Engage to Change Hold Parties to Celebrate Seven Years of Supporting Young People.

Engage to Change was delighted to hold two events to celebrate seven years of the project and the achievements of the young people who had taken part. The parties, held in Cardiff and Llandudno, gave young people from across Wales an opportunity to celebrate together. Alongside their friends and families, they socialised with old friends and made new friends who the project had also supported.

After registration and a drinks reception, the events were kicked off by Engage to Change Project Manager Angela Kenvyn and Project Lead Ambassador Gerraint Jones Griffiths, who hosted the parties. In their welcoming speech, Angela and Gerraint emphasised how partnership working and participation of attendees in the project had not only impacted their lives but had also helped shape the way for other young people living in Wales to gain support into work.

Each event featured a formal ceremony where several young people received awards for their contribution to the project. The first series of awards were given to the Engage to Change Ambassadors who had previously been employed by the project to promote its work. The second group of awards were given to Engage to Change Champions, young people identified by the project for having championed the project work by creating videos of their journey, attending, and presenting at events and meetings, and facilitating workshops.

You can find out more about our award recipients here.

Alongside the celebrations, young people also got to give feedback about their experience with the project in the evaluation room, where the team from NCMH, together with All Wales People First, collected information about young people’s experience on the project and allowed them and their families to share their thoughts and opinions.

Both events included a range of activities to keep partygoers entertained, including mesmerising table-side magicians, fun photo booths and photo mirrors, a rainbow photo wall with props and an E2C Selfie frame. Attendees also designed their own T-shirts to create wearable souvenirs from their time on the project.

The parties featured fantastic live entertainment from local singer-songwriters. In Cardiff, Garin Lang impressed the crowd with his performance of modern county songs.Whilst in Llandudno Billy Bibby added some rock and roll to the event with classic indie hits.

A highlight for many was the memorable performances from Lead Ambassador Gerraint, dressed in a rainbow suit and wig, who led attendees in party dance songs such as The Conga, The Macarena, and the Cha Cha slide! The DJs ensured the dance floors were never empty throughout the events by playing a mix of party hits and requests.

After hours of dancing and fun, partygoers left the event with a bag of Engage to Change branded goodies, to thank them for participating in the project.

Angela Kenvyn, Project Manager, said:

It was wonderful to bring so many young people, families, friends, partners, and project staff together to celebrate. It is important to recognise that without everyone working in partnership, and without the young people and their families being willing to try something new, the positive changes that have resulted from Engage to Change would not have happened. Many thanks to all who have taken part.