BADGES, RANKS, CREDITS, BUTTONS

 

PATCHES, BANNERS, HALL OF FAME …

Would you love to gain something tangible

FOR THE FUN OF IT

for your confidence + to show off + for your CV + for your armor jacket?

We got that!

and we do it with extra high value + a sense of fun, magic and adventure

We want our crews to benefit in many ways

also on their professional paths in mainstream society, since these shining, skilled spirits and hearts are precisely the kind of able, honorable character that we need in positions of influence in education, economy and governance.

To help changemaker teens document, prove, illustrate and display their awesomeness to ordinary adults, we provide certificates, badges and ways to build CVs of awesome.  

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And – considering everything they gift to all of us by sustaining, restoring and boosting peace, bliss and abundance for all, they also deserve to make a good living, plus it helps them grow, evolve more skills, and to stay in good spirits for their mission and interaction with people. 

It’s well documented that teenage changemakers and student clubs growing up with humanity’s finest solutions, coaches, great friends, awesome skills and relations also excel academically, and in their twen years become high quality leaders, colleagues and innovators.

However, society being complex and largely ignorant of teen and twen changemakers, of their skills, what they have to offer to education, business, governance etc., and since no employer can know 7 billion fellow humans, they rely on conventional means of assessing people’s awesomeness … such as CVs, badges etc.

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Origin of our badges, credits, ranks model

In 2012, youth participating in YL Lifestyle Challenges* asked if we could add something to give it a sense of competition among students at their Thailand International School.

We first thought that competition is totally not what creating a good world for all is about. But we realized that there is one field where “competition” is used and no one feels really bad about it: that’s gaming, like League Of Legends. Low credits or ranks don’t mean you’re a bad or useless person. One knows that one can grow one’s skills and results with playtime, experience, tools and learning from others. And if one doesn’t rock in this game, then in another one aligned with one’s passion, or in an altogether other sport. Still, one respects the champions for their awesomeness and has an idea what makes their mastery, while magical secrets remain and intuition and talent do play a role, and this is honored.

Well, the same can be said for many sports. Seeing Messi and Michael Jordan play, hearing Billie Eilish and Jim Morrison, or seeing 9-year-old Sky Brown outperform all women skaters at European events has not intimidated people from starting to play basketball, to sing or skate … on the contrary, it has inspired them to let the magical fire inside unfold, do fireworks and set records inspiring everyone involved!

So, here we go. Thus, #BeMoreAweesome was born as a changemaking program, aka reality adventure game.

* Lifestyle Challenge 1 Month Without Media – during summer holidays and London Olympics and they greatly enjoyed it, sucked their whole families in, in Thailand, South Korea and the USA.

* 2 days into the Lifestyle Challenge Vegan Month, the Thai students had convinced the school canteen to not just add 1 vegan dish per day but go 100% vegan for a whole week!

None of this – “making teens uplug all phone apps, tv, music, internet for 4 weeks + during the Olympics!” or “turning the school canteen downside up” – would have been possible without wielding the magic spell “We’re doing an international lifestyle challenge as part of a UNESCO program for Education for Sustainable Development”

Sceptical about badges? Forget it

Some purist changemakers first don’t like the idea of formalized challenges and badges. That’s because they think of it as an external adult evaluation like “well done, kid”, whereas truly we don’t need adults’ or anyone recognition for our badass commitment fueled by love for kids, people and planet.

We can relate to that. We weighed this in our minds until we understood why it’s more than fine.

Many sceptical folks are actually ignorant of badass kids that are free from such thoughts or trauma of shijty schooling.

Sceptical folks, like we used to, would also make a face when hearing of involving kids in a Water War. Well, but the Water War was called out by 10 year old Lulu Cerone challenging girls and boys “who will raise more FUNds for African villages in need of clean water using LemonAID stands?!” – and 400 colorful stands popped up from coast to coast generating 25,000 in record time, full of giggles … and zero military attire.

NO adult ever achieved to activate kids this fast, with so much fun and impact. Because they are so boring and stuck in their one-dimensional, traumatic connotation of terms and tools.

We learn from successful changemaker kids and teens

hence we embrace this, and we get lots of smiles, laughs, hi5s, gleaming eyes and “I like how you call this boss battles and speedruns” from peops age 5 to 35.

Because it’s not about the terms or tools – it’s about the FEELING!

