Shift Happens: Future Generations
Black Belt, Big Heart will give 50,000 young people skills, creativity and support for a journey of project-based learning to tackle the climate and nature emergency through actions in their homes, schools and communities to build strong foundations for future generations.
The problem
Humanity is facing its biggest challenge in recorded history. Wales’ leaders and workforce are largely unprepared for what’s coming but it doesn’t need to be this way (BBC, August 2019)
The breakdown of our planet’s stable climate and loss of biodiversity is reported widely in the world’s media. Governments and business are starting to step up to the plate, with realisation that long-term resilience of their citizens and customers depends on stable atmosphere and restored nature. Jurisdictions representing 43 million people in the UK alone have declared a climate emergency and 85% of Britons are worried about climate change (Ipsos Mori, 2019).
Children in school today will be the first to experience the full force of climate and nature impacts; from the day they start work their lives will be shaped by the consequences of short-term decision making by others. Despite the scale of challenge ahead and the extent to which everything in the world of work will be disrupted, few pupils leave school equipped with the confidence, skills or knowledge to effect the change that they’re capable of making.
In response to the challenges ahead and in recognition of the scale and speed of shift required, TYF Adventure, Welsh Rugby Union and partners are collaborating to launch Black Belt, Big Heart, a Wales-wide project to support and catalyse the biggest change that young people have ever made to our country. Black Belt problem-solving and design skills will help them develop bold and creative solutions to complex challenges; Big Heart empathy and compassion will help them learn, engage and grow.
In brief
1. Every Year 10 pupil in Wales has a right to develop unshakeable confidence in their ability to change their world for the better.
2. Pupils will take part in practical, creative and bold action learning that culminates in a one-day festival of impact at the Principality Stadium in July 2020.
3. To earn their free place at the stadium, young people will shift the needle on carbon, biodiversity and wellbeing in their schools, homes and communities. When 50,000 pupils ticking 40 actions each will have moved Wales’ journey of change forwards by two million steps
4. Pupils will be accompanied at the stadium event by 10,000 parents, teachers, civic and youth organisation leaders who have supported them on their journey.
5. Community and business organisations around Wales’ secondary schools will be invited to set real-world challenges then share skills and know-how on pupil’s journeys of learning and impact.
Getting Ready for the Rapids
Here’s the thing. There’s a six-level grading scheme in the world of white-water rafting and kayaking.
Class 1 rapids are gentle. At Class 2, the obstacles can be easily avoided; by Class 3 there are powerful currents and good skills are needed. At Class 4, the rapids are powerful but predictable; high skills are essential. Class 5 is serious and brings long, obstructed and violent rapids; extensive white-water skills are essential, and mistakes bring risk to life. Class 6 rapids may never have been run before and pose the highest level of risk.
Climate and biodiversity crises are carrying humanity towards long and uncharted Class 5 rapids. A wild ride is coming whatever we do. Most people have never been in a kayak and few leaders have navigated anything harder than Class 2, ‘business-as-usual’ rivers. Schools and university lack the knowledge and connections to effectively prepare pupils for the rapids ahead, leaving future generations to drift towards the cataracts ahead unprepared.
It’s only possible to run the wild waters of nature and climate breakdown if we recognise the difficulty of rapids we have to run and work together to build the skills that will get us through them safely.
This is a team effort
Future Generations: Wales’ leading environmental and health organisations will support pupils with content and skills as part of the foundations that pupils will need to build solutions ease climate, biodiversity and wellbeing challenges.
Skills: local and national businesses will be invited to set real-world learning challenges for schools and support them with skills and resources for idea generation, problem solving, finance and impact.
Support: every youth, cultural and support organisation in Wales will be invited to support the pupils’ journey with coaching, teaching and leadership skills, and to change the way their own sites are run to accelerate the switch to low carbon energy, circular economy working.
Partners: we will work closely to Welsh Government, Public Health Wales, local authorities, Wales Audit Office, Natural Resources Wales and business networks as challenge setters and place-based connectors; Iceland Foods, Yeo Valley, Lush and many others will share real-world challenge. The Do Lectures and Hay Festival will have a vital role as content providers. The role of cultural organisations ranging from Urdd and Arts Council of Wales will be essential in building the stories that weave pupils’ journey into an understandable, compelling narrative.
Underlying principles
Our start point is to embed the five ‘ways of working’ and seven goals from Wales’ Well-being of Future Generations Act into every element of the programme. This will play out in ways that include:
o Involving pupils in the creation of the project from the earliest stages, right through to the design and delivery of the Principality Stadium event.
o Working with teachers across Wales to align insights from pupils’ real-world problem-solving to the new curriculum and the Welsh Baccalaureate to optimise learning for personal development, exams and future employers’ needs.
o Creating opportunities for pupils already clear about their career choices to dive in deep and solve real-world challenges in those areas.
o Maximise pupils’ experiences of different ways of thinking and good practice examples from around the world that they can apply to the things that matter in their homes, schools and communities.
Practicalities
It’s still early days, and we are chasing funding to pay for the stage and PA system, and many things will still change. In principal, all of the lights are on green to create the event of a lifetime.
a) We plan to launch the journey as a New Year’s resolution and support young people for a six-month journey that builds the unshakeable confidence that they need.
b) Their learning journey will culminate in a seven-hour ‘festival in a day’ at the Principality Stadium that feels like a combination of a Six Nations home game and a sell-out pop concert. Pupils will experience an electrifying, interactive workshop that highlights the combined impact of the steps they’ve taken and celebrates achievement with a music performance from some of their favourite artistes and singing as part of Wales’ biggest ever choir.
c) Pupils will be encouraged to support their local councils, schools and businesses in signing up to science-based targets and ensure that all youth organisations in their area have practical, bold plans to respond to climate, nature, plastics and wellbeing.
d) The most committed, passionate attendees in 2019 will be invited to become the community coaches and connectors who support the next cohort of pupils in ’21–22.
Next steps
The WRU have committed to offer the stadium at no cost. We will approach Welsh Government to cover the cost of the stage & PA system. As soon as that’s in place, TYF and WRU will host a collaborative conversation at the stadium with all of the organisations who can support this journey to shape the best way to support this together. Shortly after that, we’ll launch the journey to schools & local authorities.
If you work with young people in Wales and want to help catalyse system-level shift, then please jump on board and get involved with content, action ideas and support. Get in touch via @gringreen
Andy Middleton, 9 Oct 2019
