YW Forum weekend 2022

It’s so important to bring young activists together, and not just on a Zoom call, but in a collaborative space where you can meet, engage, and interact in-person. This is why we held a Young Workers’ Forum weekend in May.

Over the course of the weekend, we had a variety of speakers from Prospect and the wider trade union movement, as well as training on equity, diversity and inclusion (ED&I); allyship; and how to organise in your workplace. Our Young Workers’ organiser Kay Huntbach did a fantastic job organising the event, and the weekend was a great success!

Day one

On day one, we had talks on the history of Prospect and the trade union movement which gave insight into what makes a successful union movement and why activists really are at the core.

In the afternoon, we were joined by an inspiring array of speakers, including Sue Ferns , deputy general secretary of Prospect and TUC president spoke on the energy sector; Prospect’s Garry Graham on the Public Sector; Yann Allsopp touched on Bectu; and long-standing rep David Heaver who spoke about some exciting developments in his Natural England branch. 

We then had a talk from general secretary Mike Clancy, who spoke on shaping the union for the future, sparking an interesting discussion during the Q&A. It was great to see lots of young workers being so forthcoming and open with their ideas and questions.

Day Two

Day two focused on training and learning exercises to get everyone thinking. The day kicked off with an ED&I session from senior organiser Sam Gipson, followed by Rob Lauder’s allyship training… with a fun twist…

Everyone knows the game ‘guess who?’, but what if we played using only inclusive language? That was the challenge for our young workers during the allyship training, and it was definitely a challenge!

We also got our groups of young workers to talk about their own experiences and how we can work to be better allies for each other.

Young Workers are the future of the trade union movement and we want to utilise that activism and the fresh new ideas that you bring to the table. Being an activist can look however you wish it to look – you can do as much as you wish.

If you do want to get more involved, check out our Rep’s hub, or our Young Workers page.

Beth Barrows, Prospect’s digital communications team