Surprising value

The reality of life as a child and youth forced to spend 8 hours daily submerged in low level nonsense, gossip, egos, bad adults, depreciated mind-numbing classroom setting is that spirit gets dampened and we too easily get distracted from the real things we love, the joy, the vision, the heroicness and what matters to actually bloody survive and thrive on this Earth in the 21st Century.

Even those active in a student club are often slowed and limited by small, irrelevant aims and levels of performance of parents and peers around them – the habits of inhabitants of the failing Unsustainable Civilization – and this is not enough, this means doom.

Then, there’s the whining about tests, rain, a girl-friend …

… but there’s one thing where they all go and rock hard anyway … and that’s SPORTS CLUBS

… because this is where youth get their act together because it’s about performance and getting serious to achieve common desired goals, experience flow, play as a team, uplift one another and experience joy (which is way more than the final statistics after a match or season) and THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT CHANGEMAKING IS ALL ABOUT!!!

Changemaking is not a lukewarm talker, spectator or wanna amateur sport. For the Change Generation to be completely different from earlier failing generations requires to set aims high, make efforts and #bemoreawesome.

Change Generation spirit means being true to our hearts fith full force, at full pace, #fulltimeforfuture with high spirit motivation, momentum, swing, highlights, reason for celebration, and a good sense of progress. This is why MISSIONS and BADGES serve us reeeaaaly well to pace activities, tick off achievements, and kick back for 1 hour, party and breathe, knowing we get stuff done, and it matters, and it’s seen and it is remembered. And then, we get back on horseback, because We Have A Planet To Save.

We have exciting goals, that are as short-term, as relevant, as diverse as goals in a sports match, and as fleeting.

In sports clubs, coaches set benchmarks and say higher, more power, … and youth forget about marks and unleash their innate powers and live their true selves radiating sunshine spirit … this is the SPIRIT OF ATHLETES!

Others live this spirit after hours of watching their sports, skate, surf and music stars on youtube, … and once energized, the school morning’s mental rot and snot forgotten,  re-tuned to their HEART and PRIORITIES, they sing, play music, skate, surf, play games. For HOURS, … they act like ATHLETES.

And that’s what our invisible grid and framework of Warrior Myth, grades, levels, badges, credits, Hall Of Fame does … to keep vison, spirit, goals, momentum, appreciation, team, respect and communications up.

We of the YL Core Team cannot be there physically as sports coaches are. But in gaming and on twitch ( a game streaming platform) the energy is defined by the grid and community itself, facilitated by communicative impulses from the core team.

That’s how YL works, across our main platforms, websites, and our social media sites and newsletters as a grid backbone.

PLUS, because changemaking happens for real, onsite, the peer-to-peer coaching, backed by adult allies acting as YL Coaches, framed by YL Team Headquarters and LearnSpaces at and beyond school, provide the “SPORTS CLUB” “SKATE CREW” setting.

And the missions and badges play a relevant role, also at personal level, psycho-emotionally, and practically for one’s professional path in life, also already at school, as further explained on this page.

We do not 'gamify'

This shall be understood:

We do not gamify YL in order “to motivate youth” to do stuff they usually find boring. we consider gamification kind of manipulative.

We using gaming aspects because it actually boosts changemaking in many ways : it helps set a spirit of sport and athlete, of milestones, self-assessment, challenge, celebration, comparision, talent scouting, and tons of values for CVs.

Our founder, Eric, I actually grew up with D&D fantasy roleplaying games in the 80s, and when he spent a year with hardboiled Native American Warrior Uncle Tubulls, he often realized “wow, this is like living Lord Of The Rings for real”, because it is. And that’s why we say that YL is “Hogwarts School of Magic, for real”.

These tales activate our awakening to the grand mystic quest of this 21st Century era when the original Sacred Warrior teachings and trainings that had been suppressed are re-emerging.

That’s why we give YL Warrior honors to those that have done something great for their people. This is not gamification. This is THE REAL THING.

OUR BADGES

Badges are gained for completed Missions. “Missions” are the proposed actions that you find in hero*ines’ Action Guides : 4 actions level 1-4, simple to advanced for greater impact.

Advanced Warriors designing their own initiatives can apply that their initiatives be recognized as badges, credits and for levels. Their initiatives being reported in YL Magazine and social media, they are likely to gain backing or find replication in the global Tribe, and their project can even become an official Mission added to our Action Guides.  

Completion usually includes vivid documentation with photos and brief texts to share on YL, social and news media – for greater reach, impact, fun – because this is how it’s properly done – and thereby fill one’s YL Warrior Chronicles aka an epic CV of awesome.

