Council for Wales of Voluntary Youth Services

CWVYS is the independent representative body for the voluntary youth work sector in Wales

Vision

• A Wales where all young people are empowered by innovative, vibrant and sustainable voluntary youth work services.

Mission

• To represent, support and give a collective voice to its membership of voluntary youth work organisations across Wales. CWVYS leads on collaboration and partnerships on behalf of the voluntary youth work sector in Wales.

Five key functions of CWVYS

• National representation and strategic leadership for the voluntary youth work sector

(including facilitation, policy development, advocacy, shaping and influencing, strategic communications, raising the profile of voluntary youth work services within Wales and internationally; supporting the sector to include young people in all planning and delivery of best practice youth work)

• Collaboration and partnership working

(including facilitation of partnerships, promoting diversity and inclusion within   Wales and internationally)

• Knowledge exchange champions

(including funding information and support, policy information, resources, opportunities and events)

• Celebrate, measure and recognise the social, economic and cultural impact of the voluntary youth work sector in Wales

(including promotion of best youth work practice, quality assurance, workforce development/training/accreditation, data collection, research and evaluation)

• Membership benefits, opportunities and developments

(support for, and a commitment to growing a diverse, vibrant, values-based Membership of organisations across Wales, including Regional representation)

UpRising Cymru are recruiting across Wales for an exciting development programme.

This is a 10-month pilot programme of online content and monthly face-to-face sessions building skills,knowledge and networks, where participants will have the chance to engage with and learn from current leaders from a wide range of sectors. 

Key events include:

• Programme launch event
• Attend hands-on Workshops such as Future Trends and Influencing Others
• Attend a Leadership Summer School
• Experience an internship opportunity with a public body in Wales
• Graduation –  end of programme event where you’ll celebrate with peers

Through the programme, participants will have many opportunities to develop their confidence; knowledge; skills; networks; social mindedness;and wellbeing, gaining a wealth of experience thatcan be used within both person and professional life. Visit the website to find out more.

The details: 

Programme dates The Leadership Academy launches on 10 December 2019 with the programme running January – October 2020.

Face-to-face sessions will take place each month in various locations across Wales. This content will be supported by an on-line learning platform where you will work with the cohort across Wales.

Who can apply? We welcome applications from anyone aged 18-30 who lives, works or studies in Wales.

Cost The programme is completely free to participants.

Accessibility We have an accessibility fund that can help support participants attend face-to-face sessions.  All venues will be accessible by public transport, and will be accessible to wheelchair users.

How to get involved:
I want to refer an employee/colleague Direct them to register online, or for multiple young people, get in touch to arrange an introduction talk or tailored information free of charge informing your young people about this exciting opportunity.

I’m 18-30 and want to take part Take two minutes to register online – UpRising will send you an application.

To discuss any of the above, or for further details contact the Future Generations Leadership Academy Programme Manager, Libbi Prestidge at elizabeth.prestidge@uprising.org.uk or 07342 994076.

Hello…Youth Cymru has an exciting opportunity for volunteers to join their trustees board!

Here’s what they’re looking for and what you could contribute to a vibrant organisation:

We are looking to refresh, grow our board and diversify our skill set.

We are seeking interest and applications from people who share our passion for supporting young people and are motivated to provide strategic guidance to an organisation whose ambition and objective is to enable young people in Wales to thrive, develop and reach their potential; enabling them to contribute positively to their communities and country.

We aim to reflect the communities we work in. We particularly encourage applications from women, disabled, LGBT+ and Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic (BAME) candidates who are currently underrepresented on Youth Cymru’s board.

For more information and to apply, please visit their website. https://youthcymru.org.uk/trustee-vacancies/

Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill —
Stage 3

Stage 3 of the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill was completed on Wednesday 13 November.

Members confirmed the key provisions of Bill, which will:

• lower the voting age for Assembly elections to 16;
• provide that the Assembly will become a parliament to be known as ‘Senedd Cymru’ or the ‘Welsh Parliament’;
• provide for Members to be known as ‘Aelodau o’r Senedd’ or ‘Members of the Senedd’;
• allow qualifying foreign nationals to vote in Assembly elections;
• change the law relating to disqualification from being an Assembly Member; and
• make other changes to the Assembly’s electoral and internal arrangements.

Commenting, the Llywydd said:

“I am pleased that the Senedd and Elections (Wales) Bill has moved another step towards the end of its legislative journey.

“It is encouraging to see a clear majority of Assembly Members in favour of lowering the voting age to 16 at a time of such political significance.

