Engage. Educate. Empower: Att10tive delivers personal development for young Lutonians

In the week beginning July 22nd to July 25th - Att10tive’s Youth Ambassador Development Week was held at Marsh Farm Futures. This event is an opportunity for prospective Youth Ambassadors to get to know Att10tive as an organisation and engage in educating workshops alongside current Att10tive Youth Ambassadors and members of the organisation. Its aim is to develop the attendees and allow them to get to know each other as a team. The participants’ itinerary for the week was packed with networking opportunities, great workshops, and special guests. I happened to take part in this event as a photographer.

DAY 1 - Monday, July 22nd 2024

The week started off with an ice breaker. Participants introduced themselves and shared their aspirations. This was followed by a session on what Att10tive is and what it does. Briefly, Att10tive is a Luton-based company whose focus is to engage, educate and empower individuals and communities. They provide namely (but not only) workshops for schools and colleges, police scrutiny panels, and various events, such as Step Forward Luton (an event focused on creativity of the people of Luton).

Whilst prospective Youth Ambassadors were given an induction to Att10tive, current Youth Ambassadors, Executive Assistants, Team Leaders, Facilitators, Att10tive’s Managing Director, and Phil Dickson-Earle (special guest of the day, Chair of Att10tive, Senior Media Technician at Luton Sixth Form College, and many more) conversed about engagement.

Day 1 also consisted of a few workshops full of engaging activities. First of them revolving around the dos and don't of public speaking. Workshop leader, Habibah Miah, shared the following words of wisdom with the participants, “Don’t be too critical. Negative self-talk won’t get you anywhere.” The remaining workshops were focused on engagement (mainly community engagement), and radio hosting. These feed directly (as do other workshops mentioned) into what Att10tive does as a company: one of their ethos is engagement, and currently they have two radio shows on air (one being Youthology on AUK Radio fortnightly on Wednesdays at 6 pm).

DAY 2 - Tuesday, July 23rd 2024

Day 2 focused on: leadership skills, communication and presentation skills, CV writing and interview skills, and engaging with communities. We started the day with a discussion on leadership, followed by an exercise on communication and presentation skills. Then, participants engaged in activities and discussion focused on qualities of a good manager, which included roleplaying as a manager. While the prospective Youth Ambassadors were focused on developing their CV writing and interview skills, the Att10tive team conversed about the benefits and kinds of ice breakers and energisers (testing one out as well). The day finished with a workshop on engaging with communities.

DAY 3 - Wednesday, July 24th 2024

We started day 3 of the Youth Ambassador Development Week with a workshop on project and event planning, complete with an overview of Att10tive past and coming up projects and events, activities, and sharing a sample project plan. The participants' task was to come up with and plan a project of their own in groups of 5-6 people. This was followed by a session focused on scrutiny panels, including the Att10tive provided JPS (joint protective services) panel. The day ended with a photography workshop during which attendees gained knowledge about operating a camera and got to take some photos themselves.

DAY 4 - Thursday, July 25th 2024

The final day had to be one of the most interesting and exciting ones of the entire week. It started with an ice breaker everyone enjoyed very much, 2 truths and 1 lie. Then, participants shared what they have learned throughout the week before they began preparations for the debate competition (my personal favourite activity of the week). The final round of the debate competition with the motion of “Stop and Search should be scrapped” will be available to watch on Att10tive’s YouTube Channel. On the day, participants engaged in conversations with two special guests, Kimberley Campbell-Lamb (Legitimacy and Public Service Director at Bedfordshire Police) and John Tizard (newly elected Bedfordshire Police Crime Commissioner).

I asked one of the participants, Aahna Desai, about her thoughts about the week. She said, “Att10tive’s YA Development Week was an incredible experience for me. Each day was packed with engaging sessions that honed my presentation skills, taught me the fundamentals of social enterprises, and introduced me to the art of photography. The JPS panel discussions were particularly enlightening, offering real-world insights in a beautifully structured format. I also learned valuable management skills and refined my personal speaking abilities, all within a supportive and inspiring environment. The week left me more confident and equipped with practical tools to pursue my passions effectively.”

To sum up, Att10tive’s Youth Ambassador Development Week was packed with amazing workshops, great special guests and many opportunities to grow. What I personally loved about the week is the opportunities to reflect on progress for the attendees as at the end of each day there was time allocated especially for reflection and feedback. I would recommend attending Att10tive’s Youth Ambassador Development Week to anyone. I would like to finish this article with two quotes from Montell Neufville (Managing Director of Att10tive) that I noted down throughout the week as I find them truly inspiring. They are, “The thing that will make you succeed is you,” and “Tomorrow starts today and it starts with you.”