Badges can be gained for 400+ actions, each relevant, creative, genius and badass, built on groundbreaking solutions masterfully pioneered by today’s finest young and visionary, grand adult changemakers, and NEW ones are appearing as we speak. At the common Warrior pace of 3 Missions per month, one can score 30+ badges per year, 300+ on The Path Of The Warrior from age 8 to 18. This is way beyond anything offered in the history of humanity.

AT YOUTH EVENTS you cannot tell whether the 100s of youth present are just tourists, scammers, wannabes, talkers or badass do’ers relevant to your cause.

We don’t like that. Hence, with YL Badges, buttons, patches…

you will see at first glance how many badges level 1, 2, 3, or 4 Warriors have earned, whether they have done a hero*ine’s all 4 Levels (batch), of what categories (we have 12 categories by color code: development, mobilizer, media, environment, …)

There exist special Badges … for secret missions, for quests, special honors… 

BADGES AT SCHOOL

YL Badges are also highly attractive for teachers to use youth leadership in school context with what school needs: 

  1. goal oriented
  2. quality content
  3. aspects of study, planning, teamwork, action, documentation
  4. measurable outcomes

These badges also come with

  1. long-term value
  2. personalized
  3. big scope of options, topics
  4. self-set challenges
  5. vivid documentation
  6. publication in YL, social, school and potentially news media

So, tell teachers about it!

  • as student
  • as parent
  • as colleague
  • as city council
  • as journalist
  • as public librarian
  • as citizen and YL Volunteer
  • as YL Coach

These Badges by international education standards are stored in your personal secure digital backpack on a global open badges platform, for use with email, on your local computer, social media, online profiles etc

CREDITS

Credits give a more detailed view of what Warriors have done

– it tells of their focus topics, passions and talents.

For example,

  • a FUNdraiser mission may milestone for $1,000€ but score $12,000€ – and this will show in credits
  • some will have raised 50K, others 2 million over a few years – and we for sure will want to know who and how
  • Media presence may reach 1,500 people, or 200,000, which will show in credits
  • national newspaper frontpages and evening news reaching millions of people score Bonus Credits + a Patch

and we will respect the difference between rural and metropolitan, Switzerland and Somalia.

    Credits will openly show where Warriors excel – like water, FUNdraising, community or “whoua, 150,000 credits in arts and music?!!”

    • intriguing all of us to check out her / his Profile, learn more, follow
    • telling all of us whom to learn from, team up with for specific goals

    making this extremely useful, fun and epic!

    RANKS

    (formerly called Levels)

    are gained for 3 completed missions : 1 FUNdraiser + 1 Lifestyle Challenge / Social Experiment + 1 Hero Project level replication = ascend 1 Level

    At standard Warrior pace, one levels up about monthly. A good athlete’s goal is to make 10 levels per year / season, loosely aligned with a school year, for a total of 100 Levels from age 8-18.

    Ranks show a Warrior’s experience level at one glance. That’s super useful when meeting youth at events, conferences or gatherings or online. Rank 10 is already way beyond anything that teens have done in human history, or even badass adults. Meeting a Warrior Rank 30 means 90 projects. You’ll be humble in face of this one, and s/he may only be 11 years old, you see?

    When you join a YL Tribal Gathering and see the session schedule saying “a storytelling circle of Warriors Rank 70 and up” you know you don’t wanna miss this session!

    As a Warrior, growing up in those fragile, special teenage years YOU’ll know what your HEART is worth. There is always that GREATER thing than petty human ego social games and judgements by losers and bullies. And there’s a global tribe backing you, adult allies treating you with utmost respect and a bright future ahead.

      As YL Warriors get into media constantly, employers looking at your CV will know what this brand stands for and say “… YL Warrior Rank 70?! Uh, we’re honored that you wish to join us. What … would you like to do?”

      BUTTONS

      are badges turned into buttons, and shipped at season’s end. 

      Seasons are loosely aligned with school years, which vary on Earth’s Northern and Southern hemisphere.

      PATCHES

      are earned for multi-/combo-missions and special quests

      BANNERS & FLAGS

      are earned for group achievements

      SPECIAL HONORS

      like Warrior Honor Shirts (they come with a feather)

      are gained for other, extraordinary stuff.

      These are not given lightly. Only to those having done something great for their people.

      HALL OF FAME

      speaks for itself