Perception is everything. Perception is also one of the three pillars of The Scout Association strategy to 2023. Scouting is growing and has a good story to tell. Young people and adults will continue to be drawn to a growing organisation provided the good news reaches them and the wider community.
Martin Browne has been appointed to the role of Assistant Regional Commissioner (Communications) to make sure that good news stories reach people across South East Region and beyond. Martin wants to inspire existing members by sharing good news, and to reach out to potential adult volunteers by showing how much fun adults can have when they work in partnership with young people.
His first step will be to share, like and retweet the many stories which appear on public Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages across the Region. The Region’s own social media feeds should be full of the good news that is happening across all Districts. Please follow our Facebook pages on https://www.facebook.com/sesscouts/, our Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/sesscouts, or Instagram at https://www.instagram.com/ses_scouts/. Like, share, or post comments to make sure that stories are not missed. Private social media accounts will not be shared but if they alert Martin to a good story don’t be surprised if he gets in touch to see if there is a way in which the story can be shared with others.
Watch out for much greater awareness of the International Days in 2020. Rather than simply share or retweet a Scouts logo, for example International Children’s Day on 12 May, Martin would like to have a story from within our own Region which makes the day more meaningful for people here. A list of International Days will appear on the Region’s website calendar and requests for stories will follow.
Martin will be looking at how the Region’s website can better serve its audience. Please get in touch with anything about the website which works well for you and anything which frustrates you. The website will become a better place for the public to find out more about the good which Scouting has to offer in South East Scotland as well as for existing members to transact with the Region.
This newsletter is one of the main methods by which the Regional Team communicate with the 7,400 young people and 2,100 adults in the Region. Martin will be looking at how articles are generated and how best to communicate these stories to everyone. With greater use of social media many news stories will have been shared before the newsletter deadline leaving the newsletter to perform a different role.
Martin has a lot to do in his new role and he looks forward to getting in touch with Districts, Groups, Sections, Units and others across the Region to promote what you do. Martin can be reached on communications@sesscouts.org.uk