Page 27 - 2001 AMA Summer

“AQuestion of Balance” AConference on Risk and Adventure in Society
Major Martin Bazire MBE RLC, AMA Vice Chairman
At the end of November 2000, I attended a conference entitled “A Numerous questions were asked, although many arose from the per­ Question of Balance” at the Royal Geographical Society, The spective of the “providers” of experiences. There was a lack of input
purpose was for speakers to challenge the trend towards excessive caution, explore the positive benefits of sensible risk taking, and bring a sense of realism to questions of risk and safety. In partic­ ular, it aimed to show how important it is that young people have the opportunity to develop balanced attitudes to risk, and the need to maintain challenge and adventure in a healthy society.
There was a large and varied audience, but with many “providers” of one sort or another. PAT Branch and HQ LAND sent representatives. I will attempt to summarize the proceedings.
The speakers, in order, were: Alan Blackshaw, who chaired the con­ ference: Dr Frank Furedi (University sociologist) - A Culture of Fear, the title of his recent book; Sir Michael Hobbs (Director Outward Bound Trust) Mind the Gap; Libby Purves (BBC presenter and interviewer) - The Reputation of Adventure; Bob Barton (guide) - Risk Management as Opportunity. HRH Prince Philip - A Question of Balance.
Alan Blackshaw briefly outlined some of his views. He put adventure at one end of a spectrum with boredom in the middle and misadven­ ture (with implications of culpability) at the other. He saw risk including elements of freedom, choice and judgement. Danger and safety (albeit with objective and subjective perspectives) generated calls for social responsibility.
A Culture of Fear - Frank Furedi presented a view based on academic research, tempered with his own experiences as a parent. He was concerned that children today have less experience of the outdoors, and that they therefore have more difficulty in assessing risks. He says “risk” is seen as a strange label that denies the chance for a “good risk”, while placing everyone “at risk” of something. Why this trend? He sees: a tendency to inflate risks; a reduction in trust; a dif­ ficulty in rearing children and saying “no”;and a professionalisation of parenting, (see book review)
Mind the Gap - Michael Hobbs saw many “gaps”. First, the growing failure of courage among adults, for fear of being pilloried: we should believe in what we say. Then there is hypocrisy, between what we say and what we do (things that are okay for adults but not children); leaders and teachers acting for themselves (selflessness is called for); the need to take children through wild country and not over it. He described the sound bite gap, the worry gap (parents increasingly worried - “stranger danger”), and the gap in experiencing risk and danger (too much reliance on computers). He spoke of the need to “manage" risk against a heightened perception of risk.
The Reputation of Adventure - Libby Purves began by speaking of the media portraying adventure in terms of how things seem. Adventure is a personal experience, difficult sometimes to portray to others. She said that when things go wrong, the story tends to go public. She said we “have to accept some regulation". She distinguished between sport (rules, competition) and outdoor education (confronting real sit­ uations): (compare our own distinction between adventurous training (AT) and sport). She saw a real place and purpose for adventure (she is a keen sailor).
Risk Management as Opportunity - Bob Barton quoted Mortlock (“The Adventure Alternative”) in describing the span of activity from recre­ ation through adventure to misadventure (as did Alan Blackshaw). He saw an overdependence on management systems. The trouble with a systems-based approach to risk management is that they tend to focus on the systems. How people make decisions is separate from technical issues. He said the best safety lies not in eroding danger but in confronting it.
A Question of Balance - HRH Prince Philip rounded off the formal part by giving a characteristically robust portrayal of responding to challenge in a positive manner.
from officialdom, whether the Health and Safety Executive, the DfEE or Government Minister (one was due to attend, but couldn’t make it, and a letter from Tony Blair was read out instead). Nonetheless, it was good to pause and reflect on the nature of risk and adventure
A final thought - While there was a genuine buzz that tried to get to the heart of the issue of risk and adventure, the conference did not move on to address the really healthy aspects of AT that the services aim to promote. Outdoor experiences can be great for the individual, of course, but while we, too, place a premium on using these for personal development, we also encourage leadership, teamwork and achievement of the aim. In a sense, this moves us along the road that starts with the student-teacher relationship, which could be described as one of dependence. With the acquisition of skills and experiences, the individual gains a degree of independence. But what of the team and the aim? When we strive for interdependence, great things can happen, for both the team and the individual. You may wish to consider how these words apply to different outdoor situations.
Websites: eitdoor-lesrDinQ.organdadventore-ed.co.ok
Leanne Callaghan leading “Line Up"HVS 5a Buchaille Ect'ive Mor.
MY MOUNTAINEER 25