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Sharon Lovell
If ever we needed a reminder of the vital services Youth Work offers, then recent weeks have provided it.
Following the tragic events that took place in Ely, Cardiff, youth workers were there in the community to support and be there for young people.
In doing so, they demonstrated the important role that Youth Work plays - safeguarding and connecting to communities in a compassionate way whenever young people need us.
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The commitment of those in the Youth Work sector never ceases to amaze me.
The impact that Youth Work has was just as evident in the much happier circumstances of Youth Work Week at the end of June. Myself and Board members thoroughly enjoyed the showcase event that took place at the Wales Millennium Centre in Cardiff Bay, which was a real celebration of our fantastic Youth Work sector in Wales. We also spent the week visiting youth provisions throughout Wales, meeting young people and youth workers, and hearing of the impact Youth Work is having on their lives.
 The Youth Work Strategy Implementation Board last met on 15 June to discuss the role and remit of a potential national body for Youth Work in Wales, along with discussions about a Welsh Government implementation plan, which will capture the workplans of each of the Implementation Planning Groups’ work programmes.
Please do keep a look out for information and an invite to join the Board in webinars over the next few months to update the sector on our progress and discuss specific topics in more detail. We look forward to seeing you and continuing to work with you to develop a sustainable model for the delivery of Youth Work in Wales.
Finally, just a reminder that the Youth Work Excellence Awards nominations are now open until the end of September. Please take this opportunity to nominate people and projects deserving of recognition! To view the categories please visit the Youth Work Excellence Awards page to find out more.
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Nirushan Sudarsan, Director and leader of Grange Pavilion Youth Forum, recently represented young people from Grangetown at 10 Downing Street, together with Ali Arshad, another Youth Forum member. Grange Pavilion Youth Forum was invited to the Big Lunch hosted by the Prime Minister as part of the Coronation celebrations.
Nirushan kindly agreed to give an insight into the day, and its lasting impact.
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“I still can’t believe we were actually invited into 10 Downing Street. Our Youth Forum was invited to the Big Lunch thanks to a partnership project that we’ve been running with Youth Cymru. I’m a Young Trustee on the Youth Cymru Board as well as being involved with the Youth Forum since I was 15, so I was lucky enough to be one of those chosen to go.
London was amazing. Possibly the most surreal moment was standing outside Downing Street thinking we are actually allowed to go in.
We met lots of ‘community champions’ from all around the UK before the Prime Minister arrived with his family - and their dog!
After a few minutes of photos, it was all very informal. He took time to speak to everyone, even while cutting up cake! I spoke to him about Youth Cymru and the Grange Youth Pavilion. At one point, some serious looking security people arrived then Jill Biden came in.
 I think meeting the First Lady of the United States was probably the highlight for me, along with realising that there are so many champions of young people out there.
We really felt that there was this big coalition of young people representing all four nations – so many advocates for youth work. Meeting people from communities across the UK with similar feelings and views was an eye-opener because when we just focus on our own little ‘patch’ it’s easy to forget that we’re part of something much bigger. It was a great opportunity to represent what we do and feel proud of what we have achieved – and it’s had a massive impact on us personally.
One thing I hadn’t appreciated, was how our experience could have a big impact on others. In fact, our visit has turned out to be a huge motivator for all sorts of people. The ones we work with have been really proud and excited, but what surprised me most was that in the weeks after the visit we had an increase in people coming into the Youth Forum and saying, ‘heard about Downing Street, how can I get involved with the youth forum?’
I’ve realised that sharing a new experience like this can be a powerful way to inspire others. The opportunity we had has definitely broadened our own horizons, but it’s also helped create a sense of community and, hopefully, will give others the confidence to try something new and see that those opportunities may be there for them too. I think that will be really important to remember for the future”.
 Youth Work practitioners in Wales often collaborate and work together, taking creative approaches to develop a Youth Work offer that meets the needs of young people.
Gayle Harris, Business Manager at Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of Wales, shares an inspiring example below, highlighting the impact of positive partnership working across the voluntary sector. The project enabled six young men to experience a residential trip.
