Young people from across South Wales will have the opportunity to learn about Cardiff and Wales’ relationship with Europe and the wider world at a day-long event to promote global links this week.
Around 500 young people, aged 14 to 19, will gather at City Hall on Tuesday February 9 for the Wales, Europe and the World conference – a full day of workshops and activities where they will be able to find out about working, studying and travelling in Europe and further afield while using their language skills to enable them to get the most out of the experience.
Following the success of last year’s Wales in Europe event, a wide range of similar activities have been organised for Tuesday including Mandarin Chinese tasters, language games, salsa dancing and Tai Chi.
The young people will also learn about opportunities to study, work and volunteer abroad through the Erasmus, Leonardo da Vinci and Youth in Action Programmes.
Council Leader Rodney Berman will open the event.
Cllr Berman said: “As the capital of Wales, Cardiff is widely recognised as an internationally connected city. We have several strong and long-standing links with cities in Europe and are establishing relationships with other cities right around the globe.
“As the world becomes a smaller place with the increase in travel and developments in communications, it is becoming more and more important that we take a global view of how we approach work and study.
“The Wales in Europe event was extremely successful last year in promoting a global outlook to the young people and the international options available to them. I’m sure this year’s event at City Hall will build on that success.”
2010 is the European Year Against Poverty and Social Exclusion and this will be the key theme of the event. A selection of special sessions has been included in the programme which will highlight issues such as human rights and the EU’s efforts to fight poverty, both at home and abroad.
The event is part of the series of EU 2010 activities being organised in Wales by, amongst others, the Welsh Assembly Government, the UK Government and the European Commission.
In addition to the workshops, an exhibition featuring information stands from organisations including the British Council, Goethe Institut and Confucius Institute will be open for pupils and teachers to browse and discover even more information about the opportunities which are open to them.
Prizes will be awarded to teams who successfully complete tasks at all of the exhibition stands.
Wales, Europe and the World is jointly organised by Cardiff Council, CILT Cymru, Routes into Languages Cymru and the European Commission Office in Wales, together with partners such as the British Council, Careers Wales Cardiff and Vale, Goethe Institut, Confucius Institute, Cardiff University, Welsh Centre for International Affairs, UNA Exchange, European Documentation Centre of Cardiff University and ECTARC.
