Woodcraft Folk Camp 100

On the 28^th and 29^th of July I had the pleasure of being invited to assist the General Federation of  Trade Unions in the running of their trade union centre at the Woodcraft folk centenary camp. Having been involved with youth organisations for some time this opportunity seemed like just my sort of thing and I was proven right immediately.

On Monday morning, we arrived at the campsite in the grounds of Kelmarsh hall. The scale of which mesmerised me, over 2000 people camping over the course of a week with attendees across numerous age groups from all corners of the country. It was as if a city had sprung up in the midst of the English countryside.

After being introduced to the dedicated individuals running the centre over the course of the week, we set to work organising our pitch ahead of the young people being released to visit the stands in the early afternoon. A number of unions had provided leaflets and merchandise for distribution among the campers and the GFTU representatives had arranged activities to generate an interest and opportunity for discussion on what a union is and the benefits thereof. We had some fantastic discussion amongst ourselves while getting organised and this really set a positive tone for the afternoon ahead.

At three o’clock it began! After the opening ceremony of the camp, the people were instructed to go and explore and they did en masse. The enthusiasm with which they came and asked questions and engaged with us was like nothing I had ever seen. Seeing people as young as six or seven so very curious and eager to learn truly was inspiring and, of course, parents followed; many of whom also came forth with open minds. It was a very unique thing, being able to engage with people at such a grand scale who had such an appetite for the ideas of strength through gathering together. These principals were, it seemed, already very present in the minds of people so young but there was a thirst to develop these and see the application in the world of work.

By six o’clock, my first day was beginning to draw to its conclusion and my return to Quorn for the evening offered an opportunity to reflect. What a fantastic day! To-morrow could not have come soon enough.

Tuesday morning, the final day of my tenure at the trade union centre. To-day would be more structured I had been told, with a theatre workshop in the morning and a talk on the 1926 general strike in the afternoon. My morning, once again, consisted of talking with all those that came to the tent with interest and encouraging attendance at our events. The first hour or so involved a slow trickle of people as breakfasts were concluded and the campers began to move again through the centre of the camp. Numbers multiplied hour by hour until it seemed all were up and eager by noon. The enthusiasm and interest from the people seemed to have carried forth from the day before, with many engaging with the games we had set up and asking us about what we did. Postman from North Angus did certainly garner some surprised expressions, but led to some very spirited conversation.

The afternoons talk on the general strike was of particular interest to me. The participants were grouped after an initial presentation and tasked with discussing the differences between life now and one-hundred years previous, and then what challenges we may be facing in one-hundred years time. This last component was one in which I took a keen interest; the groups consisted of people across a range of ages and background which always leads to an interesting discussion. One concern the every group had raised was that of the advance of artificial intelligence. Gawain Little (General Secretary of the GFTU, who was running the talk) gave me the opportunity to share my thoughts on this with the groups and how this will effect trade unions going forward. I hope some of it made sense!

The day was concluded with more opportunity to engage with campers passing by. As the heat in the air began to fade I knew my time was drawing to a close. I cannot emphasise sufficiently quite how exciting and interesting this experience had been. I have always thoroughly enjoying talking to young people, the curiosity and appetite for learning is infectious. I know over the course of these two days I have met the workers of tomorrow and I hope that they all came away just a little more intrigued as to what we do and why we do it.