“A few weeks ago, BGC Wales hosted Inspire Training Ltd, Swansea at our Residential Centre “The Lodge” situated in Bettws, nestled in the beautiful surroundings of the Garw Valley. Inspire needed a base for their residential and BGC were happy to oblige!
Inspire brought together six remarkable young men who visited “The Lodge” to shed light on toxic masculinity and everything surrounding it, enabling some truly powerful conversations to take place.
Learners were offered an incredible experience that simply wouldn’t have been possible without good collaboration from all those involved. Huge credit is due too, to the young participants who took the opportunity and were brave enough to step out of their comfort zones.
The tutors, Kevin James and Rob Lester (Moral Training & Development) led seminars on the topic. Savage Adventures were involved in providing thrilling coasteering and surfing activities and the week ended with a trip to Go Ape in Margam. The project was funded by Plan International UK.
Let’s strive to work together smarter to create more, even better opportunities for young people in Wales.”
For more information on the partner organisations, see:
Inspire Residential
https://www.inspiretraining.wales/
BGC Wales – The Lodge @ Bettws - https://www.facebook.com/LodgebgcWales/
Savage Adventures - https://savage-adventures.com/about-us
 Youth Work Week: Over £1 million to help organisations support young people
Education and Welsh Language Minister Jeremy Miles has announced extra financial support for Youth Work organisations.
 Youth Work Week
At the end of June the Youth Work sector across Wales celebrated Youth Work Week, taking the opportunity to highlight the positive impact that Youth Work has on young people and communities in Wales.
Youth Work in Wales would like to thank all those who contributed to making the week a huge success. For a quick recap of the highlights, why not have a look at stories shared on Twitter.
Gwaith Ieuenctid Cymru
Cardiff Young Creators make the most of trans - Atlantic friendships to develop film making skills |
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A group of young people from Cardiff aged 11-19 have built strong relationships with Carlsbad high school, California and appeared live on Carlsbad’s school tv show which is viewed by 3000 students daily!
Cardiff Youth Service will be offering a unique opportunity in partnership with the Young Creators group and Carlsbad high school this summer, which will see students from America volunteering in Cardiff to offer a digital summer camp for young people. Check out the first episode of their documentary series here.
A separate creative project, also supported by Douglas Green (filmmaker and teacher from America), led to creation of THE FILM WITH NO NAME / Y FFILM HEB ENW. ‘The Film With No Name’ is a short documentary piece created by a group of young people who attend the Powerhouse Youth Centre in Llanedeyrn, Cardiff. Three local young men took the lead on this six-week long project, developing the storyline while directing and starring in the film. By the final edit, eleven local young people had been involved in the production of the film alongside politicians, police officers, local residents and even a dog named Ruby!
The politicians who took part in the film said that they enjoyed being interviewed and said it was useful to have the opportunity to spend time with the group and hear what they had to say about issues that matter to young people locally.
 Festival-style celebration event kicks off the Summer in Rhondda Cynon Taf
Bedwyr Harries, Youth Services Manager for RCT Youth Engagement & Participation Service, explains how collaborative working and new partners enabled a successful celebration event, despite the cost of living crisis.
“Following a prolonged absence due to the Covid pandemic, the Youth Engagement and Participation service in Rhondda Cynon Taf, reintroduced its annual celebration event in June, celebrating project work, youth workers and the fantastic achievements of young people. Discussions with staff and young people led to a ‘festival-style’ theme, plus a decision to heavily involve youth clubs in making the decorations and helping plan the event. Acknowledging the current cost of living crisis, the group also suggested exploring new partnerships with local businesses to obtain sponsorship as well as agreeing that young people should provide the compering and entertainment for the night. This allowed costs to be reduced and also created a fantastic opportunity for young people to be even more involved.
In pre-event planning it was identified that the categories for nomination should be ones that were meaningful to YEPs and young people but also could be transferred to other celebration events coming up such as the Welsh Government Youth Work Excellence Awards.
The venue was filled with sunflowers, bunting, paperchains and balloons in a riot of colour. Many local businesses provided prizes for the young people and two young people from Ysgol Cwm Rhondda hosted the evening as wonderful comperes.
