mentor from their local community. This is a person that they trust, and that is willing to help lift the participant as a leader. The mentor has an important role as a local anchoring for the participant. The mentor is important throughout the education, but even more important after it has finished to follow-up the development plan of the participant. These mentors will get guidance and inspiration through our web page and direct contact with the federation so that they feel competent to guide their apprentices. 3.4 The Competence Weekend In 2011 the Norwegian Athletics Federation had a successful weekend called the Competence Weekend where members of the whole organization were invited to a weekend with new knowledge and networking. Evaluations told that the participants strengthened their desire to volunteer in the organization, and that they got to know others with the same desire from all over the country. We combined Ung:leder with this gathering since we felt that this is a great opportunity to network beyond the youth-network, and make the participants feel secure within more groups of the organization. It was also possibilities for the youths to find their special area of interest as a young leader. In the Ung:leder program it is a goal that the participants are to raise their line of sight and find their path further. At the competence weekend there are subjects within different genres of the volunteering in Norwegian athletics, for example club development, trainer course, speaker course etc. Young Leader Side 8

3.5 Networking gatherings for classes that have finished the education We wish to maintain a close relation with the participants that have finished the education, to be able to help them along the way and to follow their development in the long term. The youths are to, as planned, get in to the positions they have worked towards, but at the same time we want to let them have a common arena to share their experiences, and also function as speaker for the organization. We have experienced that enthusiasts function best when they have fun and what they do seems meaningful, therefore it is important to us to create a large and exciting youth culture amongst the volunteers. We have planned five geographical networks. This is a natural division of the country, and will cause a good size for the groups. This will also make closeness to the clubs and the activity. The Norwegian Athletics Federation has an employee in every county, and these employees want to help and support the youths in this network and give them opportunities and challenges. We vision that a committed youth has the main responsibility with coordinating the groups to secure the activity and a common platform in the project. Two official one-day gatherings are planned for these during the year; this is in addition to informal contact on already established arenas like Facebook and the webpage. At these gatherings the team leaders or representatives from the project group will meet the youths at for a planned process. This process is the same at all the regional gatherings. The costs associated with these gatherings will be lower because of a shorter way of travelling and the gatherings will mainly not be depending on an over-night stay. This will help to make a place to meet friends and exchange knowledge and experiences. We also want the youths to have the possibility to expand their network in their local community, and we want to give them the possibility to initiate projects under the direction of the youthnetwork. The main goal is to expand the youth-network and maintain the contact and the commitment. 4. Findings and results. What has happened so far in 2011? Ung:leder has been a major success. We have been able to contribute to making youths wanting to give back to society. They have already activated thousands of children, and we experience an organization, which puts youth in the driver seat more than ever. 82,5% of all participants wants to be more involved in their club, 91,3% wants to volunteer even more, and 100% wants to recommend other to apply for the next Ung:leder project. Young Leader Side 9

During 2011 the participants of Ung:leder has got a systematic schooling in the leadership role during four weekend gatherings. They have gotten to meet good lecturers and supervisors, and have gathered knowledge and experience during a varied program. To make the participants confident in themselves, and their surroundings we have focused on creating a safe environment for the youths. Between the gatherings the participants has gotten personal, local mentors that has given them inspiration and confidence to continue to grow as leaders. As described above, it has been a distinct goal for us that the Ung:leder programme should give immediate results for the local communities. We solved this by giving the participants a task of managing and carrying out an athletics school or an exercise activity halfway through the programme. The evaluation from the project shows that we have succeeded with our objective; the project has created a lot of local heroes. This way of solving the issue surrounding the practical experience for the participants has given great values far beyond the experience of each Ung:leder participant. The participants have established project groups with a composition that in many cases differ from the usual project group in a club. The participants have also engaged other youths in the role as leaders or trainers. We have also seen that the participants have had contact with local businesses by getting food and prizes sponsored, and they have also been in contact with the local media. It is hard to estimate how many hours of voluntary labour the project has generated, but from the evaluation the participants have done it shows that about 200 hours per project is a fair estimate. Based on this number, we can estimate the total number of hours generated by this project to a five-digit number. And all this is entirely for the local community 5. Discussion and Conclusion We are of the opinion that we have accomplished a new way of educating youths, and we have got the result to show for. It takes time to make a significant change, and to be able to reach our vision to be an organization with youths in every decision-making body; the project has to have a long-term perspective and continuity. Through the program in 2011 we have seen that by committing to youths we get results and we also see the importance of continuing the targeted work in form of further follow-up of the participants. I believe that people with talent or good qualities in leading others get the opportunity to show themselves of in Ung:leder. Some doesn t compete in athletics, but maybe they rather want to help the sport in other ways. Maybe they don t know that one can become a trainer or a young leader. Through Ung:leder one gets the opportunity to see all the possibilities Norwegian athletics has to offer. You don t have to be a top athlete, and here is an incredible chance to learn, be inspired and get the glow for athletics as someone else than an athlete. One also meets people with the same interests and one can get a new way of life. That s what I ve gotten, really. - Vika Singh, Young leader During the project the participants have shown that youth-democracy and youth-commitment are worth pursuing. Youths both want to and can do. The Ung:leder programme has stood out since it Young Leader Side 10

