howard • johnston • mccullough

UNESCO/HI

Working together in response to the events of 9/11. Kevin McCullough and Andrew Johnston put on a ground breaking event “Hostelling International and UNESCO Youth Festival for Peace “Colours of Asia” in June 2006.

Prior to the event Andrew organised 11 Youth Centres for Peace at strategically located Youth Hostels around the world at which young volunteers worked for six months on peace-making programmes. Read more here

Promvit Klampaiboon of Hosteling International Thailand says: “this was an amazing experience for young people from the countries of the north and the south to come together and state clearly that they were not willing to grow up in a world of strife and division. Without Andrew’s management skills and Kevin’s enthusiasm this event would never have happened.”

CWM Strategic Framework

In 2007 the Council for World Mission’s Trustee Body agreed to create a Strategic Framework Planning Group. This group was to lead a radical change of direction for the charity which serves 31 member countries around the world. Initially sceptical, theologians and world church leaders were persuaded by Kevin and Andrew that an organisation with a £170 million endowment should work in a methodical and planned way.  The 10 year organisational plan which resulted will be a guiding document for the organisation for current and future member churches, staff and trustees.

Rev Dr Jooseop Keum of the World Council of Churches says: “Andrew and Kevin’s work helped us as a management group at CWM, move forward into a whole new era of co-ordinated and planned activity.  The effects of their work are still being felt today…”

Youth Hostel Design

In response to the murder of Caroline Dickenson in Pleine Fougeres Youth Hostel in France, Andrew was tasked to work with architect John Bothamley to produce a Youth Hostel Design Manual. Designed by Mark Howard, the Manual became the standard reference document for the International Youth Hostel Federation and is now available in every one of the 90 member Associations of the International Youth Hostel Federation.

Vice President of IYHF and General Secretary of the French Youth Hostel Association Mme Edith Arnoult says “produced in four languages, the Hostel Design Manual helped us to present to Associations and would-be Associations our expectations of Youth Hostel Standards in a colourful yet technical way.  We were delighted that Annecy Youth Hostel in France was chosen as an example of good practice. We are still using the Manual today throughout the world of Youth Hostels....”

National Youth Event

MAYC London Weekend was started in 1946 to serve the needs of young people in the Methodist Church. The Royal Albert Hall was booked annually and themes chosen for an action packed weekend of events. Mark Howard and Andrew Johnston worked together on the publicity for this event, attracting over 10,000 participants in the 50th Anniversary year in 1996.

Rev David Martin National Secretary of MAYC says: “Mark’s imaginative approach along with Andrew’s clear vision of what he wanted the event to be led to a wonderful period in which we could never meet the demand for tickets and London Weekend was the place to be for every young Methodist in the country.”