UK Y7 2021 Working Group

TERMS OF REFERENCE

 Name of community

U.K. Y7 2021 Summit Working Group

Purpose

The purpose of the U.K. Y7 Summit Working Group (referred to as “the Working Group) will be:

  • To collaboratively develop a range of suggested outcomes for the Y7 2021;

  • To consult a range of stakeholders and propose a viable proposition on the level of outreach required for the Summit to be a success; and 

  • To put forward a proposed design for the Y7 Summit 2021, which delivers the suggested outcomes and delivers the recommended outreach in an innovative and pragmatic way.

The Working Group will present their proposals to a panel of Future Leaders Network and British Youth Council members, who will vote on its adoption or amendment. 

The Working Group will not have responsibility for delivering their proposal. However, members of the Working Group may subsequently apply to join the Delivery Team, for which recruitment is expected to take place in autumn 2020. Participants of the Working Group may also subsequently apply to represent the U.K. in any of the Youth Summits.

Term

The Working Group’s term is expected to be 8 - 10 weeks, commencing from early July and concluding at the start of September with a presentation to the panel. Exact dates will be confirmed with all Working Group members.

Membership

Applications to take part in the Working Group are open to any young person aged 18 - 30 who is resident in the United Kingdom. There are no requirements on nationality. We actively welcome applications from young people across the United Kingdom, encouraging diversity of location, background and profession.

We will apply methods based on stratified random sampling to select participants to ensure that there is representation from across the U.K. and from a diverse range of backgrounds. The maximum number of members on the Working Group will be 12.

Responsibilities

The Working Group will be expected to:

  • Consult meaningfully with a wide range of young people and stakeholders (as set out below) in developing their proposals;

  • Research potential options using appropriate desk-based and qualitative methods;

  • Treat all data gathered in accordance with GDPR and data protection best practices;

  • Rigorously assess all options for inclusion, feasibility, and value for money;

  • Draft a set of coherent, well presented papers and presentations to set out their proposals, which will be shared with a panel in advance of their meeting; and

  • Present their proposals to a panel of FLN and BYC leaders, and be prepared to answer questions.

Roles

The Working Group must appoint one Group Co-ordinator who will be responsible for arranging meetings, monitoring progress and reporting updates to the FLN and BYC board. The Working Group may decide amongst itself as to the apportion of other roles and responsibilities.

Ways of Working

The Working Group will be expected to:

  • Convene on at least a weekly basis, though it is expected that members will be actively progressing matters in between each meeting;

  • Empower the Group Co-ordinator to chair each weekly meeting and set an agenda in advance;

  • Attend every weekly meeting, and on occasions they are not able to attend, send apologies and comment on any papers or matters being discussed - the time-limited nature of this Working Group means that decisions cannot be delayed unnecessarily, provided that quorum (6) is reached;

  • Commit to at least 3 hours per week (including the weekly meeting) of activity; and

  • Carry out their work in accordance with U.K. government advice - the expectation is that the group will meet virtually via a platform of their choosing to enable members from across the U.K. to participate effectively. If the Working Group chooses to meet face-to-face, they must follow all relevant Covid-19 government advice.

Accountability

The Working Group is ultimately accountable to the panel of Future Leaders Network and British Youth Council leaders whom they will present to in early September. Any member who is found to be breaching the Terms of Reference, or failing to appropriately engage with the process, will be asked to leave.

Stakeholders

The Working Group will be expected to engage with a wide range of stakeholders, including (but not limited to):

  • Young people (aged 18 - 30) across the U.K. from a wide range of backgrounds;

  • Previous U.K. Y7 and Y20 Summit attendees;

  • Senior stakeholders in FLN and BYC, including FLN’s National Network Leads

  • Youth-led or youth focused organisations across the U.K. (including but not limited to  One Young World; My Life My Say; Young Professionals in Foreign Policy; Uprising)

Funding

This is an unpaid position. As no travel is expected, there will be no reimbursement of travel costs should members of the Working Group decide to meet in a safe and appropriate way.  Should any unavoidable costs be identified, then the Group Co-ordinator should immediately contact the FLN and BYC Board who will make a decision on whether it will be funded or not but this is not guaranteed.

COVID-19

In light of the disruption of COVID-19,  the Working Group will be asked to consider and present options for the Summit to be delivered face-to-face; virtually; or blended.

Definition of Terms

By outcomes we mean the desired effect of the Y7 2021 Summit. We are seeking the Working Group’s views on what these effects should be. Questions to consider here are: what do we want to change as a result of the Summit? For example, do we want to increase U.K. youth engagement in international decision making? Do we want to see at least one of the Y7 policy proposals adopted into the final G7 political declaration? Or do we want to improve international young people’s perceptions of the U.K.? Or all of the above?

By outreach we mean what level of engagement do we want to have with external partners in the lead up, during, and after the Y7 Summit? Do we want to carry out preceding sessions with all schools in the U.K.? Do we want to run some joint events during the summit? What will advocacy post-Summit look like and who needs to be involved?

By design we mean what would a financially viable and practically sound schedule for the Summit look like? How does the design link to the outcomes that are desired, and how does it involve the appropriate outreach as suggested?