Youth Work Marketing and Communications Programme

We recently shared the resources for this year’s Youth Work Week

Youth Work Marketing and Communications Programme for 2024 – 2025

But Youth Work Week is just one part of the Welsh Government Youth Engagement Branch’s Youth Work Marketing and Communications Programme for 2024 – 2025 which you can find here; Youth work – marketing prog 2425 (dwyieithog bilingual)

You might be interested to know that the team plan on developing a network of Youth Work Champions throughout the year to showcase innovation, expanding on the theme ‘Why Youth Work’. If you know of a project that you’d like to highlight, please get in touch with manon@cwvys.org.uk.

Bulletin

Manon is also overseeing the Youth Work Bulletin if you’d like to contribute content for the next issue, please send it to her by the 17 June.
For details on article categories, contact manon@cwvys.org.uk.

Youth Work Week 2024 Resources

I’m sure you’re aware, Youth Work Week 2024 is just over 3 weeks away!

From June 23–30, join us in all there is to celebrate about the youth work sector and show recognition to those working in the sector through organisations, local authorities, practitioners, youth clubs, leaders, and, of course, young people.

This year’s inspiring theme, “Why Youth Work?,” invites you to highlight the incredible impact of the youth work sector, and with all events hosted online, you’ll have the chance to participate in a diverse array of activities and celebrations throughout the week.

Here you can find the *Partner Pack*, which contains;

  • Social media template examples
  • Notes on the theme for Youth Work Week 2024; ‘Why Youth Work?’
  • All this year’s hashtags including; #YouthWorkWeek24
  • GIFs/Stickers
  • Suggested messaging
  • Contact details for any questions.

Here you can find a ‘How to’ video on using the stickers on Instagram;

Here you can find a video demonstrating how to use the Youth Work Week stickers on Facebook, Twitter/X and Whatsapp;

 

You can find links to all the Social Media templates *HERE*

And here are the Youth Work Week Motion Social Media Templates

Don’t forget about the social media takeover this year; https://www.cwvys.org.uk/youth-work-week-social-media-takeover/

Any questions you have can be directed to Manon@cwvys.org.uk

Youth Work Week Social Media Takeover

We’d like to share an invitation from the Youth Work Wales team;

📢 Calling all youth work organisations, practitioners and young people 📢

Come and take over the @YouthWorkinWales or @IeuenctidCymru accounts for a day! We’re excited to announce a social media takeover dedicated to celebrating this year’s Youth Work Week 🌟

Between the 23-30th June we’re inviting different social media accounts to TAKE OVER our feed. We want to hear from YOU! 🗣️ Share your stories, experiences, and thoughts on why youth work matters. How has it shaped your life? Why is it important for our community? What difference has it made?

👉 Send us an email via manon@cwvys.org.uk or branwen@cwvys.org.uk outlining what you’d like to see during a social media takeover and for further details. 💪

Neges Heddwch 2024

Today (Friday 17 May 2024), Wales’ largest youth organisation, Urdd Gobaith Cymru continues the 102-year tradition of sharing an annual Peace and Goodwill Message by the young people of Wales with the world, by releasing ‘Gweithred yw Gobaith – Hope is an Action’ in a striking animated film.

Since 1922 the young people of Wales have thrown a spotlight on themes that are important to them whilst sharing a message of peace with the world.

Every May a message has been shared without fail, initially through Morse code, then through the BBC World Service and more recently through digital media. Last year’s anti-racism Peace Message was seen by millions in 50 countries and supported by celebrities and hundreds of schools across Wales and beyond.

2024’s Peace Message honours the legacy of the Welsh Women’s Peace Petition of 1923-1924, signed by 400,000 women across Wales (said to be 7 miles in length). The Message states that “the challenge of our century’s next chapter” is the continuing need to advocate for peace and putting an end to atrocities, wars, and violence.

We hope that you will join us in sharing the message on whichever social media platforms you use;

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/urddgobaithcymru/videos/811830554194094/

Twitter/X: https://x.com/Urdd/status/1791347675486409195

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/p/C7DwtRhteS5/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@urddgobaithcymru/video/7369844401448766752?lang=en

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7197113789165502465

Threads: https://www.threads.net/@urddgobaithcymru/post/C7Dubp1iboX

Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/urdd/heddwch2024

YouTube: https://youtu.be/qkGK6Pj15qM

FREE Training for the Youth Sector

ETS Wales have been funded through the Welsh Government to source and offer free training tailored to Youth Work Practitioners in Wales.

New additions have been added to the ETS Training Website, which are free of charge to access.

To view the training available, please follow this link; https://tinyurl.com/tktcn35z

Please be aware, although the training is free to attend, spaces are limited. If you book on and are no longer able to attend, please ensure you cancel your space at least 24 hours prior.

If you have any questions or require further information, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by via

ets@wlga.gov.uk

We would also like to highlight that a few spaces have become available for the ‘Sexual Health, Teaching consent and Managing Consent’ training that is taking place at Conwy Business Centre next Monday the 20th May. This is being delivered by CWVYS members Brook Cymru and best of all, it is FREE to attend thanks to ETS and Welsh Government.

