A group of young people from two local projects funded by the European Social Fund (ESF) joined together on Wednesday 9 May to celebrate Europe Day in North East Wales.
The day involved a range of fun activities on Talacre beach, lunch at Holywell Youth Centre and was rounded off with a visit to Flint Castle. The event was designed with the Welsh Government’s 2018 ‘Year of the Sea’ theme in mind, as well as showcasing what’s great about Wales’ ‘Cultural Heritage’ to tie in with theme across Europe for this year’s Europe day celebrations.
Karen Whitney-Lang, Programme Manager for the TRAC and ADTRAC Projects across Wrexham and Flintshire and organiser of the event said: “both projects have benefitted 900 people aged 11-24 in total since TRAC was launched in April 2016 and ADTRAC in January earlier this year. The staff and young people who have attended the event today represent the project successes to date and it is fantastic that everyone has fully embraced the day. We’re all very proud to showcase the positive impacts of the investment made by the European Social Fund. The event has been entered into the Regional ADTRAC 16-24 Europe Day competition and we’re all crossing our fingers that the trophy for 2018 will be coming to North East Wales, although there is strong competition from our colleagues in neighbouring counties”.
Celebrations across Europe
Europe Day held in May every year celebrates peace and unity in Europe. The date marks the anniversary of the ‘Schuman declaration’, at a speech in Paris in 1950, Robert Schuman, the then French foreign minister, set out his idea for a new form of political cooperation in Europe, which would make war between Europe’s nations unthinkable. Schuman’s proposal is considered to be the beginning of what is now the European Union. Each year thousands of people are involved in celebrations across Europe to mark Europe day and raise awareness about the EU.
To celebrate with the young people involved in the ESF Funded projects, members of the TRAC and ADTRAC teams for Wrexham and Flintshire worked in partnership with Groundwork North Wales to deliver a range of fun activities from kite flying and sandcastle as well as an EU Brussel sprout and spoon race on the beach!
It gave young people involved in the projects the opportunity to enjoy a day out and have fun whilst also accessing wellbeing support from their Youth Engagement Mentors to build up their confidence and self-esteem. For some of the young people involved it was their first experience of visiting a beach and castle and the day out gave them the opportunity to enjoy some of the local sites in North East Wales.
One-to-One Support
Both the TRAC and ADTRAC projects are part-funded by the European Social Fund through the Welsh Government, offering personalised support to young people, aged 11-24, to remove barriers and help engage in either their education or to progress into work, education or training.
Find out more about the ADTRAC project or get in touch with the ADTRAC team for Wrexham and Flintshire at ADTRAC@wrexham.gov.uk for further details regarding the referral process for organisations as well as for self-referrals.
Find more information about the TRAC project or please e-mail TRAC@wrexham.co.uk
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