Becoming a group

Why start a group?

Be moved by the state of the world, outspoken about what's unfair and excited
about making a difference.

Starting a Youth Action Group is your chance to be part of making the world a fairer
place. Oxfam is a vibrant global movement of dedicated people fighting poverty.
Together. Doing amazing work. Together. People power drives everything we do.

Working with others, we’re stronger.

Our voice is louder. There are more
ideas, more people to help, more
people to join in.

It won’t just be other people in your

group you can work with, there’ll be
other groups around the country,
Oxfam volunteers and staff, and in
some places there’ll be Oxfam Youth
Board members near you too.

Young campaigners work together to make a

message to politicians. Working with others helps
good ideas go further.

What do groups do?

Oxfam will support Youth Action Groups to explore
and take action on key global poverty issues.

From climate change, to health and education,

campaigning on your chosen issues is all about making
an impact on particular people (your campaign “targets”)
so that change becomes possible. Often that means
politicians, but it could mean companies or the general
public.

We want to help you put your own ideas into action, as

well as letting you know about exciting events or
activities you could join in with. That could mean making
a video, holding a creative writing competition, inviting
your local MP to school, sending a card, putting on your
own Oxjam event…. The options are endless.
Students in London pose for a photo with
one of Oxfam’s campaigning polar bears
(because humans need saving from climate
change too!).
10 steps to get up and running

Students from around the UK outside Number 10 Downing Street, ready to hand their climate change
messages in for the Prime Minister.

1. Let us know.
If you’re thinking of starting a new group, let us know so we can appoint a contact
person to support you. You can do this by emailing youthteam@oxfam.org.uk.
Tick when done

2. Get the word out

See who else is up for getting involved and gather a core group to help. Advertise
your group to the widest possible range of people. You might be surprised who
shows an interest, and the more different skills, experiences and perspectives in
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your group, the more you’ll be able to achieve.

3. Book a first meeting or find-out-more session

Try to let as many people as possible know about the first meeting. It’s easier to get
people interested in things when they’re new, and having lots of people’s ideas at
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the first meeting will help make sure things start with a bang.

4. Think who you’ll need support from and get them on board
Think about whose support will make your life easier. If you’re in a school, is there a
supportive teacher who’ll be able to help with making sure you have a place to meet
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and talking to the head teacher if you need permission for activities? If you’re based
outside of school, is there a youth leader who’ll help you with ideas and materials?

5. Agree who’ll be the group’s main contact person

Oxfam will need a contact for your group who is 16 or older. If someone in your
group is that age, they can register the group themselves. If your group is younger,
this should be a member of school staff or a youth leader and the person you Tick when done
choose should be 18+ and have a CRB (Criminal Records Bureau) check (we’ll
check this with them when you register).

6. Get registered
Get hold of an Oxfam Youth Action Group registration form (email
youthteam@oxfam.org.uk) and send it back to us completed. Tick when done

7. Choose a regular meeting time and place

Having a regular meeting time and place will help keep things moving and give you
natural deadlines to work towards when you’re organising or making things. It also
gives you something to advertise as a way of joining (e.g. your posters can say Tick when done
‘come along to Room 16 on Tuesday lunchtimes to get involved’). Also think about
what you’ll regularly need in meetings (e.g. the internet, pens, paper).

8. Share your welcome pack

Once your group is registered, your pack will be in the post. It should arrive with
your appointed contact person within 2 weeks. Use the materials provided to learn
more about the issues, get clued up on campaigns and plan your own actions. Tick when done

9. Arrange an Oxfam visit

Oxfam volunteers and staff are on hand for support. To request a visit, contact your
nearest regional campaigner (see section on Sources of Support) or write to
Tick when done
youthteam@oxfam.org.uk.

10. Start planning your activities

By now, you’ll be an officially registered Oxfam Youth Action Group, ready to get
your teeth into planning events and activities. Set some goals. Decide what’s most
important to you. Then get onto planning how to make it happen. Tick when done
 Getting organised

At your first meetings you will want to start working out what your group wants to
achieve and how your group will be structured. This section has recommendations
for:

• Working out roles

• Making decisions
• Setting priorities
• Holding great meetings

Who’s who?
There are no rules about how you run your group. It’s yours – we want you to run things
in a way that suits you. Many people will find it useful to assign roles. You might want to
discuss some of the who-does-what issues below in one of your first meetings.

