vyf annual report 2010 - 2011

8/3/2019 VYF Annual Report 2010 - 2011

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A word from our Charity Trustee Chair

Hi . Myname is Jane Hutt and I a m the Assembl y Member

for Labour in the Vale of Glamorgan but I am also

the Chair pers on of the Vale You th Forum.

In Ma rch 2011, the Vale Youth Forum burst back into life

a t the Vale of Glamorgan Ci vi c Offices Corporate Suite to

celebra te young people from a cross the Vale of

Glamorgan coming together to officially launch the all

new Vale Youth Forum.

In 2010 the Vale You th Forum sprang back into a ction due to funding being se cured for a tempora ry co-

ordina tor. Following a se ries of events held in venues in the Vale la te last year, a number of young people

we re nominated a nd elected as new members of the Forum. They came from School Coun cils, Voluntary

and S tatutory Youth Groups, Vale People Fi rst, Youth Offending Prevention and from many a reas a round

the Vale including St. Athan , Wi ck, Cowbri dge, Barry and Penarth to name a few!

The launch i tself was a b rilliant reminder of how powerful a young persons voice can be, speaking up for

wha t they belie ve in and stand for. Eve ry VYF member took to the s tand, to tell the audience who they

we re, wha t they s tood for a nd the difference they would like to make for and on behalf of the young

people of the Vale of Glamorgan. Vale Youth Forum members will get involved in local you th poli ti cs,

young people's ri ghts , and have chosen a number of things to focus on i n sub groups such as bull ying, lack

of you th fa cili ties, press and media and a nything that a nnoys us. These young people reall y were the s ta rs

of the ceremony!

The young people con tinue to volunteer their valuable time every month to ensure the views o f the young

people they represent count and are heard by local de cision makers , organisations and groups as well as

young people throughou t the county.


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A year in the life of the Vale Youth Forum

The Vale Youth Forum entered 2010/11 with a BANG!!

September 2010 saw our AGM. We had high hopes and aspira tions ...... and we ha ve met and exceeded

our dreams !

The AGM was held in the Vale of Glamorgan Ma yors Pa rlour. It was an eve ning of celebra tion of the

a chievements of local Young People bu talso a celebra tion of confi rma tion of funding for the Vale You th

Forum to employ i ts very own co-ordinator!

Assembly cabinet member and long time supporte r and Trustee of the Vale Youth Forum Jane Hutt AM,

opened the AGM with an inspiring speech on the Welsh Assembly Government Pa rti cipa tion for Children

and Young People, which focuses on children and young people Ha ving a Voice Ha ving a Choi ce.

The Leader of the Council and fellow Trustee of the Vale Youth Forum Cll r Gordon Kemp followed on from

this speech by ou tlining the Vale of Glamorgan Council s Pa rti cipation Stra tegy for children and young

people for the Vale of Glamorgan. The Vale of Glamorgan Council a re certainly very much in fa vou r of the

Ha vi ng a Voice Ha vi ng a Choice for children and young people in the Vale.

The evening also saw presenta tions from the new young persons website, soon to be launched throughout

the Vale of Glamorgan, called Swoosh, as well as the Peered Up Vale Youth Mentoring Team.

Chai r of the Youth Forum Tra cey Downes quotes By far the evenings s ta ra ttra ctions were the Young

People s presenta tions. From presenta tions of the work of the Gibbonsdown Youth Forum, the Penarth

Youth Acti on, Pena rth You th Projects Voice management group , the Child rens Commissioner Advis ory

Group and the Vale Funky Dragon representa ti ve, i tall added up to an evening of i nforma tion and

entertainment! Now wi th the funding se cured to employ a VYF Co-ordina tor we a re looking to the future

with even more opti mismand looking forward to even more you th parti cipation in the Vale of Glamorgan.

The cherry on the cake was the help, suppo rt and buffet provi ded by the Vale of Glamorgan Ma yor Cll r

Emlyn Williams. Quo te Tra cey Downes Chair VYF a veri table feast to add to the celebra tions my

sincere thanks to the VoG Ma yor Cll r Eml yn Williams and to Ca rol Alexander for their help an d support for

hosting a wonderful evening.

Pictured are the young people that

volunteer w ith the Vale Youth Forum

celebrating w ith Jane Hutt AM, Cllr

Gordon Kemp (Leader of the Vale of

Glamorgan Council), Tracey Dow nes

(Vale Youth Forum Coordinator) and

Keith Tow ler (Childrens

Commissioner for Wales)


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On the Campaign Trail ...............

The VYF hos ted e vents throughout October and November 2010, to b ring the VYF to the Young People o f

the Vale of Glamorgan. The events aimed to explain to young people who we a re, what we do and aimed

to encoura ge young people and youth workers to take away VYF Election Pa cks.

