International adventures for young people

A delegation from the Campaign for National Park’s (1) Mosaic Young Champions (2) has just returned from presenting at an international conference in Sweden on the opportunities offered by Dartmoor and Exmoor National Parks for developing youth leadership skills.

Steve Lovell, one of the young people who attended, said:

"When I first arrived at Leksand (in Sweden) I was greeted by a landscape that completely took my breath away but that pales in comparison to how amazed and proud I was to be part of a global movement to change how young people are treated across the world. The people that I met during the conference were some of the most interesting people I’ve ever had the pleasure of working with and I am honoured to have had the opportunity to work alongside them and overjoyed for them to be the leaders of tomorrow."

Apart from running workshops the young people also spent time with the Swedish Minister for Employment (Sven-Otto Littorin), discussing the necessity of allowing young people to develop entrepreneur and leadership skills, especially in challenging economic conditions.

Youth Project Officer David Rolls, from Mosaic, said:

“It was brilliant to be part of the UK delegation. The young people really made their voices heard in a very powerful way. Seeing them on the main platform presenting to over 1000 conference delegates was certainly a high point.”

The Mosaic Young Champions joined young people from six other innovative youth leadership projects in the UK delegation upon the request of the Young Foundation. Mary Abdo from the Foundation highlighted:

“Mosaic brought experience, passion and creativity to our team at the ‘YES - Rework the World’ Conference in Sweden. We were delighted with how well the trip went and particularly the leadership Mosaic Young Champion Steve showed among our group of young participants. We were proud to showcase the innovative youth leadership work of the Campaign for National Parks on an international stage.”

Over the last twelve months the Campaign for National Parks has been working with young people aged 16-25 to explore how to make National Parks relevant and important to this generation. In the last six months alone over 200 days have been volunteered by the young people all of whom are now passionate about promoting the opportunities offered by National Parks to their peers. At the same time the young champions have been developing leadership skills and have helped to ‘youth proof’ Exmoor and Dartmoor National Park visitor services and materials!

For more information and photos please contact:
Mosaic Programme Manager, Nina Arwitz: 020 7924 4077 ext. 227 / nina@cnp.org.uk
Mosaic Project Officer, David Rolls: 07935 099 462 / david@cnp.org.uk

Notes to editors
1. The Campaign for National Parks (CNP) is a national charity dedicated to protecting and promoting all thirteen National Parks of England and Wales for the benefit and enjoyment of all. Visit our brand new website to learn more www.cnp.org.uk

2. Mosaic is a groundbreaking national project led by the Campaign for National Parks that aims to build sustainable links between young people, as well as ethnic minority communities, and the National Parks. It focuses on those audiences who would not normally visit the Parks and provides them with the knowledge, tools and confidence to explore some of Britain’s most iconic landscapes. It is a partnership between the Campaign for National Parks, the Youth Hostels Association and the 9 organisations that run the National Parks in England: the Broads Authority, Dartmoor National Park Authority (NPA), Exmoor NPA, Lake District NPA, New Forest NPA, North York Moors NPA, Northumberland NPA, Peak District NPA and the Yorkshire Dales NPA. For more information, please visit: www.mosaicnationalparks.org.uk.