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A new blog post from Karl draws attention to a Get Involved in Wales event added to the programme announced in October. Ironically, the event takes place outside Wales, at Chester YH, and will be an open forum to discuss the proposed governance changes. Presumably you can turn up and raise other issues too.

The meeting will start at 12:00 on 14th February. What could be a more romantic Valentine’s Day activity than picking over the finer points of YHA’s Board of Trustees composition?

PS: If anybody attending this meeting (or any other of the Get Involved events for that matter) would like to write an account of it for this website, I’d be happy to publish it.

Karl has posted a summary of proposed governance changes to the YHA Blog. The package of changes to the size and practices of the Board of Trustees will be put to an Extraordinary General Meeting at the end of February. In order to be put into practice, they’ll have to win the approval of a variety of stakeholders, but not even Karl’s 100% happy with them:

Not everybody will get everything they want – me included. That is life I suppose. A few years ago I might have screamed and stamped my feet if I did not get my way, but this time it is different in that this is what YHA needs and not what I personally want. I am going to try and be less me, me, me.

Well, I’m glad Karl is on top of his anger management technique, but that’s not the whole story.

Until recently, Karl was a member of the Governance Implementation Group, a sub-committee of the Board charged with formulating the new structure. Clearly, he’s been well-placed to get his point of view across, although its apparently not always gone his way. To be fair, the Governance Review has involved a lot of consultation at Regional Council level and even, initially, with the wider membership.

It’s a lot easier to accept decisions not going your way if you feel your opinion has been listened to, even if ultimately it hasn’t been heeded. You did your best, said your piece, and take your losses on the chin.

The reason why members sometimes “scream and stamp their feet” at YHA is that they feel excluded from the policy-making process. Important decisions are made behind closed doors, by management or by the Board. Members aren’t consulted beforehand, and often aren’t even told about it afterwards (the removal of limited means discounts being a classic example).

Of course, it’s not possible (or desirable) to consult everybody on every day-to-day decision, but YHA could do a much better job of communicating the choices that it’s made and the reasons for its decisions. If YHA could better engage with its membership, it might begin to look upon them as a useful resource rather than (as it sometimes seems) a whining inconvenience.

Screaming and stamping is a natural reaction if you feel you’re being ignored.

In what is hopefully the start of a higher profile for governance events, there’s a report on the Broad Haven “Get Involved” Forum on the YHA Site:

YHA supporters in Wales gathered together in Broad Haven at the weekend to celebrate a new programme to encourage more people, including young people, to get involved in the charity’s work…

Visit the YHA website to read the full report.

One recommendation of the Purkis Governance Review was that regional councils be replaced with a programme of local rallies, forums and volunteering events open to all members. In order to see how such a set-up would work in practice, YHA Wales is organising a series of events under the heading Get Involved.

Ranging between Autumn 2008 and Summer 2009, and in locations all around Wales, these events are open both to members living in Wales and those with an interest in Welsh hostelling. Would-be attendees are asked to notify Matlock in advance (there’s a registration form available for the purpose) so they know how many people to expect.

Details of the events can be found on a (typically well-hidden) page of the YHA Site, as well as the events listings of this site. The events scheduled so far are:

If your group is based in or around Wales (or just likes going there), why not make one of these the basis of a group event?

The 2008 YHA National AGM or National Meeting, previously called YHA National Council, was at Ironbridge over the 12th, 13th and 14th September. I have been attending these meetings as an Individual YHA Member since September 1996, not on behalf of YHA Local Groups. I think this was one of the best organised I have attended, the presence of new hands at the wheel was clearly apparent.

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YHA have issued their Annual Review in online form as well as the more conventional paper version issued to attendees at the AGM two weeks ago and no doubt available from a hostel near you. There’s lots to read, so I’ll let you get on with it, but feel free to comment about it below.

27 representatives of 16 affiliated groups assembled at YHA’s Matlock head office for the conference on 17th March. The low take-up of places for this event resulted in a much restricted programme in comparison to previous years, but there was still much business for those assembled to get through.

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Another open letter from John Annett prior to the forthcoming local groups’ conference:

To all YHA Local Groups

URGENT MESSAGE

I would be grateful if you could forward a message urgently to your delegates who are attending the National Local Groups Conference on 17th March at Matlock.

You may be aware that delegates at the November meeting formed an informal Local Groups coordinating committee on the Friday night because we were prevented from doing so formally at the meeting on Saturday.

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The first round of consultation on the governance review has been completed, and a document published called “Towards a Programme of Renewal”. In it, review leader Andrew Purkis (pictured left) sets out his initial recommendations for bringing YHA’s governing structure into line with its stated aims and with the stresses of the 21st century.

Of particular interest to visitors of this site will be his attitude to YHA Groups. What’s perhaps surprising is that he doesn’t appear to have one:

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An open letter from John Annett:

Hello one and all,

You may recall at Coalport that some LGs got together to form a ‘holding committee’ until the more formal National Local Groups Conference.

Those ‘elected’ were Paul Madge (Stafford Group), Chris Hunt (Leicester Group), Alan Summers (Leicester Group) and myself John Annett (Croydon Group).

I am hopeful that a formal election will now appear on the agenda. I have discussed the terms of reference of such a committee with Crewenna Dymond which I feel we need to establish before we can ask for candidates. Crewenna has suggested that I contact all LGs to get their view of what they are seeking from such a committee. She has asked me in particular not to prompt you with any examples or my own thoughts. That is what this note is more brief that I might normally send.

Please send your comments direct to me asap but by 7th February and I hope by the conference I can agree a way forward with YHA that benefits us all.

See you all at Matlock.

Regards

John Annett

Please use the comments section below to enter your views. If you’d prefer to make a private point direct to John, you can contact him at john@nnett.freeserve.co.uk.