AbJam 2023: Creating Your Future

“New dawns”, “new experiences”, “thinking about the future.”

These were the phrases used to describe this year’s theme at AbJam 2023: “New Horizons”. This year, with over 40 young people in attendance, it was a fantastic success! Each year, our young people work hard to organise AbJam and plan a weekend where they can get together, have fun and make new memories whilst developing skills and meeting friends. The weekend featured a variety of workshops and activities all imagined, delivered and chosen by the AbJam Young Planners.

The weekend kicked off with a game of human bingo, a quiz, and the first of the much-loved football tournaments. Other activities featured throughout the weekend included a ‘Mystic Tales’ story writing workshop, a scrapheap eco-challenge, the AbJam traybake off and lots of outdoor activities like the big swing, archery and Jacob’s ladder. There was also the much-anticipated annual event ‘Aberlour’s Got Talent’ where the young people got to showcase their skills and talents. It was great to see such a supportive environment where everyone felt confident and truly excelled!

The weekend concluded with a workshop on ‘Environment, Health and Climate’ and a prize giving for achievements over the weekend, including young people’s participation. There was time for a reflection on their experiences over the weekend to capture what went well and what can be improved upon.

One young person loved: “getting to see everyone, new folk and old as well.”

Another young person said: “I loved every single minute of the weekend especially Mackenzie doing the worm at Aberlour’s Got Talent, I even enjoyed taking photos of the weekend with my Canon camera.”

The weekend was described as “interesting and enjoyable” by one of the attendees, and a good quote to summarise “it was fun, and I would love to come back next year, the food was decent, and the activities were great.” In terms of improvement, one young person felt an “inspirational key speaker would be good” and another would like “better workshops e.g., dance, beauty, art for girls”, these provide great ideas and feedback for planning AbJam 2024.

AbJam continues to help build a sense of community among Aberlour young people and teams by bringing them together through activity, singing, enjoyment, conversation, and the sharing of experiences.

We already can’t wait for AbJam 2024!