To book on, please click here.

CWVYS Newsletters

Do you have an upcoming event or training course? A survey or publication to promote? Have you just secured funding for an exciting project, or have a good news story to share?

CWVYS Members we will be sending out our General Newsletter on the last day of the month – if you have anything you’d like included in that, please do send it to – helen@cwvys.org.uk

Deadline May 30th

What to send to us for the newsletter?

  • At least a couple of paragraphs (Who are you?, What are you sharing? Nothing extensive or elaborate)
  • A photo if possible (even if it’s just your organisation’s logo)
  • Links to your social media if you want.
  • If you have already created a photo or flyer to share your news, you are welcome to send us those for us to upload directly, unfortunately we cannot upload pdfs or word documents in our newsletters, but I am happy to copy and paste information from those formats on your behalf.

Stay tuned for our Funding Newsletter which arrives in your inboxes this Friday 17th of May!

Youth Work Week 24 Theme

Youth Work Week (23rd – 30th June) will be here before we know it, but there’s still time to let us know what you have planned to celebrate this year!

We hope to have some assets to share with you as soon as possible, but for now we can tell you that the theme is; “Why Youth Work?”. Practitioners and young people alike are encouraged to answer the question, and share why they got involved with the world of youth work and what it means to them.

If you have any exciting events scheduled or maybe you are planning a day of action (on or offline!), please let us know by emailing me via Helen@cwvys.org.uk or get in touch with the Marketing and Communications team for the whole sector Manon and Branwen via Manon@cwvys.org.uk and Branwen@cwvys.org.uk

If you are planning a response to the theme we would love to be tagged if you post about it online.

You can find Youth Work Wales on Twitter/X here; https://twitter.com/IeuenctidCymru or tag @IeuenctidCymru

Our Twitter/X here; https://twitter.com/CWVYS tag us via @CWVYS

CWVYS Instagram here; https://www.instagram.com/cwvys_cymru/ tag @cwvys_cymru

Youth Work Wales on Facebook here; https://www.facebook.com/GwaithIeuenctidCymru/

Don’t forget the tags #YouthWorkWeek24 #WythnosGwaithIeuenctid24 #WhyYouthWork #PamGwaithIeuenctid

Youth Work Bulletin

Manon and Branwen also work on the Youth Work Bulletin on behalf of the sector in Wales, the next issue is due out the week after youth work week, something to look forward to once the festivities end! They are asking people to submit content by the 10th of June please.

That’s the day after Volunteers Week ends – perhaps you’ll have some lovely stories from the week to share?

You can view the last issue here: Youth Work Bulletin: Now Available! (govdelivery.com)

For previous issues of the Bulletin please see this page: Youth work newsletters | GOV.WALES

If you would like to receive future issues directly you can subscribe here: Subscribe to the youth work newsletter | GOV.WALES

Royal Society for Blind Children Access Unlimited Project


Capacity Building Training, Train the Trainer, Accreditation & Funding

The Royal Society for Blind Children (RSBC) are working across Wales in partnership with the Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services (CWVYS), The Welsh Council of the Blind, North Wales Society for the Blind, Vision Support and Boys and Girls Clubs of Wales.

Access Unlimited is our project funded by the National Lottery Community Fund.

Our aims are:

  • To work together to promote equality, inclusion and diversity, both in terms of access to youth work services in Wales, and in relation to the role that they can play in proactively challenging discriminatory attitudes and behaviours within society.
  • To support and develop the youth work profession via a free interactive, online, three-hour training course, with an option and opportunity to complete an accredited module that demonstrates your understanding of adapting sessions to include young people with a vision impairment.
  • To transform the landscape and cascade this learning through a ‘Train the Trainer’ approach so that organisations that undertake the training can share their learning with others across their networks.
  • To provide organisations with some financial investment in order to purchase accessibility items and undertake adaptations that ensure vision impaired young people can participate in their services.

Our Objectives are:

  • 5 national youth organisations (open to both voluntary & statutory sectors) equipped to cascade training to 150 grassroots/local statutory organisations, with an overall
  • 500+ staff and volunteers trained to support
  • 190 vision impaired children and young people through their learning and a
  • ÂŁ12K fund to be distributed to organisations to improve access for vision impaired young people.

The Capacity Building (Workforce Development) Training

The three-hour session is for anyone delivering services for children and young people.
You might be a youth worker, volunteer, a young person or anyone with a role working with children and young people.
This includes national voluntary and statutory organisations, regional advocates, local youth clubs, all kinds of interactive activities, sports sessions, specialist groups or anything else that welcomes children and young people to your provision.
Click here to register for the training.

Alternatively, we have created a recorded shortened version which covers the basics.  If this is something you are interested in, please register here.

If you wish to attend a training session in Welsh, please contact the Project Lead – Faith Adegboye via faith.adegboye@rsbc.org.uk to confirm your preference and availability.

