Recently we hosted a media training session for our new media volunteers. These are young women with lived experience of living on low or no pay, who share their stories and our work with media outlets.
This session was delivered by a group of our previous media volunteers. In this blog some of the young women who delivered the session share why they chose to become media volunteers and explain why peer to peer learning is so valuable.
Gemma Hirst
Media training is a safe virtual space to learn about how you can confidently represent yourself and Young Women’s Trust through various forms of media.
In the workshop you
- Find out about different types of media
- Decide which stories you feel comfortable to share
- Learn how to reply to questions from reporters
In my role as a Media Volunteer, I have shared my experiences of living on Universal Credit with broadcast media. In the workshop I was able to share my experience of working with broadcast journalists with a new group of media volunteers. I made sure to share simple tips and assured them that engaging with the media is not as scary as it may appear.
Freya Pulham Binch
Media training gives young women the skills, information, and techniques they need to tell their story to the media.
I wanted to take part in delivering the media session as I loved doing media training myself. Being given the opportunity to speak to the media and have my voice heard is amazing. I want other young women to feel the same as I do – proud, listened to and confident to stand up for myself and others that are not able to.
I am so thankful for the opportunity to deliver the session, as I really enjoyed being able to share my experiences with new media volunteers.
Jen Allerton
I took part in a training session a few years ago because I thought it was a great skill to be able to demonstrate. I helped to deliver a session because I found it valuable and wanted to be able to give back to Young Women’s Trust and share what I had learned with other women.
Young women taking part in the session told me that sharing my personal experience of putting the skills into practice helped them to get to grips with how the tools worked and apply it to their own situation.
It was also lovely just to meet other young women getting involved with Young Women’s Trust and hear their experiences. They saw Young Women’s Trust as a great way to build confidence and meet others who shared their passion and wanted to make things better for all young women.
Katie Crowson, Media and Communications Officer
The young women media volunteers who deliver our media training really bring it to life. They have a wealth of lived experiences of talking to the media which makes them perfectly placed to share what is involved, the challenges they have overcome and why they enjoy being media volunteers.
Speaking to the media can be a daunting prospect for anyone. This is why it is so important for young women to hear directly from their peers about how they have used the techniques Young Women’s Trust suggests.
These include
- How to set boundaries
- Communicating your key messages
- How to prepare for tricky questions
They are all excellent ambassadors for the media volunteer role and show other young women what they can achieve.
If you are a young woman and would like to find out about more opportunities to be involved with our work, then join our Facebook Lounge.
This is a private group where you can connect with other young women and find out about opportunities to help shape the work of the organisation.