We all worked ha rd .......... but we had a lot of fun!!!

December 2011

On December the 16th

2010 a t Sta tion 20 The Vale You th Forum was reborn!

Elected Members decided the direction of the new Vale Youth Forum.


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January, 2011

Young people had decided that they would like to lea rn Communi ca tion techni ques and Keep Yourself Safe

Training.


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March 2011

Jess and Tra ce y a ttended a PSE day about Pa rti cipati on at Bryn Hafren raising the profile of the VYF within

the yea r 9 age group. The VYF held a consul ta tion wi th young people about the Integra ted Communi ty

Stra tegy and recorded their views .

March 2011 Vale Youth Forum Launch

Who would have thought i t? .... Keith Towle r the Childrens Commissioner for Wales doing the Banana

Dance a t the Vale Youth Forum Launch 2011, just one of many highlights at this uplifting, powerful and

excitingevent.

Pictured above is Tracey Dow nes (Vale Youth Forum Co-

ordinator) w ith Keith Tow ler (Childrens Commissioner f or Wales)

being taught the Banana Dance by Jess Peters (Vale Youth Forum

young persons Chair and Sw oosh Reporter)

Keith Towler

(Childrens Commissioner for Wales)


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And the action continues into 2011/12

April 2011

Consul ta tion time, and the chance to wea r the new t shirts and hooded swea tshirts the Forum had decided

upon. The VYF members ha ve their say on the Vale of Glamorgan Dra ft Communi ty Stra tegy 2011 -2021.

April 2011


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The VYF members meeting was held on the 7th

April and the 27th

April during Easter break a t the Fire

Sta tion where our Chair and Vice Chai r were offi ciall y voted in!

May / June 2011

Acting Co-ordina tor Tra cey was invited to be a speaker for the VYF a t the Communities Fi rs t AGMand to

introduce the Gibbonsdown a nd Cou rt Youth Forum. The Vale Youth Forum worked wi th the

Gi bbonsdown a nd Cou rt Youth Forum on the Iolo Pa rk Regenera tion. Workshops took place a round Peer

Pressure and Al cohol and Smoking with 11 14 yr olds a nd the designs were included in the wall a rt.

Tom (minute taker)

Jess (Chair),

Candy (Vice Chair)

Laura (Treasurer)


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July & August 2011

Thanks to a successful funding bid by Vale Centre for Voluntary Servi ces to the Vale of Glamorgan Council s

Voluntary Acti on Scheme, VCVS was able to se cure funding for a coordinator for the Vale Youth Forum.This funding ca me into effect on 1

stApril 2011, and the pos t was cove red tempora ril y by Tra cey Downes

whilst the recruitment and selecti on got underwa y.

The young members go t bus y deciding what skills, qualities and experience they wanted from thei r new

Co-ordinator!

Young people had training and went on to inte rvie w the prospecti ve ca ndidates for the new role.


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September 2011 - New Beginnings

Vale Youth Forum Recruits New Coordinator

The new Vale Youth Fo rum Co-ordina tor Helena Jones joined the chari ty in Sep tember 2011.

Helena got strai ght to wo rk visi ting youth groups and s chool councils to recruit new VYF young members.

The fi rs t VYF young peoples meeting was in September and looked a t the skills required to be a good rep.The forum members then listened to a nd voted for their regional Funky Dragon representa ti ve. Ea ch local

authori ty a rea is alloca ted four representati ves to voice the issues of young people a ta national level a t

the Funk y Dragon Childrens Pa rliament.

October 2011 - Funky Dragon AGM & Residential

In partnership with Bridgend Youth Fo rum the new Vale of Glamorgan Funky Dra gon Reps were taken to

the Funky Dra gon AGM and Residential in Llangra nnog over the October half term and they had a great

time.

Well done to Jess Pe ters who is now one of just two under 16 members of the Funky Dra gon ma nagement

committee! Good Luck Jess!

Looking Ahead

The Vale Youth Forum will continue to look into Young People s issues and help young people to have a sa y

in the decisions that a ffe ct them. In the November VYF meeting the young people have chosen to:

1. Meet the planning depa rtment of the Vale of Glamorgan to ha ve their sa y over the planning

appli ca tion for a new entertainment complex in Ba rry Island.

2. Campaign for better / safer access along country roads for young people in Rural Vale.

3. Work on a Sus tainable Development and Climate change project with Funky Dra gon .

4. Link their volunteeri ng work a t VYF to the Duke of Edinburgh Awa rd Scheme.

5. Work on increasing a ccess for all young people to the DofE expedition section.

6. Investi ga te the closure of the Bryn Hafren After School Club .

7. Work on developing a Young People and Health Servi ces Project.


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vyf annual report 2010 - 2011

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