“The Youth Parliament has made a real impression in its first year and is testament to the positive outcomes of giving young people a voice. Lowering the voting age will no doubt build on this work.”

It is anticipated that the final stage, Stage 4, will take place on 27 November.

The Bill will require a “super-majority” for the Bill to be passed: this means that at least 40 out of 60 Members will need to vote in favour of the Bill.

For further information on the Assembly reform work please visit www.assembly.wales/assemblyreform

WCVA and Promo Cymru are looking for young people aged 14-25 to join the ‘Making a bigger difference together’ video training and contest.

Video Training will be held in various locations in Wales.

The young people will learn how to make a short film from scratch. They will be empowered to express their creativity.

By the end of the training,  young people will be able to create a  professional-looking video about acting to change the world for the better.

The videos will be presented at the Online Film Festival “Making a bigger difference together” and also shared through a national social media campaign. A panel of professional videomakers will select the 5 best videos to be showcased at  gofod3 in March 2020.

We are aiming to create an inclusive working group, therefore we welcome people from different backgrounds, and experiences.

We hope you can spread the news to young people who have a story to tell and a desire to tell it through video.

If so, please let us know via e-mail at dayana@promo.cymru

CWVYS members Ethnic Minorities and Youth Support Team have two fantastic events coming up soon!

On Wednesday the 27th of November join them at the Pierhead building for the BME Skills Project 1 day conference:  ‘Building Capacity through Community Assets’.

The BME Skills Project is a unique collaboration between four organisations, EYST, C3SC (Cardiff) SCVS (Swansea) and AVOW (Wrexham). The project aims to support BME community groups through the support of skilled volunteer mentors from within and beyond the BME community.

 This conference will showcase the success of the project and examine how all sectors can support BME Community Groups to reflect, learn and grow.

Don’t miss your chance to be part of this important conversation with third sector support providers and funders in Wales. To book a space on the conference please see the link below

The following day, Thursday the 28th of November, join the team for a 3 year programme review of the ‘Resilience Project’ and look to the future.

EYST Wales’ Resilience Project started in 2017 to address three key areas, radicalisation, far-right extremism and childhood sexual exploitation (CSE).

The aim of the project is to better enable young people age 11-24yrs to challenge extreme ideologies and identify risks to themselves and others. This conference will provide an opportunity to look at the programmes activities and identify lessons learned and future concerns.

Professionals, practitioners and volunteers from the public and community/charity sectors are welcome to attend and share experience and ideas.

It takes place between 9am and 1pm at the Temple of Peace in Cardiff, to book follow the link here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/resilience-conference-changing-what-matters-tickets-78470717027

Awareness and Engagement Event (North Wales) for Organisations that can help to support the delivery of the New Curriculum in Wales

You are invited to attend a workshop to update you on the development of the new draft curriculum for Wales 2022 and to consider how other organisations can support delivery of the new curriculum in schools. You will also have the opportunity to hear about some examples of good practice.  Please share the information with your wider network.

The workshop will be held at The Imperial Hotel, Llandudno, LL30 1AP on 11 December 2019  and will start at 10:00am and finish at 14:00pm.

Please register online at  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/organisations-who-can-support-delivery-of-the-new-curriculum-in-wales-tickets-82010747353

We would be grateful if you could complete and share this *survey*  to contribute to better recognition of youth workers and youth information workers in Europe.

ESCO is the European multilingual database of Skills, Competences, Qualifications and Occupations run by the European Commission, Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Inclusion. 

The aim of the survey is to clarify the occupation of a Youth Worker and to add a specific occupation of a Youth Information Worker in ESCO.

It is important to note that while we in Wales know Youth Work and Youth Workers as specific protected titles (and we are required to register to practice with the Education Workforce Council), some countries across Europe have slightly different definitions, or no agreed upon definitions at all, indeed in some countries it isn’t possible to obtain a qualification such as a degree in Youth Work.

This survey is a great opportunity to share what you value about the conceptions we have in Wales of what youth work is and what Youth Workers are.

Please fill it in here  by the 31st of November. 

Thanks to our friends at EurodeskUK and ERYICA for including us in this opportunity.

DiscoverEU is back! Almost 50,000 young people were awarded a travel pass since the first application round in 2018.

Another round will take place from 7 – 28 November 2019 (deadline 11.00am (UK time)) with 20,000 travel passes are available for young people to travel across Europe.

