Timebank takes teenagers to Russia
Published on:
28
May 2010
Two Alloa teenagers have attended an international seminar in Russia on the benefits of timebanks.
Alan Newbigging (19) and Calli Brown (19) are members of Clackmannanshire Youth Council which runs a youth timebank for 130 members.
Timebank involves people aged from 12 - 24 years to take part in the wider life of the community. Credits are awarded for every hour of voluntary work such as helping out at youth clubs. The credits can then be 'spent' on things like outings, training and events.
The seminar was held over six days in Nizhny Novgorod, the fourth largest city in Russia. The purpose of the seminar was to share best practice between different timebanks and Alan and Calli were rubbing shoulders with representatives from all over Europe.
Calli said: "We were the only representatives from Britain there. We met people from Sweden, Slovakia, Belgium, Spain, Italy and of course Russia. Thankfully everyone spoke English and the seminar was in English!"
The Alloa pair were shocked by the conditions they saw in Russia, particularly in Nizhny Novgorod, which used to be called Gorky.
"The country is very poor, and the hotel was really basic," said Alan. "You don't get tourists in Nizhny Novgorod and people seemed excited to see us. It was like being famous!"
As the youth timebank has been run in Clackmannanshire since 2006, Alan and Calli had a lot of experience to share.
Alan said: "A lot of the people we met had just set up their timebanks, so ended up leading some of the sessions, talking about how to engage with young people and getting them involved."
Calli added: "In a lot of poorer countries timebanks are used as a form of currency, whereas we use it as a way to reward young people to getting involved in their community."
Clackmannanshire Youth Council now hopes to establish a network of youth timebanks across Europe and may host future seminars in Alloa
The cost of attending the seminar was met by the European Youth Foundation. The Clacks Youth Timebank is supported by Clackmannanshire Council and the National Youth Timebank.
