Robert Lloyd - a Sir Gar Blog of random news . . . and some Clecs!

A Carmarthenshire Youth Council member has shadowed the Carmarthenshire County Council’s executive board. It is part of a wider initiative on behalf of the authority to engage with and take on board the views and opinions of the young people of the county represented by the youth council. Executive board member for education and children’s services Cllr Gareth Jones hosted youth council member Amman Valley Comprehensive pupil Stacey Taylor for a day. Other members of the youth council will be following in her footsteps in the next few months. Stacey said she had been looking forward to the opportunity since the youth council first started trying to improve their links with the executive board in November last year. Link Executive Board

A 16-year-old Pembrey girl is to represent the county in a national debate at the House of Commons later this week. Gwen Griffiths, a member of Carmarthenshire Youth Council, will take part in the UK Youth Parliament debate on Friday, November 11. Gwen, who was elected by other youth councillors to represent Carmarthenshire, will join 300 Members of the UK Youth Parliament aged between 11 and 18. Speaker of The House, the Right Hon John Bercow MP will be welcoming the Youth Parliament for their annual sitting. Over the summer Carmarthenshire Youth Council (CYC) backed the UK's largest youth consultation, as the UK Youth Parliament tried to give one million young people across the UK a voice. CYC returned over 600 ballot papers for the event where they will be debating the top five issues chosen. Each debate topic will be introduced with speeches from regionally elected members, who will put forward arguments for and against the issue, before opening up to the floor. Following the...

Children across Carmarthenshire are being promised that their rights will be honoured and considered in decision making. Senior councillors and officers have signed a pledge that will ensure the council meets minimum standards when making decisions that affect the lives of children and young people. It also means that decisions will be scrutinised by trained young people on an annual basis. Leader Cllr Emlyn Dole, Education Executive Board Member Cllr Gareth Jones, Chief Executive Mark James, Director for Education and Children’s Services Rob Sully, and Carmarthenshire Youth Council Chair Brittany Alsop-Bingham all signed the promise in advance of Children’s Rights Day, November 20. It was adopted by the county council last year and has been a strategic priority since, with a three-year strategy and action plan being developed. It included establishing a new Participation and Children’s Rights team, a growing Carmarthenshire Youth Council and more opportunities for young people to be...

Advice and tips on living a healthy lifestyle are being shared with young people across Carmarthenshire. An annual youth conference is taking place on Thursday, November 3, from 9.30am to 2.30pm at Ffos Las Racecourse on the Well-being of Future Generations Act. Carmarthenshire Youth Council is organising the event and inviting all young people aged between 11 and 25 to go along. Young people from schools, colleges and community projects will have the opportunity to attend workshops, share views and information on healthy and happy living. There will be a number of different organisations at the conference that will have stands on education, health services and the environment and provide information, freebies, and advice on any queries. The conference is free but limited spaces are available, for more information or to book a place visit www.youthsirgar.org.uk/youthconference/ or contact Carmarthenshire County Council youth worker Sarah Powell on 01267 246435 email info@carmart...

Young people across Carmarthenshire are invited to the Annual General Meeting of the Youth Council later this month. The event will take place in the Council Chamber at County Hall, Carmarthen, on Wednesday, April 29, from 5.30pm. It will include a look back at the work of the Carmarthenshire Youth Council (CYC) over the past year, and their plans for the future. County Council officers will attend to give feedback from the authority’s budget consultation, which the CYC contributed to by giving their views. Youngsters aged between 11 and 25 are also encouraged to join the CYC, new members will be welcomed at a meeting at 7pm following the AGM. Brittany Alsop-Bingham, aged 17, of Garnant, said: “We want to promote the work we do, we feel it is important that people know about us and how we help the community. “At the meeting we will be saying goodbye to three committed members who are leaving for new experiences so we will be looking for new members, if anyone is interested or if you ...

