April was a busy and exciting month for youth participation in Cardiff.
Across the month, 55 young people took part in 5 opportunities to influence decision-making, contributing a total of 160 volunteer hours to help shape the city.
As Cardiff Youth Council, we came together for both our Executive Meeting and General Meeting, where we discussed a range of important issues affecting young people in Cardiff.
One key focus was the upcoming Senedd elections in May. We talked about the importance of voting, how young people can register to vote, and why democratic participation matters. We also discussed the response we received from the Cabinet Member for Education and the Director of Education following the letter we had sent about what the council is doing to support democratic education. Overall, we felt the response was detailed and positive, but we will be following up with further questions to keep the conversation going.
We were also updated on the current position of the Vision for Play work that we have been involved in since September. It was good to see how this work is developing and how young people’s ideas are continuing to shape it.
Another important part of April’s meeting was looking at how to improve Cardiff Youth Council itself. Members shared ideas about how CYC could develop in the future, what priorities we should focus on next, and how we can make the group even stronger. These suggestions will now be considered by the CYC Task & Finish Group, who will look at what members have put forward and respond.
There were also some fantastic opportunities for young people to represent Cardiff more widely during the month. 18 young people from a range of groups, including CYC, the Youth Service Digital Group, Young Creators, the School Organisation Planning Youth Group, Young Influencers, young people involved in a leadership programme run by Common Wealth, and Bright Sparks, a group of looked after children working with Children’s Services, supported Cardiff’s UNICEF Assessment Day. They presented their work and took part in discussions with UNICEF representatives as part of Cardiff’s reaccreditation process as a Child Friendly City. We are expecting to hear the result in May, and we want to say a big thank you to everyone involved for representing young people in Cardiff so well.
Another highlight of the month was work linked to Scrutiny. Nine CYC members met in the city centre, supported by Child Friendly Cardiff staff, to carry out a survey with young people. They asked key questions about what brings young people into the city during the day, what they like about the city centre, and what could be improved. It was a great success, and the young people involved really enjoyed the experience. A report has now been written and shared with Scrutiny, as well as with the young people involved, so that feedback has been properly closed.
Overall, April showed the range of ways young people are helping to shape Cardiff, from democracy and play, to scrutiny, city centre experiences and major UNICEF assessment work. It was another strong month for youth voice, leadership and action.