has been organized by youths for youths, and that it has generated a massive commitment back to the local communities. We believe that the project as the potential to be carried out in other European Federations as well. It can be organized in different formats and sizes. The basic thought of giving youths the opportunity and have faith in the volunteering of youths is free of charge. What youths give back to society through local projects is priceless. Even though we have had the benefit of having a good economic situation in this project, it is possible to do this with less funding. The largest cost was travelling and accommodation expenses. We can already see that this project is attractive for sponsors. There are several reasons for this, but the main reason is the possibility for exposure and local identity for an innovative project, which exclusively contributes positively to society. They have the opportunity to associate networks with other youths in the phase of establishment; they have the opportunity to be visible contributors in their local society, they are visible in the media, they contribute to public health, just to name a few. Ung:leder is a brand new idea leading directly to the development of athletics. We hope that this description shows that the project fulfils all the demands in the application of this award, to increase the number of people active in all aspects of athletics particularly among the target groups of women and youths including, but not limited to advancements in organization, marketing, sociology and education. If we were to receive this award, we wish to use the funds to communicate our experiences with youth commitment to other athletics federations. 6. Recommendations Ung:leder has been noticed in the entire organization of athletics, and has been recognized in other parts of sports and society also. Below are some extracts of recommendations from other contributors to the project: President of the Norwegian Athletics Federation - Svein Arne Hansen: Through the Ung:leder project, we have seen a change in the entire organization. We notice that youths have more influence in every level of the organization, and they are seen as a tremendous resource. Ung:leder has changed our organization, and at the same time given immediate effects in the form of larger recruitment. This is the biggest investment done for the youth commitment in a sports federation in Norway, and we are immensely proud of our project. Mentor - Helga Reigstad: I have seen an amazing maturation process in the participants I mentored. After they finished their education they show a greater sense of belonging to their club, they show more responsibility, and they are able to see the club as a whole instead of seeing just themselves as an athlete. They are more than happy to volunteer. Young Leader Side 11

Club leader, Osterøy IL - Morten Skaar: We have seen an increase in recruitment since the young leaders committed themselves to the activities of the club and carried out summer schools. Our group of children increased from 10 to 50 members in a small place just outside Bergen. Their work is irreplaceable! Principal for three of the participants - Heidi Vold Lorentzen: My students, who participated in the Ung:leder project, has brought amazing knowledge into the school. They carry out projects, and take responsibility for the common good. They have really blossomed! They state themselves that they have learned more during the Ung:leder project than they have through the entire 10 th grade. Ung:leder is an astonishing project. 7. Appendices We have thorough mappings, evaluations and documentations for this project. These are large document in Norwegian, but will be translated and sent upon request. Pictures: http://folk.ntnu.no/runholm/ungleder/ Video: http://www.yousendit.com/download/qlvotxrvdvvwcfhirhrvag Website: www.friidrett.no/ungleder Young Leader Side 12