Background to the programme
In bidding for the 2012 Games, London 2012 made a commitment to deliver a project to support 100 young leaders on an intensive personal development programme. The aim was for them to play a significant role in the delivery of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. BP is sponsoring the programme.
The Young Leaders Programme is designed to give a group of young people, who wouldn't otherwise have had the opportunity, the chance to make positive change to their lives. This will be achieved by participation in a number of remarkable volunteering opportunities between April 2010 and the end of the Games in September 2012.
The young people will benefit their local communities, having received mentoring support and guidance from BP employees to help them along their way. The programme will culminate in the young people taking a high-profile role during the Games.
What will they be doing?
The young leaders will develop and deliver a range of volunteering opportunities in their local community. Young Leaders will work to recruit and engage other young people from their local area to support their community activities, therefore expanding the reach and impact of the programme.
Participants will also seek to promote London 2012 related activity in their local area, where the opportunity arises.
Training
The selected Young Leaders are taking part in an 18-month training programme designed to improve their inter-personal, communication and leadership skills. Training is delivered at a local, regional and national level through workshops, mentoring programmes and events.
Coaching support
One hundred BP employees will provide individual leadership coaching to the young leaders. The delivery agencies on the ground are v (the National Young Volunteers Service) and The Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust, assisted by the Aberdeen Foyer. These organisations will help to provide the Young Leaders with the relevant support and opportunities in their local community, including additional support from a number of athlete supporters.
In 2012 the young people will be able to put their new skills into practice by playing a high-profile role in the delivery of the London 2012 Games. This is the only group of young people from the UK that has currently been promised such an important role during the Games.
Selection
Young people have been selected in teams of five from a variety of local authorities, based on proximity to BP’s four hub locations of:
- Hull
- Aberdeen
- Canary Wharf
- Sunbury-on-Thames
The young people have been chosen on the basis of their commitment to the programme and their potential to benefit from it. All of the Young Leaders that have been selected were 16 years old on the 1st January 2010.
