Youth Committee meeting, 15 December 2014

Radio Society of Britain
Youth Committee
Meeting Minutes 15th December 2014

Present: Michael Jones (Chair) [MJ], Rebecca Hughes [RH], James Thornhill [JT], Oscar Hall
[OH], Rachel Landragin [RL], William Davies [WD], Adam Hutchinson [AH]
Apologies: Steve Hartley [SH], Mark Dumpleton [MD]
Text in italics signifies an action note.
All members will be referred to by their initials.

MJ opened the meeting and thanks everyone for attending and for their continued
participation.

Matters Arising:
JT sent an email to NUS about making links, no reply as of yet. JT queried whether to send a
follow up email. MJ asked JT to hold off for the moment but thanked him for offering.
Officer Vacancies:
AH was voted in as Financial Advisor
OH was voted in as Liaison Manager
No interest was taken in the role of Secretary
MD appointed Deputy on a temporary basis until a full Deputy is voted in.

Board Aims:
Providing 3 articles to Radcom:
The committee discussed possible topics for the Radcom articles. It was suggested and
agreed to do 3 separate articles on the main youth events during the year. These being:
– Youngsters on the Air Month
– Youngsters on the Air DXpedition and UK event
– Other youth activities and events in amateur radio which clubs, schools and other
organisations are doing for amateur radio.
On a side note JT mentioned it would be good to have some sort of youth section in the
Practical Wireless magazine. The committee agreed. MJ said this would not be an article
from the Youth Committee but a Youth section of the magazine would be a good idea.

—
Youngsters on the Air (YOTA) Events:
+ YOTA Month:
MJ said that all is currently going well and is in hand for the YOTA month. MJ asked for some
feedback from some of the committee members who have been doing YOTA events so far
and if there is anything that could be done for next year’s YOTA month and, more
importantly, anything we could implement straight away for the rest of the month.
RH held a Technojam event which combines amateur radio with other technologies like
Raspberry Pi which she said went well.
WD expressed concern that some of the clubs didn’t have sufficient equipment and it would
be good if the RSGB could lend some out for these purposes.
JT mentioned that his club went to local amateurs who seemed keen to help and donate.
MJ expressed a concern as the international YOTA team have directed us not to allow quick
‘5/9, 73’ contacts. However, reports have informed us that that’s been going on. AH made a
point about an award being associated with the YOTA month so some people may just want
a quick contact in order to gain the award. JT said in order to facilitate this, his club set up a
station on a frequency especially for these types of QSO which seemed to work well. MJ to
liaise with the General Manager to ask if any equipment is available for these purposes.
+ YOTA UK 2015
The committee wish to move YOTA UK 15 to Easter instead of July. This is to accommodate
everyone and to also spread the events out through the year as the committee felt that
having 3 events in July will be too much. JT mentioned as a side note that lots of D of E
activities happen in Easter so there may be a clash. A vote was taken and the committee
unanimously supported the move to Easter. RL appointed project leader with RH , WD & JT
on the project team. JT offered Silcoates school as a possibility of venues for the event. RL
to coordinate with the team and start organising the event.
+YOTA IARU 15
MJ mentioned there’s no official release of the location for the IARU event however when
it’s released a letter will be sent out to all young people about that and the Project DX15
event. The selection panel will consist of MJ, MD & RL. MJ to liaise with IARU team on the
details and draft a letter to young operators.
Liaisons with other youth organisations:
OH to liaise with MJ & Heather Parsons – Communications manager.

—
Project DX15:
In MD’s absence MJ provided a report. Possible venues were considered and narrowed
down to Wales or the Isle of Man. Risks and benefits were considered for each and a vote
was cast. By a majority vote the Isle of Man was selected. MJ to liaise with MD to reach a
final decision and a business proposal put together and submitted by Christmas.

—
Physical Youth Committee Meeting:
The committee expressed interest in meeting twice per annum. Once in March/April time
and the other at the RSGB convention. 10-13rd March is a no as is the 8th. MJ to liaise with
Graham Coomber – General manager.

—
Support for new Amateurs
The committee expressed an interest in supporting newly licensed amateurs as it was
identified there is a lack of support for the new young licensees. The committee discussed
setting up and implementing a mentoring scheme where a database is held of people who
are current licensee’s who would be available to mentor new licensees. MJ to liaise with
Phillip Wills – Training & Education Committee Chair.

Some ideas were a little help sheet that
comes along with the pass certificate with links to the club finder and some contacts for
young people within the RSGB, especially a link steering them to the youth committee and
showing our support. Also containing links to websites like Echolink and QRZ where they can
further develop their social circle within the hobby. JT mentioned it would be good for the
RSGB to hold a youth contest. JT to explore this option further with the contest committee.

—
Free membership for young people
All members of the committee expressed a concern about the advertisement of free
membership for young members and the committee felt that it’s very much under
advertised. A committee member stated that it’s very hard to find that it’s free and is in the
small print of the literature. An idea would be to make some posters aimed towards young
people who aren’t members which highlight that membership is free for young people. It
would also be good if clubs could reiterate this to young people when they take their exam.
OH mentioned that the forms are very hard to fill out and misleading of what sections to fill
out. MJ to liaise with Graham Coomber – General Manager & Heather Parsons –
Communications Manager.

—
Next Meeting – Monday 19th January 2015 via Skype

—
On a final note, the committee wished the Society and all its members a Merry Christmas
and Happy New Year!

—
Michael Jones, 2E0MLJ
Youth Committee Chairman
youth.chairman@rsgb.org.uk

Category: Youth Committee meeting minutes