Rotary Youth Leadership Awards

RYLA

While participants can be any age, most events focus on secondary school students, university students, or young professionals. RYLA events are typically 3–10 days long and include presentations, activities, and workshops that cover a variety of topics, including:

• Leadership fundamentals and ethics
• Communication skills
• Problem solving and conflict management
• Community and global citizenship

Rotary Club of Senlac sponsored two scouts from the 1st Ninfield Scout Group to attend a ‘leadership training’ weekend at the Artheusa Venture Centre in Rochester in April. Scouts Toby Ballard and Thomas Shoesmith, who received funding through the Rotary Youth Leadership Award Scheme (RYLA), gave a presentation on Wednesday 23 September to the club about their experiences. The course covered fundamental and positive leadership, effective communication, problem solving, building self-confidence and self-esteem as well community and global citizenship. Much of the learning was through team exercises and group working to gain confidence and put trust in others. Both Toby and Thomas said how much confidence they had gained from the weekend and that they had so much to take back and share with their scout group and others. Thomas described it as an “indescribable weekend, one I will definitely look back on with fond memories.”