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British RoyalsKing Charles III

Prince Charles to Give Keynote Speech in Support of #iwill Campaign

The Prince of Wales will give the keynote address at Wayra UK to encourage young people to get more involved in social action. The #iwill campaign is looking to make 1.5 million young people involved in campaigning, fundraising and volunteering online by 2020.

Wayra UK is a startup academy that is supporting Prince Charles’s initiative. The #iwill campaign was launched in 2013, with the mission of making social action a part of as many lives as possible in the next five years. Social action can be defined as “practical action in the service of others that creates positive change”, which helps both the young people and the communities they live in.

Charlotte Hill, chief executive of Step Up to Serve, the charity behind #iwill, says: “At present, 40% of 10- to 20-year-olds in the UK are involved in social action and we know that many more have an appetite to take part. Alongside this, it’s been shown that participation in social [action] enhances employability skills.”

#iwill believes that there are six basic principles for effective social action: Reflective, challenging, youth-lead, embedded, progressive and socially impactful. Since its launch, the campaign has gained the support of over 330 organisations, and even Prime Minister David Cameron has backed the initiative, saying: “This campaign is above party politics – it’s about believing in our young people and backing them to do the right thing. We want more young people to have the opportunity to serve others and reap the benefits that this brings.”

Prince Charles will deliver his keynote speech at the academy on Tuesday, November 24th. Apart from The Prince’s speech, the event will feature workshops and a panel discussion. The hosts for the day will be TV presenter Susanna Reid and Rhammel Afflick, the ambassador for the #iwill campaign, and the event will be attended by senior leaders from the business, education and voluntary sectors.