Young people across the country are taking part in a variety of activities this week to celebrate National Youth Work Week 2011 (1st-7th November).
From sporting competitions and keep fit sessions to awards evenings, Wales’ 22 councils have organised a jam-packed programme of events aimed at raising awareness of younger people’s issues and their important contribution within the community, as well as encouraging more young people to come forward and get involved in local decision making.
WLGA Education spokesperson, Cllr Peter Fox (Monmouthshire) said:
“Young people make an invaluable contribution to society and Youth Work Week is an opportunity to celebrate their participation and involvement, both in the media and amongst the general public. From taking part in volunteer work to making local areas prosperous places to live and work, the roles and contributions of young people must be recognised. Of course, none of this would be possible without the hard work and dedication of Wales’ youth workers who are committed to ensuring that younger people’s issues are kept at the forefront of local authority policy and service development.”
“Over the coming years, councils will have to make very difficult decisions around resource prioritisation. To under-invest in young people during this period would be devastating, particularly given the impact that the recession is already having on this group. Younger people’s input will be vital to shaping the delivery of tomorrow’s services and local authorities’ challenge over this difficult forthcoming period will be to ensure that the valuable work of youth workers continues to be supported and indeed celebrated.”
There are a number of fun and informative events taking place across Wales this week which will highlight how young people are getting more involved in different aspects of community life and local authority business.
Local authority planned activities include:
• Football competition with local police and fire officers (Gwynedd)
• Theatre workshops (Flintshire)
• Youth exchange with young people from Ireland (Pembrokeshire)
• Awards and presentation evenings (Powys and Pembrokeshire)
• Free entry to all youth clubs for the week (Caerphilly)
• Duke of Edinburgh Awards presentation evening (Newport)
• Games days and keep fit sessions (Ceredigion)
To find out more about what is happening in your local area visit: www.thankssam.org.uk