Young people in Carmarthenshire have been working to raise awareness of domestic abuse and healthy relationships. Over the past few months, members of Carmarthenshire Youth Council, supported by County Council officers, have been looking into and gathering young people’s views and experiences on domestic abuse and healthy teen relationships. The work involved planning and running a youth conference, called “Abuse At Home, You’re Not Alone” which coincided with the 25th anniversary of Universal Children’s Rights Day. As a result of the conference, the young people put together a report which highlighted the main concerns raised. The report was shared with young people, decision makers and relevant partners and agencies from across Carmarthenshire and Wales. The three main concerns and options raised were: Gossiping versus passing on information Telling someone about domestic abuse Raising awareness and accessing better support CYC Chair Freya Amsbury, aged 17, said: “To ensure th...

Carmarthenshire Youth Council and Carmarthenshire County Council are inviting young people to their annual youth conference. This year the theme is ‘Let’s Talk P.S.E’ and all secondary schools and youth projects within the county are welcome to attend. Sarah Powell, Young People’s Participation Officer, said: “The purpose of this year’s conference is to gather the views and opinions of young people on the subject of P.S.E being delivered in Carmarthenshire schools. P.S.E and Citizenship is a curriculum area which is designed to give pupils the knowledge and understanding they need to lead healthy, independent lives and to become informed active and responsible citizens and the purpose of the conference is to bring young people together to share their views, ideas and experiences and highlight them to decision makers and service providers.” The conference is free, and youth groups and schools who wish to attend should arrange for four young people and a member of staff to represent the...

Five representatives from Carmarthenshire’s Youth Council  (CYC) recently attended an all Wales Funky Dragon Grand Council residential at Bangor University. The event was hosted by Fun ky Dragon, Wales’ children and young people’s assembly, with the aim of highlighting issues important to young people across Wales and to bring about positive change. At the residential, the CYC raised all the views and opinions of young people living in Carmarthenshire. Funky Dragon confirmed that their priorities for this year will be education, health and the environment. Jamie Davies, aged 18, of Glanamman, Ryan Davies, aged 15, of Llanelli, Celt Whitburn, aged 12, of Newscastle Emlyn and Adam Cousins, aged 15, of Newcastle Emlyn, have all been elected by their peers as the CYC’s new Funky Dragon representatives. Ryan Davies has also been elected by Funky Dragon as one of the co-chairs for education, and Jamie Davies has been elected to represent the over 18s group on Funky Dragon’s Manageme...

Carmarthenshire Youth Council’s Annual Youth Conference was held this week. More than 100 young people descended on Parc-y-Scarlets for Carmarthenshire Youth Council’s Annual Youth Conference. The event hosted various workshops to spark discussion among the young people in attendance. This year’s theme of ‘making choices’ tackled the big issues surrounding the recession, employment and training for young people in Carmarthenshire. The first half of the conference gave young people the opportunity to have their say on key issues concerning young people in Carmarthenshire including: jobs, business, volunteering, training and education. The second half transformed the floor into an open forum led by a panel of influential individuals from some of Carmarthenshire’s key youth organisations: Carmarthenshire County Council, Coleg Sir Gar, CAVS and Rathbone UK. Charlene Davies, Chairperson of Carmarthenshire Youth Council, said “The issues raised at the conference will be followed up and actio...

Adam Cousins, just 16, is set to travel to The Senedd and shadow Edwina Hart. And that is all the more remarkable because while Adam is keen to expand his knowledge of politics the Minister is keen to learn of his difficulties in dealing with autism. Adam, from Newcastle-Emlyn, is a glowing example of the care system. He has a huge interest in politics and has been given an exciting opportunity to shadow Edwina Hart, Gower AM and Welsh Minister for Business, Enterprise, Technology and Science, on November 23. Adam will get the opportunity to speak with the Minister before accompanying her to the National Assembly’s building, The Senedd, where he will spend time observing her from the gallery whilst she participates in discussions with the Assembly. Adam, who lives with foster carers, has a long standing interest in politics. He was an obvious choice for Hugh Morgan, CEO of Autism Cymru, when he was approached by the Minister seeking a secure working involvement with a young person on ...

