Hello and welcome to season 2 of the Jenni Talks podcast. In this season we are going to focus on conversations with people about creating new opportunities, communities and spaces for young people & youth workers to engage with as a result of the pandemic. I have written a book called From Isolation to Community: Youth Work in the Covid Era and Beyond that is available now. In it I have recorded the stories of many people working with young people across the UK during the pandemic, we will be hearing from some of these same youth workers but also from others who I’ve come across who are doing some amazing things to engage, enable and encourage young people to really thrive despite all the restrictions that have been put on us in these pandemic times.

You can buy the book by going to my website www.jenniosborn.org and clicking on one of the options there.

One of my passions has been supporting those who work with young people and this was part of the aim of the book, to showcase and reflect on the work that’s happening up and down the country. I also offer mentoring for youth workers, regular sessions over a 6 month period to support youth workers in their roles, acting as a sounding board, as an encourager to make small changes or to think different things through. If you’re interested in mentoring or having conversations about the themes from the book then I am available for book clubs, for resourcing and reflecting with your team or for encouraging youth workers to consider the impact of this pandemic and how we can move forward. You can get in touch via the website.

This episode is a conversation with Adam Whiting who works for St Mary’s church in Luton, he is the Youth and Young Adults Pastor. He also works with The Feast who are an interfaith organisation based in Luton. I was particularly interested in his experiences using Discord to connect with young people online and how this has worked, Adam gives a really comprehensive picture of how youth workers can use discord well with groups which I found really fascinating and hope that you’ll find it very useful indeed. The link for the Guidelines on Dialogue which is mentioned by Adam is this one https://thefeast.org.uk/resources#guidelines 

I hope you enjoy this conversation and don’t forget to share!

Contact Adam by email youth@stmarysluton.org 

Contact Jenni

Twitter: @jenni_talks

Facebook: @jennitalks

Email: hello@jenniosborn.org