Across the country, many Young Liberal societies will be preparing for the most important time in their year: Freshers’ Fairs. This is the best chance each society has to recruit new members and hopefully the next generation of members who will go on to be future councillors, campaigners and more, so it’s a really critical time for them.
Many local parties often ask how they can best support their local university branch and although times have changed, with many Student Unions no longer allowing external organisations to attend or make donations to societies, the best way to help will always be making sure your local society has the best freshers possible.
In this article, Young Liberals’ Campaigns Officer, Fergus Ustianowski, details what the Federal Young Liberals are doing this year to support societies across the country and how you can support them too:
Every year the Young Liberals create packs and literature for branches and local parties to use in September for college and university freshers events. These are available for anyone to order but we suggest that local parties speak to their university societies to ensure the packs aren’t double ordered. You can view all branches here or if you need any clarification our branch officer can assist, you can email him, patrick.gilbert@youngliberals.uk.
Information about this year’s freshers can be found online via https://www.youngliberals.uk/freshers_2022. Our fresher’s campaigns this year are:
- Drug Reform
- Stop Spiking
- Trans rights
You are able to order an online pack which includes the pdfs of our posters and an FAQ guide or you can order a physical pack which includes A3 posters of our campaigns, some general information flyers, a table cloth and pride flag to help make the stall look good and some pens and badges to give away. There will also be Facebook advertisements going across the country over the fresher’s weeks, targeting uni students and 16-18 year olds.
Online packs are free and if you are an accredited YL branch the physical packs cost £10 or £25 if you are a local party or region. There are also welsh packs available where you also get the posters translated into welsh to be able to use.
If local parties or regions don’t want to buy a pack directly they can still help out by offering to pay for the branches or by donating money which will increase the amount spent in your area on Facebook advertisements.
For more information about freshers please don’t hesitate to contact the campaigns officer Fergus, fergus.ustianowski@youngliberals.uk.