Two YEPS Projects Shortlisted for the National Youth Work Excellence Awards 2024

Two of the Council’s Youth Engagement and Participation Service (YEPS) projects were shortlisted as finalists at the National Youth Work Excellence Awards, which took place in Llandudno on February 22. This nomination is in recognition of the hard work of our community’s youth as well as YEPS staff who ensure that the young people can access high-quality, useful, and engaging activities. The two shortlisted projects include the creation of animations which champion for mental health awareness and raising awareness of LGBTQ+ issues and history through a series of projects that highlight LGBTQ+ stories.

Cllr. Rhys Lewis, Cabinet Member for Education, Youth Participation & Welsh Language at Rhondda Cynon Taf Council,said:“I am immensely proud of the young individuals that are part of the Council’s YEPS for their tireless efforts and creativity to champion both mental health awareness and LGBTQ+ inclusion as part of these projects.

“The young people, and members of staff, that were involved in both excellent initiatives have set the precedence for youth-based work in our community, and it is fantastic to see their endeavours recognised by being nominated for two awards as part of the National Youth Work Excellence Awards 2024.

“The dedication displayed through these fantastic projects is truly in line with RCT Council’s aims and values. I hope to see our young people continue to work hard to make positive changes and work towards creating a more inclusive and compassionate community.”

Project 1: Digital Innovation Award – Mental Health Animation Project

The young people at YEPS were finalists for the Digital Innovation Award at the Youth Excellence Awards 2024 for their Mental Health Animation project.

Young individuals who are part of YEPS mental health forum took a bold step toward destigmatising mental health issues and inform their peers of the importance of talking openly about mental health. The young people led a project that produced an animation and additional digital content to raise awareness about topics such as gender identity, body image, bullying, and anxiety.

The Project’s Journey

Innovation – The young people conceptualised an engaging animation with the vision to capture the attention of their peers and foster open conversations around mental health.

Funding – With the support of YEPS staff, the young people pitched their idea to a local media company, successfully securing the funding needed to bring their project to life.

Collaboration – Together with the media company, the young people scripted, story boarded, and voiced over the animation.

Launch – The project was promoted when the animation premiered at the YEPs Annual Celebration Event, where over 300 young people and their families got to see the finished product.

Education –Lesson plans were created to accompany the animation, empowering youth workers and schools to incorporate the video into youth club or Personal and Social Education sessions.

Relevance to the Category

The Covid-19 pandemic and the cost of living crisis have significantly impacted the mental health of young people. This YEPS project saw young people devise a new and exciting way to engage with and inform people about important mental health issues, through adaptive and innovative approaches. By upskilling themselves through online research, and writing and presenting information for the animations, YEPS young participants have become mental health champions who continue to offer support to the youth of the community.

Youth Work in Wales: Principles and Purposes

There is clear evidence of a youth work approach with reference to the five pillars of youth work as set out in Youth Work in Wales: Principles and Purposes:

Educative – The project enabled young people to gain the skills, knowledge, understanding, attitudes, and values needed for their own personal development and fulfilment. They also contributed to society as members of a community at local, regional, national, and international levels. Additionally, the young people have gained a firm knowledge base on mental health issues and an understanding of the importance of mental health support.

Expressive – The project encouraged young people to express their understanding, knowledge, ideas, opinions, emotions, and aspirations through a broad range of creative and often challenging opportunities. The young people produced intelligent and creative animations to capture the needs of other young people.

Participative – The project invited its participants to share the responsibility for the opportunities, learning processes, and decision-making processes that affect their own and other individuals’ lives and environments. Young people were actively involved throughout the project and encouraged to make alterations to the current ‘literature’ available to them and take responsibility for ensuring the material they produced is factual, can withstand scrutiny, and engage a young audience.

Inclusive – The project involved a cohort of young people each with their own mental health challenges and successfully sustained their involvement throughout the project as volunteers. The words used in the animations are the voices of the young people and their experiences. The truth and bravery expressed by the young people who devoted their time and effort to creating these animations was awe-inspiring.

Empowering – The project has equipped young people with the knowledge and skills to exercise their rights and recognise the rights of all young people and develop qualities of leadership. This includes respecting the rights of others, supporting young people to carry out their responsibilities as citizens and members of their communities, and encouraging young people to engage with the personal, social, and political issues that which affect society.

Impact

The project has positively impacted YEPS young people in a variety of ways. Those who participated have upskilled their mental health awareness and have created something to be proud of. Following the premiere of the animation, the young people were asked to discuss their findings with Estyn to inform them about the completed work and how they have been involved in influencing and informing strategic developments across the Council. The animation will soon reach schools, supported by the lesson plans that have been developed by these talented youth.

