{"alias":"blogEntry","byline":"","standfirst":"As 2020 draws to a close (thank goodness, we might say), our UK Chief Commissioner, Tim Kidd, looks ahead to 2021 and the prospect of a fresh new start for our movement.","content":{"layouts":[{"type":"singleColumn","areas":[{"items":[{"gridType":"gridImageBlock","gtmId":"gtmId","gtmClass":"gtmClass","image":"/media/6490/fdl-homepage.jpg","width":1268,"height":664,"altText":"The Scouts Fleur in purple","caption":"","link":null},{"gridType":"RichTextBlock","content":"\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI don\u2019t know about you, but I\u2019ve spent much of the last nine months on Zoom. And when I\u2019m speaking to our brilliant leadership teams and young people, there\u2019s a phrase I\u2019ve been using: \u2018Don\u2019t mourn for the past; let\u2019s look to the future with optimism.\u2019\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course, that\u2019s easy to say. We\u2019ve not yet understood the full impact of the pandemic on our movement. We know many our groups have been badly hit and many are still struggling. We know our finances have been severely impacted. That\u2019s why we took the tough decisions announced earlier in the month about reducing staff levels, selling some assets and launching our Race Round the World appeal.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EInventing our future \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EBut there\u2019s one thing I know for sure. We have to bounce back. We have to greet the future with determination and resolve and continue our mission to bring skills for life to more young people. If we don\u2019t do that, we\u2019ll simply be giving up \u2013 and that\u2019s not the Scout way.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere\u2019s a really powerful idea that I like, which is that we can invent our own future. It\u2019s about accepting there have been setbacks and saying that we will work within the new parameters. It\u2019s about adapting to new conditions, while remembering what we set out to do in the first place: to make life better for our young people.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EWhat we\u2019ve learnt \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOf course there\u2019s so much we\u2019ve learnt from this difficult year. We\u2019ve learnt we have more resilience than we knew; we remembered just how vital the hope and encouragement we offer is to young people. And we also discovered that meeting once a week face to face is not the only way to do Scouts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThere are other positives to come out of all this. We\u2019ve had more recognition and support from parents than ever before. Often they\u2019ve been looking over our young people\u2019s shoulders on Zoom calls; they\u2019ve seen how their children have brightened during these precious moments. And they\u2019ve seen the energy, passion and resolve of your our volunteers, determined to keep supporting their children. I know of one Cub, who had to isolate at home while his friends met face to face. The leader still dropped off badges and activities on his doorstep. That\u2019s the sort of commitment that\u2019s had our parents writing in to thank us for what we do, more in this year than ever before.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EI know many of us are coping with that uniquely 2020 phenomenon: Zoom fatigue.\u00A0 I agree it\u2019s no substitute for those great moments we all remember of summer evenings in the outdoors. But it\u2019s so much better than not offering Scouts at all. I\u2019m amazed how the power of Scouts can still reach people through the screen. Young people still respond, and that special magic, friendship and sense of belonging we get from Scouts is still there.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EAccepting a new reality\u00A0 \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWe have to prepare ourselves for the likelihood of some restrictions continuing into 2021. And that means making sure we\u2019ve got the skills in place to do that. One leadership team asked an Explorer to support them with Zoom calls \u2013 he created an animated flag break and flag down for them, and was just brilliantly at home managing the young people on the call. If you don\u2019t feel you have the skills you need, then now\u2019s the time to learn from others, or see who else can support you with this. I\u2019ve got a feeling Zoom isn\u2019t going away anytime soon.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EStaying in touch \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EOne thing I\u2019ve realised this year, that\u2019s more important than ever, is staying in touch. When our leadership teams aren\u2019t meeting up as they used it, it\u2019s so easy to drift away from Scouts. Of course this communication could be by email, social media in the form of Zoom chat, but it could just be as simple as picking up the phone, or going for a socially distanced walk in the park. This isn\u2019t about technology, it\u2019s about contact.\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EWhen we catch up, we remind ourselves why we do this in the first place and motivate each other. Try and look for new ways to build connection \u2013 whether that\u2019s online or in the real world. The most important thing is that we stay in touch and support each other. That\u2019s the only way our teams will stay together.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EOur priorities for 2021 \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ESomeone asked me what our priorities are for next year. To me, the answer is simple. Our priority will always be to keep supporting young people.\u00A0 But we need to think carefully how we can achieve this \u2013 and this comes in several parts.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe first is that we\u2019ll need to nurture and support those parts of our movement struggling to offer activities to young people. What support, learnings and expertise can we share to be make this easier in our new, topsy-turvy world?\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThe second is undoubtedly that we need to find new people to support us. This might mean looking at our pool of contacts and parents and asking some to step forward to help us rebuild. It might mean asking some of our Young Leaders and Network members to lend their particular skills and energy to support younger members.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAdult recruitment therefore will be a big one for us in 2021. We need to make it easier for new people to join and make them feel more welcome than ever.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003ERemember things are different now for so many people. Millions more are working at home, and for many, commutes have disappeared. It may be that people who felt time poor and unable to support in the past are now in a position to help. We need new and different skills, and some \u2018digital natives\u2019 may be only too happy to help prepare and deliver online sessions.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u003Cstrong\u003EA cautious note of optimism \u003C/strong\u003E\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EAs we enter the new year (and not forgetting a welcome break over Christmas) let\u2019s rediscover that spirit of optimism and togetherness. Let\u2019s keep supporting each other, keep an open mind and remind ourselves why Scouts still matters. We offer skills for life and hope for the future.\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003EThanks for everything you do. \u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E\n\u003Cp\u003E\u00A0\u003C/p\u003E","gtmId":"","gtmClass":""}]}],"config":null}]},"searchDescription":null,"pageType":null,"location":null,"versionDate":"01 December 2020","reviewDate":null,"furtherReading":[],"relatedLinks":[],"id":48611,"nodeName":"The road ahead","title":"The road ahead","type":"blogEntry","image":{"url":"/media/6490/fdl-homepage.jpg?width=800\u0026height=450\u0026v=1d9becd0c842420","caption":"FDL Homepage","type":"jpg","size":93039,"width":1268,"height":664,"altText":"The Scouts Fleur in purple"},"assets":null,"headerOptions":{"headerTitle":"The road ahead","headerSubTitle":null,"headerCta":null,"headerCtaText":null,"headerCtaLink":null,"headerBackgroundColour":null,"showSEOImage":false,"headerBackgroundImage":null,"quickLinks":null},"subHeader":"Our UK Chief Commissioner, Tim Kidd, looks ahead to 2021 and the prospect of a fresh new start for our movement.","browserTitle":null,"silktide":"eyJjbXMiOiJVbWJyYWNvIiwiZWRpdG9yVXJsIjoiaHR0cHM6Ly9wcm9kLWNtcy5zY291dHMub3JnLnVrLy91bWJyYWNvIy9jb250ZW50L2NvbnRlbnQvZWRpdC80ODYxMSJ9","canonicalUrl":"https://www.scouts.org.uk/news/2020/november/the-road-ahead/"}