Would it be useful to have a chairperson?

How long should the chairperson (or similar) role last? Will it
rotate every term, or is it a yearly thing?

Do people in your group have particular skills you

want to make the most of?

Is anyone looking for experience in a certain area?

How will you decide who does what on an ongoing

basis?

Would it be useful to have an Events Rep? Secretary? Design

Coordinator? Campaign issue experts? Media Rep?
Making Decisions
Agreeing at the beginning how you’ll come to decisions together is a great way to set the
tone of your group and will help make sure everyone accepts decisions when they’re
made. You might want to consider a few different ways of reaching agreement.

Agreements are often made:

• By consensus (Everyone needs to agree or at least be happy to stand
aside.)
• By voting (Where the majority wins.)
• By having different people responsible for final decisions in different areas

Working together to make campaigning plans for the next few months

Setting Goals
Early on, you’ll want to decide what’s most important to your group. The issues that
matter to you. The activities you’re most interested in. What you want to learn. These are
the things that will keep your group focused and active. You might want to ask yourselves
the following questions at your first or second meeting.

1. What issues are you most concerned about as a group? How much variation is
there?

2. How many activities do you want to aim for this year?

3. What do you want to learn more about? How do you think you’ll get this information?
Great meetings
Having great meetings is a life skill. Right now, there are probably millions of people
around the world sitting in meetings. Not all of them will be going well. But with the right
skills, yours can be fun, effective and make things happen.

Meetings are a good way to share ideas and organise effective campaigning action or
events.

A good chair A friendly

Not just to sit on! A good meeting will
usually have a chairperson or
facilitator. Chairing a meeting isn’t
about giving lots of opinions. If
anything, a good chair holds back on
offering their own opinions, unless they
think something vital hasn’t been
covered. The role of a good chair is to
make sure everyone speaks up, no one
dominates, and agreements are
reached in the time available and in a
way that the group is happy with.
Fun
Get creative in how you work and make
time for just catching up and having a
laugh too. Sticking some music on or
bringing snacks can make all the
difference if there’s lots to get through.
atmosphere
Welcome newcomers. Give
everyone a chance to have their say.
Don’t be afraid to disagree with each
other (campaigners always do!) but
work together and stick to group
decisions, even if they don’t go the
way you want.
A clear agenda
Your agenda is the plan of what you
need to discuss in order to work
towards your aims. Some things
might be ‘recurring items’ and
appear every time. It’s great to hand
round or pin up the agenda so
everyone can see what there is to
get through in the time available.

Clear goals
The best meetings happen when
everyone is really clear about what
they’re aiming for and excited about
getting there. If things lose their flow,
come back to your goals. Have you set
yourself too big a challenge? Are you
missing an event or activity to plan
towards? Agree an achievable goal for
the next term and go for it.
Action points
Making sure someone’s volunteered
to keep a written record of who’s
said they’ll do what by when will
save a lot of headaches. It’s good to
note any major group decisions too.
Sending round your notes (or
‘minutes’) can help people who
couldn’t make it stay in the loop too.
 Taking action
The difference you make
Change can’t happen without you. Each one of us makes a difference every time we
speak out, even if we get just one other person thinking about global poverty.

Campaigners often talk about ‘actions’. Generally, an action is an act of support for a
campaign, with the aim of influencing a decision maker, gathering support, or having an
impact on the problem directly. Like writing to the Prime Minister, holding an awareness-
raising event, or living more ethically.

Students from the West Midlands take action on climate change by

taking part in a photo opportunity with Oxfam placards.

Popular campaign actions

Here are just a handful of ways you could support a campaign…
• Design an awareness poster
• Send a politician a postcard
• Write to a local business
• Hold a film party
• Run a stall
• Run a theme night
• New media (YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, podcasts)
• Hold an Oxjam event
• Hold a public meeting
• Do a stunt to get media coverage
• Run a workshop
• Organise a peaceful protest or march
• Put your views to your MP
• Work with the UK Youth Parliament
• Organise a drama, dance or singing performance
• Run or enter a themed poetry/ film-making/ photography/ essay competition

And many, many, many more. Email your favourites to youthteam@oxfam.org.uk

 Action checklist
An effective action should allow you to answer “yes” to
at least one of these four questions:

1. Does my action inform people of the issue?

2. Does my action grab people’s attention? Is it
fun, engaging, powerful enough?

3. Does my action help show other people how

they can help, speak out, take action?