The Carmarthenshire Youth Council has been hard at work creating several videos which will act as a visual countdown to their annual youth conference on November 16 from 9:30-14:30 at Parc-y-Scarlets. The videos will begin on November 9 and will feature on the Carmarthenshire Youth website ( www.carmarthenshireyouth.co.uk ) everyday up until the youth conference itself. The videos will feature members talking about different aspects of the upcoming conference including: the speakers that will be in attendance, numbers of young people taking part and workshops taking place. Carmarthenshire Youth Council are also tweeting in the run up to the youth conference on their specially created Twitter feed ( www.twitter.com/youth_sirgar ). Young people from Carmarthenshire are encouraged to submit questions that will later be answered at the event itself. If you have a question simply include #makingchoices in your tweet.

Two Carmarthenshire Youth Council members have returned from the House of Commons after attending a national youth debate. Ryan Davies and Shannon Davies were asked to take part in the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) House of Commons Debate on November 4, which gave them the opportunity to speak about issues that affect young people in Wales. Five key topics, which were formed from a national ballot involving 65,532 young people, were discussed by over 300 other young individuals at the debate. These topics were: • Public transport: it should be cheaper, better and more accessible • Tuition fees: yes to graduate tax • Bullying: a zero tolerance approach • Child poverty: let’s bring it to an end! • Our future: a greener future for the United Kingdom The discussions which took place at the House of Commons will determine the UK Youth Parliament’s top priorities for next year. Shannon Davies, Secretary for Carmarthenshire Youth Council said “This was a very exciting time for us both; having th...

The Carmarthenshire Youth Council’s annual duck race has announced this year’s big winners. Carmarthenshire Youth Council held a duck race to help raise funds for community projects they are involved with across the county. At Betws River in Ammanford, 800 ducks were set loose and raced from the foot bridge in Betws Park to the Betws Road Bridge. Carmarthenshire Youth Council revealed this year’s winners as: Alison from Llanelli, Gary from Swansea and Dai from Burry Port, who won £100, £50, and £24, respectively. Ainsley Jones, Carmarthenshire Youth Council’s Communications Officer said: “Everyone who took part in the event had a really fun time and we all want to say a big thank you to everyone who bought ducks and helped support the event.”

The young people of Carmarthenshire gathered at the Ninth Annual Youth Conference to discuss some of the big issues facing them in today’s climate. The conference, organised by Carmarthenshire’s Youth Council, allowed young people from across Carmarthenshire to get involved in their local youth clubs, forums, voluntary organisations, schools and businesses. It was a chance for Carmarthenshire’s youths to express their opinions and let senior Council members, and their partners, know what they want to prioritise and what they consider essential in a climate concerned with financial pressures. Young People’s Champion and Executive Board Member Councillor Gwynne Woolridge said: “We’re giving young people the chance to communicate with people who make decisions in the county to create a better future for us all.” Attendees certainly communicated their ideas clearly in a question and answer session towards the end of the conference and posed a number of topical questions to a panel of execu...

The first youth magazine in Carmarthenshire has been hailed a success by young people in the county. Carmarthenshire Youth has been an added tool in providing vital information to young people between the ages of 11-25. Carmarthenshire Youth is distributed to youth organisations, youth clubs, leisure centres, libraries, schools and colleges across the county on a quarterly basis. The magazine informs young people on activities and services available to them across the county as well as providing advice on youth issues. Councillor Gwynne Wooldridge, Executive Board Member for Education and Children’s Services said: “The magazine is produced in partnership by Carmarthenshire Youth Council and Carmarthenshire Council’s Youth Service to ensure that young people are aware of what support is available to them. “Many young people have reaped the benefits of the publication and have attended various projects as a result. “The Youth Service is also in the process of launching their new Carmarth...