You can find all the information on the European Youth Portal ► https://europa.eu/youth/discovereu_en

If you’d like to know how many passes were awarded in the previous rounds you can find some *info sheets here*, they’re very easy on the eye and provide detailed breakdowns including education or employment status of awardees, gender, country of residence and so on.

From what I can gather after a quick scan, the UK has a really high proportion of awardees based on number of applications, certainly compared to other countries, which is quite encouraging.

There also seems to be more applicants identified as female applying compared to those identified as male. Such confidence to travel is great to see!

If you’d like to see more young people from diverse backgrounds applying, why not share with them and support their application, you might just be supporting them to start an incredible journey!

The Erasmus+ funded scheme ‘EuroApprentices’ is seeking apprentices who have participated in an Erasmus+ mobility to represent the UK at the EuroApprentice Network Meeting in Poland (2020) and at national UK events

.

This is a wonderful opportunity for apprentices to gain valuable skills, share their experiences, motivate other apprentices and attend events. Costs are 100% covered by the UK National Agency.

Here you can find the Information Sheet for 2020 with more information about the role of an EuroApprentice. Find also attached here the Guide for applicants with the links to the application process, eligibility criteria and the costs funded by the programme.

If your organisation is interested in encouraging and supporting Apprentices to participate in this opportunity, please fill the registration forms as indicated in the Guide for applicants document.

You can also send this opportunity to other organisations you work with.

The deadline to apply is 2nd December 2019 at 5pm.​

If you have any questions or require more information, please email the UK National Agency at erasmusplus@ecorys.com, with the subject ‘EuroApprentices’.

We are eager to share information from the Future Generations Commissioner’s office, including how you can get involved in their work:

1) Our Future Wales National Conversation
They are currently conducting a national conversation to help inform the Commissioner’s 2020 Future Generations Report to be published in the spring.   

Since they launched the national conversation they have learnt a great deal from the many personal stories, experiences and interesting suggestions they heard at the five workshops across Wales.  But this information-gathering  doesn’t stop here.  They would like you to hold conversations with your networks and stakeholders in your area which will help us gather innovative ideas and solutions to some of the issues discussed.  You can do this in the following ways:

2) Big Ideas

The ‘Big Ideas’ campaign is your space to suggest your big ideas. These big ideas could be things you’ve seen whilst abroad, something you’ve thought of yourself or simply something innovative in your own community. They want to ensure Wales is continually learning and that they are capturing these ‘Big Ideas’ .

3) People’s Platform

They are continuing to collect stories, experiences and views electronically (as many times as you like) via the People’s Platform and you can complete the online survey. If you would like to be more involved in this project and help to collect stories and ideas please complete the Expression of Interest form. The Future Generations Commissioner wants to involve as many organisations and people as possible who can help extend their reach especially to those within our communities who are seldom heard.  

4) Organise your own events

They would love you to hold your own events, to help you do this the Commissioner has prepared a ‘toolkit’ and resources that you can use in your own events or usual meetings and conversations to feed back to us to inform the 2020 Future Generations Report.  

Please share this information with your networks, colleagues and friends.

The EU Youth Strategy (2019-2027) encourages evidence-based youth policies both at national and European level.

To this end, the European Commission has put in place an expert group on youth indicators with two main objectives:

• propose a dashboard of indicators in the areas of education, employment, social inclusion and health,
• provide an overview of possible new indicators in “core” youth policy areas where they do not exist yet.

In order to revise the indicators, the group is launching a consultation on the current and potential new indicators.

Established in 2011, the current Dashboard of EU Youth indicators includes data from several sources and covers the following topics:

• Education and training
• Employment and entrepreneurship
• Health and well-being
• Social inclusion
• Culture and creativity
• Youth participation
• Volunteering
• Youth and the world

Indicators related to “participation” are about the use of the Internet for interaction with public authorities; there is no specific indicator on “youth information”. A number of possible indicators such as the number of young people involved in participatory processes at different levels and the number of users of the European Youth Portal are on the table.

The Council of Europe has been working on the development of such indicators with a similar expert group (check the final report). Could we measure young people’s access to media literacy education? The number of young people using youth information services/information points/information portals? Young people’s capacity to retrieve relevant information? Some of these key issues could be reflected in the future Dashboard.

If you think this should be covered in the dashboard, if you have ideas for the other areas covered by the dashboard, please share your views in the framework of this survey.

*Survey link*

 Deadline: 7 November 

Thank you to our European friends at Eurodesk and ERYICA for sharing this with us.