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10 photos celebrating Youth Day in the UK

All around the world this month our focus has been on youth. 

We put on 13 events spanning three continents, celebrating the impact of 30,000 volunteers. We saw alumni interviewed on national TV about the importance of safe spaces, got Google to host digital marketing sessions for young people, and staged loud and bright parades.

And in the UK we ran an event in Birmingham bringing alumni from up and down the country together to celebrate. See our favourite parts of the day.

The event was designed by a team of volunteers like Faiza
© ICS / Becky Mursell
The event was designed by a team of volunteers like Faiza

1. It was all run by volunteers

Volunteers like Faiza Amin. She was part of a small steering group of seven young people from across the country who took the event right from its beginnings to the finished product. They absolutely smashed it.

Felicity Morgan delivers a speech at the ICS Celebration Event
© ICS / Becky Mursell
Felicity Morgan delivers a speech at the ICS Celebration Event

2. The ICS model going global

That's Felicity, Director of ICS. During her opening speech, she talked about how the ICS model has been picked up by others.

"ICS is now the largest-ever youth programme supported by the UK Government. We've been talking to governments around the world about the programme, and other volunteering programmes across the EU have been talking to us about our approach to diversity and inclusion."

Sessions were led by organisations like Oxfam, Unicef and WaterAid
© ICS / Becky Mursell
Sessions were led by organisations like Oxfam, Unicef and WaterAid

3. Giving young people the skills to campaign well

We partnered with organisations like Oxfam, Unicef and WaterAid to deliver sessions on everything from Brexit to perceptions of UK Aid; working with young people to supporting refugees.

Name badges showed the countries volunteers had worked in
© ICS / Becky Mursell
Name badges showed the countries volunteers had worked in
Workshops on active citizenship provoked debate
© ICS / Becky Mursell
Workshops on active citizenship provoked debate

4. We helped people make new friends

Our sessions throughout the day brought people together to spark new conversations and make new friendships. Just like ICS, in fact. We even included on their badges the countries people had volunteered and their motivations for attending the event as conversation starters.

Chief organiser Sandra poses inside the Insta frame
© ICS / Becky Mursell
Chief organiser Sandra poses inside the Insta frame

5. A giant Instagram frame

Because why not. (Shameless plug: go see our Instagram Story)

Charities like VSO, the ONE campaign and UpRising exhibited at the event
© ICS / Becky Mursell
Charities like VSO, the ONE campaign and UpRising exhibited at the event

6. Keep on sharing the opportunities

We know we're not the only ones out there with a big vision. So we brought charities like VSO, the ONE campaign and UpRising together to help promote the great work they're doing.

Volunteer Rory Howard, 21, took to the stage to talk about climate change
© ICS / Becky Mursell
Volunteer Rory Howard, 21, took to the stage to talk about climate change

7. We heard from amazing volunteers

Like volunteer Rory Howard, 21. He got up onto the podium to speak about his passion for tackling climate change following his placement in Mondulkiri, Cambodia.

Spoken word poet Emmanuel Speaks closed the event
© ICS / Becky Mursell
Spoken word poet Emmanuel Speaks closed the event

8. And from a passionate spoken word poet

TEDx and Channel 4 lyricist Emmanuel Speaks closed the event with some of his work around anti-FGM and got people thinking about what next.

Go check out his work

We got volunteers to pass on their advice to a future volunteer
© ICS / Becky Mursell
We got volunteers to pass on their advice to a future volunteer

9. Postcards to a future volunteer

Before everyone left, we had one final request of them - to pass on their advice to a future ICS volunteer. It could be the one thing they'd regretted not doing (or doing!), a top tip for making the most of their time, or even their contact details.

All the attendees pose for a photo at the end of the event
© ICS / Becky Mursell
All the attendees pose for a photo at the end of the event

10. Thanks to everyone who came!

Wherever you were and whatever you were doing this Youth Day, don't stop the great work in championing the issues and challenges young people across the world face in 2018.

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Funded by the UK Government.

ICS is funded by the UK's Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), which projects the UK as a force for good in the world, including reducing poverty and tackling global challenges.

Find out more