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Choosing my leadership role:

To start with the leadership challenge, I had to first recognise what makes a good leader.

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I made a mind map - deciding that these were the 10 most important qualities for a leader:

  • Confident,

  • Makes tough decisions,

  • Resilient,

  • Problem-solving skills,

  • Patient,

  • Flexible,

  • Organised,

  • Kind,

  • Easy to follow,

  • Independent.

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I could develop the most on confidence, resilience and organisation. This project will help me develop these skills, as I am going to have to take on important roles for the event, and instruct others on what to do, as well as have a concise plan for the day.

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By the end, I will have developed these skills massively.

Plan:

I needed a clear plan to complete this challenge:

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  1. Decide on what event we will be holding.

  2. Pick a role (hopefully sound) and research the role - what will I need?, how can I learn about this role?

  3. Sort out all parts of planning - staging, equipment, acts, promotion, purpose, my role, etc.

  4. Clear plan for the day - how will I complete my part in the event - who will I be leading, etc.

Next, the young team and I collaborated, thinking of a few ideas for our project - as we had decided to do it together.

BATTLE OF THE BANDS

Give young musicians an opportunity to make a name for themselves.

TABLE TOP GAMES

Get people involved in a new hobby to enjoy with others.

Poetry

Set up poets on a stage to variate from the norm of bands - get people into poetry.

BANDS

Put on a classic gig on a stage - entertainment. Possible link to grassroots culture of Wakefield.

In the end, Zac decided to do the table top games idea, whilst myself, Ruby, Daisy and Callum combined the poetry and bands idea into one large event.

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We would put on a #Youngteam stage on the Sunday of Long Division Festival, where each of us would select an act (poetry of musician).

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We decided to put this stage outside the old market hall - to attract people in the city centre.

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Below is a rough sketch of where we would place the stage

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Roles:

We decided that these were the roles:

  • Presenter,

  • Sound tech,

  • Photos,

  • Stage Manager.

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I decided on sound tech, as I'm interested in sound engineering. My role would be to sort equipment, help with PA, do the soundcheck, etc.

Charity Link

However, I wanted to have a larger aim for the event rather than just to entertain, so I chose charity. This then became my main leadership role - but I still did the sound tech. Seeing as how my little brother Ellis has Cystic Fibrosis and I've fundraised for them in the past - I chose CF Trust UK as the charity. The new aim for our event was to raise money for a good cause.

What Is CF?

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic condition affecting more than 10,600 people in the UK. You are born with CF and cannot catch it later in life, but one in 25 of us carries the faulty gene that causes it, usually without knowing.

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Now, our stage become the Shout! Stage - where each act used their voice as a key part of their art. This was because CF mainly attacks the lungs.

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For the stage, I had charity banners, balloons, etc, at my dad's house - this would be used to advertise the charity and further encourage donations.

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We wanted 100-200 people and expected 50-75 people - so we hoped to make around £100-£200 for the charity.

Obtaining a collection license:

In order to collect for CF Trust, I had to obtain a street collection license from Wakefield city council. First, I filled out a long document about the event and collection. Next, I emailed CF Trust - eventually contacting a local rep and receiving a letter of authority (pictured). Then, I applied for the license.

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My Chosen Act:

Now, I had to choose an act. After some research, I found Charlie Padfield - a local Wakefield musician - a 'dynamic singer songwriter of garage rock and avante folk sounds from Yorkshire.'

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After receiving confirmation that Charlie's band was available - my act was sorted.

My role as sound tech:

Firstly, I had to make a list of equipment that would be required.

  • PA,

  • Bass amp,

  • Drum kit,

  • Microphones.

The bands would then bring their own equipment (guitars, amps, etc).

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Then, I had to sort timings out:

  • 10:30-11:30 - Soundcheck

  • 11:30-12:00 - Elusive Dip

  • -Gap-(30 minutes)

  • 12:30-12:45 - Oli Watkins

  • 12:45-1:00 - Charity Info

  • -Gap-(15 minutes)

  • 1:15-1:45 - Rebel Hearted

  • -Gap-(15 minutes)

  • 2:00-2:15 - Pipa Dean

  • -Gap-(15 minutes)

  • 2:30-3:00 - Charlie Padfield

  • 3:00-3:30 - Pack down

Further Planning:

I also had to complete a risk assessment form for the event - pictured below.

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After compiling my planning efforts, we were nearly done.

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This is a notes page that shows some of the brainstorming process involved with the planning process

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Now we had a program and a good idea of our plan for the day - Ruby had a 5 piece jazz band called Elusive Dip, Callum was playing in his band Rebel Hearted, while Daisy had two poets; Pipa Dean and Oli Watkins.

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Below is the program for the event (made by Callum).

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Now, all that was left to do was confirm things with Matty at Long Division and draw up a plan for Paul and Ruby for the day, as they would be my collectors.

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My plan was for them to collect during the gaps between acts - using CF buckets from my dad's house. They would each carry a copy of my letter of authority that I had printed off.

Leadership Plan:

On the day I was leading the stage manager, technical crew and performers by deciding a schedule, as they all had to carefully stick to the timings.

I was also leading Paul and Ruby as the charity coordinator. I needed to provide them each with a letter of authority, instructions for the day, as well as charity information/leaflets.

Also, I was leading the acts, as I was part of the sound engineering of the stage - and the acts relied on me and Megan (sound tech) to make them sound professional.

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