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The Young Ambassador Programme will see thousands of 14-19 year olds working as role models in schools and local communities in the run up to 2012
 The closing of the 2008 Beijing Olympics triggered huge excitement in Britain and added immediacy to London’s hosting of the world’s biggest sporting spectacle in four year’s time.
Indeed, the new Olympiad has already gathered momentum ever since London Mayor Boris Johnson took hold of the famous five-ringed flag in August and waved it above his head at China’s Bird’s Nest Stadium to signify the handover of the Summer Games.
For the last two years one particular nationwide initiative has already been celebrating this joyous occasion and helping to leave a sporting legacy both now and beyond 2012.
Role models
The Young Ambassador Programme, managed by the Youth Sport Trust, will see more than 5,500 14-19 year olds working as role models in schools and local communities in the run up to 2012.
Each will help build on the excitement created by the London 2012 Games by championing the Olympic and Paralympic values, sport, PE and a healthy lifestyle to other youngsters.
This academic year’s record intake of 1,000 Young Ambassadors will attend one of six Young Ambassador conferences during September and October in York, Oxford, Manchester, Derby, Exeter and London. These conferences aim to give them the skills to, for example, lead school assemblies, mentor other youngsters and get more young people participating in sport.
The Young Ambassador scheme, now entering its third year, has been granted the London 2012 Inspire Mark by the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games (LOCOG).
Inspiring young people
Steve Grainger, chief executive of the Youth Sport Trust, said: “The Young Ambassador programme embodies the promise made when London won the right to host the 2012 Games to use the Olympic and Paralympic Games to inspire young people to choose sport. It’s an initiative that empowers young people to inspire their friends and peers. It will form a key part of the London 2012 activities in schools.
“The Youth Sport Trust is thrilled the Young Ambassador programme has received official recognition from the organisers of the 2012 Games.”
Paul Deighton, chief executive of LOCOG, who is speaking at one of the six regional conferences, said: “The Young Ambassador programme will help bring the benefits of the 2012 Games to every part of the UK so we are delighted to recognise the scheme through our Inspire programme. Mirroring our brand values, only the most accessible, participative, inspiring and stimulating projects and events will achieve the Inspire mark, part of London 2012’s brand family.
“Young Ambassadors is the first initiative to receive the Inspire Mark for education and forms an important part of the PE and sport strand of Get Set – the official London 2012 education programme that also launches this year.”
The power of the games
The Young Ambassador Programme was born when London won the right to host the 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games in Singapore in July 2005. At this time, London made the ‘Singapore Promise’ – a commitment to the world to use power of the Games to inspire young people to choose sport. This Singapore Promise was the inspiration for the Young Ambassador Programme, which officially started in the summer of 2006. Central to its theme is the principle of young people driving opportunity, engagement and change for other young people aged 5-19.
A key aspect that has been continuous since the programme launched is the use of past and present elite athletes, sporting champions and Olympic and Paralympic medallists to play a hugely significant role in delivering the Young Ambassador content.
Among those responsible for helping the Young Ambassadors at this year’s conferences are Adam Whitehead, a former European and Commonwealth swimming champion; Miriam Batten, who won an Olympic silver medal in the women’s quad sculls in the Sydney Games; and Paralympic gold medal-winning athlete Tim Prendergast.
Choosing young ambassadors
Each of the 450 school sport partnerships in England selects two Young Ambassadors; one being identified as a gifted and talented young sports performer and the second, a committed volunteer in PE, school and community sport.
The Young Ambassadors undertake the role for at least two years. After their first year in the role they have the additional responsibility of becoming a mentor for the new Young Ambassadors in their school sport partnership.
The role and aims of the Young Ambassadors are becoming embedded in the work of school sport partnerships. The focus of the programme is on young people using the inspiration of the London 2012 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games to:
- Increase participation of other young people and, in doing so, contribute to the achievement of the five-hour offer
- Promote healthy, active lifestyles amongst other young people
- Promote learning in young people through the Olympic and Paralympic ideas and values of respect, friendship, excellence, inspiration, determination, courage and equality.
An incredible journey
Jasmine Scott, who is coming to the end of her two-year term as a Young Ambassador, has enjoyed an incredible journey since being selected.
“There have been so many highlights,” said the 18-year-old Loughborough University student. “In the summer of 2007, I was asked to volunteer at the UK School Games in Coventry, working with the athlete mentors, including past and present Olympians and Paralympians. I was asked to speak on BBC Radio Five Live about my role as a Young Ambassador and describe the positive things young people do in the community and how I strive to inspire young people to do sport. Later that year, I jointly hosted LOCOG’s Educator Sector briefing, which was broadcast live via a webcast to London 2012 Stakeholders.
“This year, I was invited to the University of Bath, to speak to the group of 12 local Young Ambassadors who were volunteering at the 2008 UK School Games. I talked about my experiences from the 2007 Games, what I have done since the games, and why I felt I had such a great time. I worked with Olympic gold medallist Jason Gardener and was then asked to be the Young Ambassador Team Manager at the UK School Games 2008.
“My role as a Young Ambassador also saw me being asked to become a panel member for LOCOG’s Paralympic handover media briefing, along with Lord Seb Coe and Ade Adepitan, wheelchair basketball Paralympic medallist. I also became Chair of the Young Ambassador Steering Group, formed of 12 Young Ambassadors from across England, to discuss the programme and the conferences, and give ideas about how we can make them better for the Ambassadors selected.
“Over the two years, I have developed a passion for the Young Ambassador programme and how it helps young people to inspire other young people. From my work at the two UK School Games, I will continue volunteering at major sporting events and hopefully help to encourage more young people, and make it easier for young people to volunteer at such events.”
The Young Ambassador programme sits within the Leadership and Volunteering strand of the National PE and Sport Strategy for Young People (PESSYP). It is funded jointly by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport and the DCFS.
Joining together expertise
The Youth Sport Trust works extremely closely with LOCOG, the British Olympic Foundation and the British Paralympic Association to deliver the Young Ambassador programme. Each of the above organisations along with the Youth Sport Trust, and the two government departments, form the Young Ambassador Steering Group.
The London 2012 Inspire Mark recognises outstanding projects and events helping deliver the Games’ lasting legacy. Part of the London 2012 brand family, it is the badge of the wider Inspire programme, which has sport at its heart and London at its centre, but it is more than London and more than sport. It is for London and the UK, for sport and culture, for education, volunteering and business opportunities.
For more information
‘Get Set’ the new London 2012 education programme can be found at www.london2012.com/getset. For more information on the Youth Sport Trust, please visit www.youthsporttrust.org |
