How did you get involved with IWill?
I was looking for a group with a national voice, like another KIDS really. Something that was bigger & wider than I’ve ever done before. To be part of a group where I could talk to Parliament, to MPS, and go to Downing St to make a difference. And so I searched online and found IWill.
It looked interesting, with young people having a voice, and they were looking for ambassadors. I didn’t know what the ambassador role was, but it sounded really good for me – someone who’s doing social, wanting to make a big change in the community, changing ways for young people to have that voice and telling others the changes that are needed.
What happened next?
Well I thought, this needs to happen! So I contacted them and then they invited me to interview, and then I got shortlisted. It just felt really empowering to have started the journey.
And then one day I was going home on the bus from my internship programme and I got an email. It said I’d been successful and was going to be an IWill Ambassador – I was just so shocked, but also excited! It just shows you can do anything if you put your mind to it.
So what’s your role as an Ambassador?
It’s sharing social action, and there are lots of ways to do this. I could create social media content, or just share about what I’m doing and tag companies & people to make sure I’m getting the message out there. And they share what I’m doing, which is great because new relationships & opportunities come from that, too. Sometimes you might get to do interview panels, or you get to do events. IWill want you to empower other young people and be the change makers. We’ll do a Teams meeting every month to catch up about ways of moving IWill forward.
And you went on a Residential with them too, how was that?
Yes, it was great fun, we went in August 2023 for 2 to 3 days in Hampshire.
I travelled to Doncaster train station where I met another ambassador and we went together to London Kings Cross. We then went on the underground to Waterloo where we met another ambassador along the way, and we all took a train to the venue.
Why a residential stay?
It was an opportunity to properly meet the IWill team and the new ambassadors like myself, along with previous ambassadors. And a good chance for us young activists to engage in activities and social action development workshops, all together.
Sounds exciting, what kind of activities?
We did incredible workshops such as communication and media training, along with storytelling and community reporting. There were ice-breaker exercises, too, and we heard stories from previous ambassadors. We also got involved with making a film for IWill week.
Did you have downtime with the other young people?
Yes, the evening sessions were kind of like a downtime. Sometimes we went outside, enjoyed nature, had a walk, played games, sat by the campfire and chatted…
It sounds like a great experience
I really enjoyed the residential. I got to know other young people just like me, activists and advocates collaborating, sharing ideas, working together and telling their social action journeys. It also made me more passionate about my social action – being an ambassador and inspiring other young people to have a voice and feel heard. I love encouraging others to start social action anytime, and that professionals & the government do listen to us if we make a stand and have a voice.
Can anyone be an ambassador?
My advice to anyone who wants to be an IWill ambassador is go for it, as it’s an incredible experience. You get opportunities, meet fellow friends and build confidence in yourself. And the staff are supportive to what changes you want to make in your social action.
Also be true to yourself, do something you believe in. It is daunting at first, but once you get going it’s so good. You can fit in or stand out, and there’ll be hard times and good times. Just have the determination to do it and be the change-maker you want to be.
Next steps
Read more about Troy taking part in mystery shopping and about him starting a participation group.
“My Ambassador role… is changing ways for young people to have that voice and telling others the changes that are needed.”
Troy
