GFTU BGCM Minutes 2017

Colleagues, it is vitally important that trade unions embrace the need for young

members and their involvement in our movement, because it is an aging

movement. We need to give young people a platform to network with others,

build confidence and knowledge without sitting there thinking, “I’ve got to move

a motion in a minute and I’m not really sure what’s going on. I’ve sat and

listened to somebody speak for 25 minutes and I wasn’t really sure what that

meant” at a normal union conference. The Next Generation Festival is about

just doing that in a relaxed atmosphere in which everyone that is there can take

part and enjoy and have input. We want next year’s festival to be the most

diverse, the biggest and the best event we have held, which is why the dates are out now. You have all got a booklet. There is a flyer in there. It is 20 th to 22 nd April 2018. There are no excuses. You have all had 12 months’ warning

that it is coming. Get it in your diaries alongside reminders to get your young

people there and we want as many young people as possible. This would

ensure we have a truly engaging festival fit for the next generation of our

movement to ensure its longevity. Thank you. (Applause)

BRO JOHN McGOWAN (Social Workers Union): I just wanted to share with you a

recent scheme we started. We emailed all universities who present social work

courses in the UK with an offer of four grants of £500 for any student who

comes up with a great essay and the title I think was ‘What are the benefits of

social work students joining a trade union?’ The response has been very high,

because, as you can imagine, £500 is quite a lot, so that was a great scheme.

It meant that we were able to email all universities, including your own, I think.

That was a great idea, because it meant we could engage with young people

and start getting them thinking about the world of trade unions. I just wanted to

share that with you. (Applause)

THE PRESIDENT: Phil, can I just ask, when you are speaking could you also say a

little bit about course validation as well.

PHIL CARDEW: I was going to talk a little bit about what we were doing to give you

maybe a context that would be helpful.

THE PRESIDENT: Perfect.

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