During the night we also launched ourt Mental Health animation videos, developed by the Mental Health forum members, which was an excellent platform for them to showcase all their hard work.
Evaluation of the evening by the young people was very positive and the event was a fantastic example of the impact of youth work.”
Find out more about the awards, and see nominees' films here: YEPS Celebration Event 2023
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ERYICA – navigating the metaverse
The European Youth Information and Counselling Agency (ERYICA) has released its latest podcast podcast. In this podcast, ERYICA speaks to youth information providers, young people and academics about how services are adapting in response to new technology, and young people's online behaviour.
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Opportunities as well as the risks are covered and questions asked about how we make sure young people are equipped to navigate the world safely and thrive.
Why not check it out?
Beyond reality: navigating the metaverse by ERYICAst (spotify.com)
Commonwealth Conference on Youth Work
 The National Youth Agency for England is hosting this year’s Commonwealth Conference on Youth Work from 10 - 12th July, which for the first time delegates can join remotely.
The Power of Youth Work: Forging a Sustainable and Peaceful Common Future, will provide a platform to celebrate and strengthen the impact of youth work across the Commonwealth.
The event will bring together youth workers, academics, and policy makers from across the 56 Commonwealth countries to celebrate youth work, share best practice and learn from one another.
With more than 40 presentations and breakout sessions on topics ranging from safe systems and spaces within faith-inspired Youth Work here in the UK, to youth work in the Ukraine at a time of crisis and youth participation in politics in India, the event is a must for anyone looking to develop their youth work practice.
You can view the conference presentations online and can join most of the break-out sessions virtually.
To find out more, view the agenda and reserve your place visit The Power of Youth Work: Forging a sustainable and peaceful common future (vfairs.com)
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The Quality Mark for Youth Work in Wales continues to go from strength to strength with 32 organisations currently holding the Quality Mark at one or more levels.
Congratulations go to our newest holders Wrexham Youth and Youth Partnership for achieving their gold award, Caerphilly Youth Service for achieving silver, and Newport and Blaenau Gwent Youth Service’s for achieving the bronze.
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Podcast
Did you know that the Education Workforce Council (EWC) has a new podcast? The first episode discusses the history of the Quality Mark, the benefits of applying, and how you can get involved. Listen and subscribe now.
Youth Shedz, has launched a new VR project to help address the ‘county lines’ problem. The project, built using Near-Life’s immersive content platform, is aimed at engaging young people on the topic in a realistic and impactful way. The project has been funded and supported by the KFC Foundation, Gwyn Ty Mor Community Fund and the Police and Community Trust North Wales.
Click here for full details.
A youth outreach scheme is successfully helping to tackle antisocial behaviour in Cwmbran and receives more than 700 visits from young people each month. The project is funded through the Home Office’s Safer Streets fund and is a partnership between the Cwmbran Centre for Young People, Gwent Police, the Office of the Police and Crime Commissioner, and Torfaen County Borough Council. Find out more here.
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Ever wondered what a career in digital could be like?
On the 11 July 2023, The Prince’s Trust Cymru is holding a Digital Skills Festival taking place in July, which is open to young people across Wales. Beginning 11 July in Techniquest, Cardiff (in person); or 18,19, 21 July online. Click the link to find out more and sign up https://forms.office.com/e/na5xiSFD4s
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Educators Wales
Did you know employers can advertise their vacancies free of charge on Educators Wales, the biggest recruitment site for the education sector in Wales?
If you’re a local authority youth service who advertises your vacancies via your local authority, your vacancies are now automatically featured on Educators Wales.
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Other youth services can also benefit from the wide range of services available by setting up a free employer profile now.
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Summer events and EWC
The EWC team will be out and about at various events this summer, from the Royal Welsh to the National Eisteddfod in Pen Llŷn. Feel free to pop and say hello to them on their stall, and keep an eye out on our social media to find out what’s on daily.
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Get in touch via email (youthwork@gov.wales) if you want to contribute to the next newsletter. We'll provide a style guide for submitting articles to us, with information on the word count of articles for the various sections.
Please remember to use #YouthWorkWales #GwaithIeuenctidCymru when tweeting to raise the profile of Youth Work in Wales.
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