Chair

Jack Woodward

Liverpool Universities' SSAGO

Hello SSAGO,

 

I’m Jack, and for anyone that is unaware, I’ve been SSAGO’s chair for the last 12 months (actually only 10 so far, technically). Before that, I was SSAGO’s Secretary for 2023-24, and before that, was on the CentenaRally committee and Chair of the then newly restarted Policy Fixers Project. Going further back, I was co-chair of Rally of Games, while simultaneously president of Liverpool SSAGO, and before that, started my long string of SSAGO committee roles as Treasurer of Liverpool SSAGO.

 

All that to say, I very much know what I’m getting myself in for. Being on Team Pink is not an easy responsibility - it takes a lot of time, and effort, and can sometimes involve making some really challenging decisions, and the chair has to spearhead that. It can very easily take over your life, and SSAGO is best served by having members of Team Pink who are able and willing to dedicate their time to. I know, and I hope everyone who I’ve had the pleasure of working with over my last few years on Team Pink knows, that I can do exactly that. I still have 2 and a half years of funding left for my PhD, so I know what my capacity will look like for the next year, and know I am capable of fulfilling the role.

 

I would like to hope that most of you would agree that I’ve done a reasonably good job this year - not perfect, by any means (there are plenty of things I wish we’d been able to deal with quicker, or more efficiently, and things I could have done better) but good. And yet, there are still things to do - longer term projects that I’ve been working on this year, in some cases for the past 2 years, that I want to see through to completion:

• Most obvious of all, SSAGO is still not, quite, a registered charity - we’re really close now (close enough that significant changes could happen between me writing this, and you all casting your votes), but not quite there, and given the reason we’re not there yet, I believe the relationships I’ve been able to build with The Scouts over the last 2 years (both through SSAGO, and in my own Scouting roles) will really help in getting us over the finish line.
• Additionally, I recently had the first meeting between National SSAGO and someone at Girlguiding HQ in a number of years - we’ve made a really positive start, and they’re now keen to build a relationship that allows us to help and support each other in achieving our goals as organisations, and I’d like to make sure that succeeds.
• There’s also the SSAGO Strategy - we’re now 1 year into the 3 year plan I helped shape as Secretary, and while I think we’ve made a good start, there’s still plenty more work to be done, to meet our aims.
• Finally, events - I mentioned in my manifesto last year that I felt that events (and not just national ones) were one of the best parts of SSAGO, and I still do. I also said I wanted to work more with the events officer to make sure event committees get the support they need. I do think we’ve gotten better at the way we support event committees in organising their events, but it really is a challenging undertaking, and we could be better. Especially given the number and complexity of events we’ll be overseeing for this next year, with Witan and Reunion added to the schedule, I want to help make sure that event organising gets off on the right foot, and that the support Team Pink is able to provide continues to improve, and I think my skills and experience put me in the best place to be able to do that.

 

As anyone who knows me could tell you, I’m incredibly passionate about SSAGO, and I want it to be the best it can possibly be - if I didn’t think I was the best person for the role, I wouldn’t be running. This would be the last of my 3 years that I’m eligible to be elected for, and I honestly believe that now, while I’m already fully immersed in everything that we have ongoing, is the best time for me to complete a 3rd year on Team Pink.

 

One of the things I love most about SSAGO, is it’s role in allowing people to develop as people through taking on new and challenging roles and pushing themselves, in a safer environment (lets face it, if you’re going to organise a large event for the first time, things are going to go wrong, and if they’re big things, better it happens with a bunch of students who can generally look after themselves than with a campsite full of Cubs)! Something I’m very aware of is that by continuing as chair for the next year, I would potentially be taking the opportunity to learn from the experience of being SSAGO chair away from someone else. But while SSAGO can be a lower stakes environment, it can also be unforgiving at times (something I think we could all work on), and I believe that everyone else on Team Pink, and to an extent event committees too, will benefit more from having the support of an experienced chair to sit lean on, than someone who is new to the role.