Agored Cymru Accreditation
The three-hour course is accredited by Agored Cymru and supported by Adult Learning Wales. One credit is available by undertaking an Entry Level 3 or Level 1 qualification: Adapting Sessions to Include Young People with a Vision Impairment.
We encourage all trainees to complete this qualification as part of your portfolio of achievements as Continuous Professional Development which will add gravitas and demonstrate your commitment to Equality, Diversity and Inclusion.
If you are interested in doing this, please contact faith.adegboye@rsbc.org.uk.

Train the Trainer
Those who complete the full training session will be given the opportunity to pay it forward and attend the subsequent ‘Train the Trainer’ session.  Details will be provided at the end of the training and in the meantime, you can register here – Train the Trainer Booking Form.

This training is also available in both Welsh and English.

The Accessibility Equipment and Adaptations Funding

Organisations who have completed the training will also be eligible to apply for financial support in order to remove barriers for vision impaired young people so they can fully engage with your services.

CWVYS are responsible for managing distribution of the funding to organisations.

An overall pot of ÂŁ12k is available for organisations who have completed the training session to purchase items that enable VI young people to access services.

Eligible costs should be for equipment and items specifically for the VI individual who wishes to participate in activities and/or adaptations that create a safer environment for VI young people.
The focus is on delivery of services rather than management/administration. Costs may include items such as fuel expenses but these must be linked directly to the VI individual(s) that access related services.
There is no maximum amount you can apply for, however reasonable costs for items will be verified via RSBC and Wales Council for the Blind procurement directories. Digital evidence of the items required and related costs must be submitted with the application.
The youth organisation will be the recipient of the money. Digital evidence of the purchases must be submitted within two weeks of the transaction of said funding to ensure there is a clear audit trail.

Eligible organisations should request an application from Amanda at CWVYS via Amanda@cwvys.org.uk.

For all other information about RSBC’s Access Unlimited programme, please contact Faith via faith.adegboye@rsbc.org.uk.

Further Support

Additionally, RNIB offers grants to eligible VI people to purchase technological equipment/software up to a maximum of £500.  Check out some tips and guidance here.
For more info, please go to Grants from RNIB

Owen Williams is the Director of Wales Council for the Blind- the umbrella organisation in Wales. You can view their weekly bulletin here and find services local to you here.

Youth Work in Wales What does it mean for young people?

A Welsh Government Update:  Youth Work in Wales – What does it mean for young people?

Over the last few months, Welsh Government officials have been talking with the youth work sector about its experiences and thoughts regarding the youth services and activities available for young people in Wales. This is to help develop proposals to strengthen the legal requirements for youth work. You can read more about some of the key messages from those conversations here.

Since then, we have met with a wide range of partners and organisations to explore some themes and issues in more detail.

To help us move this work forward and make sure it reflects the views and experiences of young people, we want to hear from you. If you are a young person aged between 11 and 25 living in Wales, we are interested to learn more about your experiences of youth work and hear your ideas about how it can continue to grow and develop, alongside other important services that work hard to help young people be happy, healthy and connected as much as possible.

Whether you take part in regular or occasional youth work, or if you’ve not yet had the chance, we want to ask you the following questions:

 

  1. What youth work provision is available in your community or online now where you can meet friends, try new things and get advice and support when you need it?
  2. Is there anything which stops or makes it difficult for you to access this youth work provision at the moment?
  3. What youth work activities, services or events would you like or need that you don’t have at the moment?

 

To learn more please watch the videos linked below.

What is Youth Work

What does it mean to young people in Wales

 

How to get involved and share your experiences?

Please email us at YouthWork@gov.wales where we will aim to give you more information or put you in touch with a local youth service who can help you to access a group response.

You can write your responses, send us a photo of your responses, or share a short video or voice message. If you need help, you can ask your youth worker, support worker, teacher or anyone you know and trust to submit these responses on your behalf.

Deadline for submitting responses: Sunday 9th June, 2024.

Mental Health Awareness Week Education Session with Ygam

With Mental Health Awareness Week (13th-19th May) quickly approaching, Ygam are continuing their work within gaming and gambling harm prevention and education.

Join Sam Starsmore (Ygam’s Programme Lead for Education) whilst he hosts a live session at 15:30 PM on Thursday 16th May for any professionals to attend who may work with children and young people.

This 1-hour session will give professionals a lived experience account of how gambling can have a detrimental impact on an individual’s life and those around them, delving into the impact on the mental health of Sam himself and those around him whilst struggling with addiction. The session details Sam’s lived experience of gambling harm, which started at the age of 16. There will also be an opportunity to ask Sam questions to broaden your insight on this emotive topic and find out more about the City & Guilds free training Ygam provide.

This session comes with a trigger warning with discussions around suicide, gambling products and mental health. If you’re impacted by gambling or someone else’s gambling, please contact 0808 8020 133. 

WORKSHOP BOOKING LINK: Mental Health Awareness Week – Lived Experience Session