School pupils are being given a final opportunity to express their views on school transport. Carmarthenshire Youth Council (CYC) is working on a School Transport Campaign to help young people get to school safely. Research showed that the majority of young people rely on buses to get to school and many are faced with walking up to 3 miles on a daily basis. The CYC found that young people could be paying up to £7.50 a week for transport and this was a concern for some families with more than one young person at school. Peter Morgan, CYC member said:“Although the journey to school on foot can only be 5 minutes, for many young people attending Carmarthenshire Secondary Schools they have to walk along narrow pavements that can be dangerous especially in bad weather. “During the winter months young people have to face walking in the dark, along with rain, ice and snow, all of which make already dangerous journeys even more risky; we don't think it’s fair to simply ignore these pupils.”...

Acting on the recommendations of the Russell Commission to make volunteering truly youth led, a grant is available for groups to support a range of small volunteering projects and activities, led and carried out by young people, between 16-25 year olds. The project is in its third year in Carmarthenshire and is growing stronger each year with numbers of application forms increasing. Groups who work with 16-25 year olds with an idea that involves youth volunteering can apply for a grant up to £1500. These can be school groups, youth groups and constituted groups. Projects can be one-off events or ongoing activities, but must benefit the local community in some way. Young people from the Carmarthenshire Youth Council have been nominated to sit on the grant panel and will work with CAVS on setting the criteria, assessing project applications and decide which projects will receive funding. Carmarthenshire Council’s Youth Participation Officer, Sarah Powell said: “Youth Council members have...

Pupils from Ysgol y Gwendraeth have been learning all about their rights in everyday life. Carmarthenshire Council’s Participation Officer and members of Carmarthenshire Youth council delivered the Children’s Rights Workshop to pupils on the Award Scheme Development and Accreditation Network (ASDAN). The project provides information on The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC) and what rights children and young people are entitled to. Youth Participation Officer, Sarah Powell said: “These sessions aim to ensure that young people are fully aware of their rights and even though the UNCRC was implemented in 1991, young people are still not a aware of their entitlements.” Since the Youth Councils “My Generation” youth conference held in November many youth groups, schools and colleges have taken advantage of the free participative training workshop highlighting the importance of Children’s Rights. The workshops available are free and are offered to any organization o...

Carmarthenshire Youth Council (CYC) is looking forward to the future with their newly elected members. Members were elected during their annual general meeting held at County Hall on Wednesday April 28 and their key priorities for the next year were confirmed. Charlene Davies from Carway has been elected as Chair for another year, Peter Morgan from Ammanford is Vice Chair, Shannon Davies from Carway will take on the role of secretary while Jess Hughes from Ammanford will become treasurer and Mike Edwards from Carmarthen is the new Communications Officer for the CYC. The new representatives for Funky Dragon - the Children and Young People’s Assembly for Wales – are Shannon Davies, Abi Watts from Carway and Ronan Lewis and Bobby Lewis from Carway. Their priorities are to focus on school council projects, raising awareness of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), making information more accessible to young people via the Carmarthenshire Youth Magazine and their...

Gwendraeth Youth Forum has been hard at work to ensure they can carry out community projects within the Gwendraeth Valley. As part of their fund-raising the young people held a duck race event on Saturday April 24 at Pontyates. The Gwendraeth Youth Forum is a group of young people between the ages of 11-25 working together to bring about positive change in their community. Rhys Morris, Gwendraeth Youth Forum Leader said: “The young people are working really hard to develop worthwhile community projects and their aim is to encourage more young people to do something positive in their community. “I hope these events will raise significant funds for the Forum in order to create and provide opportunities for young people and the community as a whole.” Youth Forums are held across the county and are open to all young people 11-25 years. The Forums give young people the opportunity to have their voices heard and issues raised are reported back to the Carmarthenshire Youth Council. To get inv...