How to help young men to become tomorrow’s leaders

With male suicide on the rise and men feeling that they are unable to speak up about their emotions, Rocking Ur Teens Co-founder Geoffrey Williams outlines the importance of equipping teenage boys with the skills they will need to become tomorrow’s leaders. He also unveils an event on International Men’s Day, which aims to provide young men with the tools they need to cope to overcome challenges from managing their mental well-being to how to become a change agent for gender equality.

November 19th 2020 is International Men’s Day. It is the day where we encourage men and women to consider what challenges men might face in today’s society. Some of you might read this and struggle to think about what issues men face; we live in a world designed for men. This viewpoint is not an untrue assumption. However, male suicide is on the rise and it’s compounded with the isolation of not feeling like they can speak up about their emotions as a man. This is stopping our young men from sharing their feelings and getting the support they need. 

That is why Rocking Ur Teens will be hosting our annual International Men’s day event on Wednesday November 11th, 2020. Speakers from a cross-section of society will speak to the young men attending the event about their journey, how they have managed their mental well-being, how they can be a change agent for gender equality and what it means to be a modern man. 

A GIFT TO FUTURE MALE GENERATIONS

We feel this is the gift we need to give to the next generation. With more young people using the internet to find answers and not speaking to professionals or their parents, we work to create a space where they get the answers to the questions they’ve been afraid to ask. Rocking Ur Teens was founded in 2014 to create programmes for young men and women to learn about the world of work. As well as helping teenagers build future connections to the workplace, we get them to consider their self-esteem and how that might make them happier and understand that life is a journey.  At times it comes with twists and turns, but that is okay because how you handle it is the crucial part. 

Pre-COVID we offered face to face conferences for International Women’s & Men’s Day and sector-specific interventions with targeted communities. We are currently in the process of launching our first leadership programme. As we continue to grow, we centre everything around the experience of the attendees.  In the five years of running these conferences to date, Rocking Ur Teens has organised 17 events in total for more than 2,000 teenagers from 150+ schools across the UK.

ENGAGING WITH TOMORROW’S FUTURE 

So while reading this article, I would like you to think about the world we currently live in from your teenage self’s perspective. How scary would it be? This event is an opportunity for you to engage with the next generation of tomorrow’s male leaders. We hope we can count on you.

We’re seeking sponsorship so that we can make this an inclusive event so that no child is excluded due to their financial circumstances. It’s also an excellent opportunity to increase awareness of your company with the next generation to help bolster your apprenticeships or graduate schemes. For more information email Williams on: Info@Rockingurteens.com

AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY

Geoffrey Williams has had a diverse career journey. He started his work life in the entertainment industry, before moving into health care, transport and then media.  He worked in Human Resources for several years and has experience in recruitment, talent management, learning and development, organisational design and diversity and inclusion. Williams was the former Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion (DE&I) at Thomson Reuters. While there, he worked on strategy, culture and implementation of a DE&I agenda and globally launched Thomson Reuters’ Diversity and Inclusion index. He also created programmes that supported diverse communities within the Thomson Reuters business. 

Williams has also been featured in the Financial Times Top 100 Ethnic Minority Role Models and DIMA’s 50 Male Advocates for Equality in Marketing and Media. Currently he is the founder of Geoffrey O. Williams LTD,  a boutique consultancy where he delivers insights, education and training around community, culture, brand and diversity and inclusion. He is also the co-founder of www.RockingUrTeens.com – a social enterprise that introduces young people to the real world of work and aims to connect teenagers to positive and vibrant futures.