4. Can I use this action to influence the

government, media and other influential people with Creativity is often a really valuable tool for
the power to help make change happen? campaigners, helping your action stand out.

Once you’ve chosen what actions to take, you can start thinking about how to make it
happen. Who’ll do what? What deadlines do you need to set? What are your goals? Don’t
forget to share your plans with us by contacting your nearest regional office or writing to
youthteam@oxfam.org.uk.

Dos & Don’ts • Do focus on a single, clear message.

Campaigners double their impact by taking photos to tell
their story, as well as writing to the PM.
• Do use logos and slogans so people can
identify your message more instantly
• Do keep ‘on message’ at all times – bear in
mind the overall campaign message and
don’t let yourself confuse your audience
with tangents or extra info.
• Do think about the timing of actions to give
them the biggest impact. What events could
they link to? What’s been in the media?
• Do keep plugging away at your promotion –
there’s no quick fix.
• Do use stories to give your issue a human
face
• Do learn from mistakes – we all make
them.
• Don’t lie about the facts
• Don’t use negative emotions like fear, guilt
Sources of support
Help and advice
Once you’ve registered, you’ll have an official contact at Oxfam who you can contact
with any questions. This person is likely to be based out of your nearest Oxfam office.

Scotland Office Cymru Office

Sara Cowan, Community & Activist Rhodri Griffiths, Youth & Schools
Campaigner (Youth) Advisor
scowan@oxfam.org.uk rgriffiths@oxfam.org.uk
0141 285 8874 0300 200 1269
First Floor, 207 Bath St, Glasgow, G2 Fifth Floor, Market Buildings, 5/6 St Mary
4HZ Street, Cardiff, CF10 1AT

North West Office South West Office

Jo-Anne Witcombe, Youth & Schools Jennifer Martin, Youth & Schools
Campaigner Campaigner
jwitcombe@oxfam.org.uk jmartin@oxfam.org.uk
0161 234 2793 0117 916 6475
Green Fish Resource Centre, 46-50 07876790635
Oldham Street, Manchester, M1 1JR Brunswick Court, Brunswick Square,
Bristol, BS2 8PE

Midlands Office
Sophia Ireland, Youth & Schools South East Office
Campaigner John McLaverty, Youth & Schools
soirelan@oxfam.org.uk Campaigner
0121 634 3611 jmclaverty@oxfam.org.uk
Queensgate Business Centre, 121 020 7802 9981
Suffolk Street Queensway, Birmingham, Ground Floor, 232-242 Vauxhall Bridge
B1 1LX Road, London, SW1V 1AU

If you’re unsure who to contact, you can also write to youthteam@oxfam.org.uk

Training
Your nearest Oxfam Campaigns office may also able to help with workshops and training
with your group, by arranging a visit from an Oxfam Speaker, providing materials, or
coming to see you themselves.

Online information
The Oxfam website (www.oxfam.org.uk) also contains a huge amount of information.
From what the Millennium Development Goals are all about to the effect climate change
is having on poor communities, it’s a great first stop.
 Your feedback
Leading the way
If you’re taking part during Spring and Summer
terms of 2010, you’re part of one of our very
first Youth Action groups. Ever! Part of being
involved should be helping to shape how
groups work in the future.

We want you to help us understand how being

in a group can be the most enjoyable
experience possible, and how we can help you
to play the most effective part in campaigns.
Campaigners take part in an action being done
During this academic year, you’ll receive two all over the world – forming a white band to
quick surveys from us, which will help us symbolise ‘make poverty history’.
understand more about your starting point,
your interests and the experience you have with us. Please return these to us.

We also welcome your feedback at any time – please write to us at

youthteam@oxfam.org.uk or speak to your appointed Oxfam contact.

We’re especially interested to hear your thoughts on these three things:

1. These materials
These are the first editions and we really need your feedback to help us improve them so
please tell us what’s missing, what isn’t necessary and what needs to be changed

2. Communication
You’ll receive a mixture of printed materials, emails and – in many cases – visits. We’d
like to know how this balance works for you.

3. Online ideas
We’re currently developing an online space for young campaigners so please email us
your feedback on the main site. We’d love to know what would make this new space most
effective for you.

Please also let us know if there is anything else we could provide that would help you to
run your group.