The animations produced speak louder than 1000 words. To view, please click here: https://protect-eu.mimecast.com/s/3ueuC0V7GtrEn84uwuOVD

Attendees of the Animation Premiere, said: “I didn’t have a good understanding of who I could turn to, but I do now.”

“This project has given me loads of confidence to be able to express my beliefs.”

A YEPs officer who supported the project, said: “The young people have been really engaged and interested in what is going on in relation to mental health support. We harnessed their enthusiasm and gently guided them into creating these extra online resources to ensure that they and the wider RCT youth population were as fully informed as possible.”

Project 2: Equality and Diversity Forum

Cynon Youth Forum were shortlisted as finalists for the Equality and Diversity in a Youth Work Setting Award at the Youth Work Excellence Awards 2024.

The Cynon Youth Forum are an inspiring, dedicated, and passionate group of young people who meet on a weekly and monthly basis and have been involved with numerous inspirational projects that have made an important contribution to the Cynon Valley. These young people have innovative ideas and that have created powerful projects with the aim to build a better society for tomorrow. The forum is outstanding at listening to issues within their community as well as the wider community and acting on these issues.

The Cynon Youth Forum have championed equality and diversity through their support of the LGBTQ+ community, through true acts of heroism! All forum members have become empowered advocates ready to inspire their peers and adults.

Projects

Courage in Film: Sharing Real Life Stories – The young people have demonstrated bravery and confidence by developing a short film inspired by their experiences within the LGBTQ+ community. This film displayed the young people’s courage and boldness by sharing their real-life stories with the world.

Cynon Family Pride Event – The young people pushed boundaries by completing a never seen before initiative where they set up an event where young LGBTQ+ individuals could thrive, feel safe, and celebrate their true identities. The young people fought and worked tirelessly for this event to happen and waited two years for the final event. The young people developed a consultation for young LGBTQ+ people and used young people’s feedback to organise an inspiring event for young people and their families to take a glimpse and to learn about the LGBTQ+ community.

LGBTQ+ History Project – The forum conducted research into local LGBTQ+ history, spending weeks in Aberdare Library researching history and working with a local LGBTQ+ artist to develop creative and original artwork bringing the lives of historical LGBTQ+ figures to life and celebrating diversity.

White Ribbon Campaign – The forum collaborated to raise awareness for the White Ribbon Day, a campaign which the forum members felt strongly about which looks at domestic violence against women. The young people wrote and performed a poem at the White Ribbon Day Event in Pontypridd. This has inspired a new project which aims to raise awareness about harassment within their schools and communities and is titled It Starts with Us.

Impact

The young people in the forum have inspired other young people to feel like they belong, and this is especially important to the LGBTQ+ community, ‘as it can be quite scary growing up in a world where you feel different to other people.’

Take a look at some of their completed projects below:

Young Editors take over at YEPs RCT Pride Event

White Ribbon Day 2022

LGBTQ+ Stonewall

Live and Let Pride Art Exhibition

Interview with the Artist – James Allen

Louisa Walters, YEPO, said: “They were responsible for inspiring the LGBTQ+ community to come together and celebrate diversity through a fantastic event where I had the pleasure of experiencing.

“As a member of the LGBT community, I was in awe of how welcoming and positive the event made me feel.”

The Council’s YEPS provide the statutory Youth Service for RCT Council, offering young people aged between 11 and 25 access to a variety of FREE activities across educational and youth settings. Additionally, they provide information, advice, and guidance to young people. Some of their functions include:

After-school activities

School-based youth work

Mental health and well-being

Homelessness advice

Transitional work into education, employment, and training

Rights based sessions

Community based activities such as youth clubs, mobile youth van, street based sessions, school holiday trips, and community drop ins.

For more information on YEPS, the work they do, or to get involved, please visit their website: https://www.yeps.wales/

The Youth Work Excellence Awards are a Welsh Government initiative that aims to recognise and celebrate outstanding youth work projects, youth workers, and those involved in youth work across Wales.

The award categories are aligned with the strategic priorities of Youth Work Strategy for Wales and aim to celebrate the rich diversity of Youth Work in Wales, recognising that outstanding Youth Work is provided through both the voluntary and local authority sectors and through a variety of Youth Work settings and methods.

Youth Work provides and facilitates an environment within which young people can relax, have fun, and feel secure, supported, and valued. Through non-formal and informal educational opportunities and experiences, youth work approaches challenge young people to enhance their life chances.

For more information on the awards, please visit their website: https://www.gov.wales/youth-work-excellence-awards