Last weekend we saw the return of a fantastic Liberal Youth event, Activate. The event took place in the picturesque village of Great Hucklow. Activate is a training weekend designed to help new members and some of us older ones get involved and hone our skills. I attended flying the flag for Wales, and when I told people I was from Lampeter I had the strange experience of almost everyone knowing where that was!
The weekend started on the Friday night with trainers Sarah Green PPC, Cllr Ben Rawlings, Naomi Smith PPC and Candy Piercy with ice breakers and team building exercises. Through out the weekend we had training on media relations, public speaking, canvassing and team building. The training sessions were amazing. The depth of experience and knowledge the trainers had and were able to communicate was awe inspiring.
But the training sessions are only half the story. Activate also offers the opportunities of networking and making friends. I met people at activate that I can’t imagine losing contact with. Never have I met such competent, easy going and passionate individuals. The LY exec has a renewed sense of purpose and understanding of what the job will entail over the next year. If the rest of their term is as successful as activate then we should expect great things from them.
But on a more general note the weekend has filled me with a new sense of purpose and optimism. The depth of talent we have, not just in the LY but also here in Wales is very promising. It just makes me want to say the future is bright, the future is orange. Spread the message! Get Active!
Alex Bashford-Jones is Chair of UWL LDS and the Mid & West Wales Rep IRCymru
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Great article!