The 2016 national event, NEXT: A New Century, will be unlike anything the OA has ever seen. Youth leaders and key adults from across the nation will gather at Indiana University in Bloomington, IN from July 30th through August 3rd, 2016 to learn, grow and be inspired to be the driving force behind the Order’s second century. This hands-on, high-energy event will focus on membership, program and innovation at the local level, which will subsequently empower delegates to return home and be powerful agents of change.
Youth and adult leaders who attend will work with Arrowmen from across the country, providing them a unique opportunity to network and discuss lodge operations. A member of the NEXT Experience Team, comprised of current and former youth leaders and advisers at the lodge, section and national level, will guide lodge delegates, who will be organized into groups for the duration of the event. Each of the four days at NEXT will be focused on a different key topic: brotherhood, program, membership and innovation. Together, these and other programmatic elements will empower the local leaders to shape the next century.
Similar to the 2015 National Order of the Arrow Conference, participants will stay in the Indiana University residence halls and enjoy meals at the adjacent dining centers. Environmental sustainability will be a notable aspect of NEXT, focusing on how simple, novel changes back home can make an enormous difference.
Each lodge will be able to send three youth, its lodge chief, another lodge officer and one additional youth member, as well as two adults, the lodge adviser and one associate adviser. Youth delegates who are not lodge chiefs should be change agents or up-and-coming leaders who are passionate about their lodge and will still be youth, influencing their lodge’s program and operations, for at least a year or two after the event. Similarly, the associate adviser attending NEXT should be a part of the next generation of advisers in the lodge. Up to three leaders per section will also be invited to NEXT. The intent is to provide section leadership the opportunity to attend without taking space in a lodge contingent.
The NEXT fee is $375.00 for youth and adult delegates who pay their total conference fee by May 31, 2016. Fees paid after May 31st, 2016 will be $450.00 for youth and adult members. All late fees must be received by the OA director no later than June 30th, 2016. The fee includes four nights housing, three full days of program and training, 11 meals, program and support materials, registration materials, insurance and recognition items during the five-day conference. To secure the youth and adult spaces desired, each council must complete the online council contingent reservation. Your council will be billed for the nonrefundable deposit of $100.00 per-delegate. No individual reservations will be accepted. As of October 15th, 2015, contingent registration has opened at https://registration.oa-bsa.org, and all council contingent reservations must be processed through this website.
If you are interested in attending this event, talk to your lodge chief and adviser today! Lodge Key 3s were emailed a contingent information kit in late October, which outlines key dates and other important NEXT information. Any additional questions you may have regarding NEXT: A New Century may be directed to @email.
With a new century before us, the OA has limitless possibilities. Will you be responsible for the NEXT big thing in our history?
Resources
Download the NEXT Contingent Leader Guide (661 KB PDF)
The NEXT Factor
This summer, OA youth leaders and key adults from across the nation will gather at Indiana University for the 2016 national event, NEXT: A New Century. As a part of this program, the 2016 region chiefs are on a mission to find the most innovative and radical ideas and then share them with the world. They are on a mission to find The NEXT Factor. This NEXT Factor program will be a game show competition where region chiefs will find the best ideas and turn them into programs to be presented to attendees at NEXT. During the week, NEXT attendees will be given the chance to listen to idea presentations and vote on the ones the like the most, until the single NEXT Factor is chosen.
There are three phases to “The NEXT Factor” program:
Phase 1: Best Practice/New Idea Submission
- Think of a lodge best practice that has led to unprecedented success OR a new revolutionary idea that will challenge the status quo and lead to success. Ideas should pertain to lodge programs, membership retention and innovation.
- Film a one minute long video explaining your best practice or best new idea. Be clear and succinct. If you cannot create a video, you may submit a paragraph written explanation.
- Submit your video by the May 1 deadline. Video rules may be found below.
Phase 2: Region Chief Selection
- 2016 region chiefs will review every submission, and each region chief will select two lodge ideas to develop as contestants for the NEXT Factor Finals.
- Region chiefs will reach out to their chosen lodges and work with them to expand and elevate the idea they submitted.
Phase 3: Competition at NEXT
- Delegates of chosen lodges will present chosen ideas to over 400 NEXT attendees.
- Lodges whose ideas were not chosen will visit the Innovation Center. Here the Innovation team will work with lodges to refine and present new questions to work through unique solutions to the OA program.
- From the Innovation center, lodges will be given the chance to present their improved ideas to the region chiefs, and join in the live NEXT Factor competition.
- Audience members will vote on the ideas they like the most, and by the end of NEXT one lodge and their idea will be declared the NEXT Factor champion!
The winning lodge will receive a major prize, and every lodge that participates will be recognized for their submission. Does your lodge have the NEXT Factor? See below for video submission guidelines.
NEXT Factor Video Submission Guidelines
Videos should be kept to around a length of 1 minute and present a brief overview of the best practice or idea. The message should be clearly audible. The Arrowman presenting the idea should appear in full class A and sash. If filmed on a mobile device such as an iPhone, Android, or Windows phone, please film horizontally. Lodges may enter more than one submission.
To enter a submission, please follow the following steps:
1) Send the video in an email to @email or uploaded through Hightail. The attached video should be in one of the following formats: (.MOV/ .MPEG4/ MP4/ .AVI/ .WMV/ .MPEGPS/ .FLV/ 3GPP/ WebM)
2) In the email or Hightail content box, please include the following info:
Name
Lodge
Phone number
Preferred email address
A one-line statement outlining the best practice
Note, that in cases where creating a video is prohibitively difficult, lodges are allowed to submit a paragraph detailing their idea or best practice. These paragraph submissions should be 350 words or less, and can be submitted as a word document or .pdf using either e-mail (@email) or Hightail. Video submissions will be preferred over written entries.