Cardiff Influencers scheme thrives again in 2024
Blake Morgan had the exciting opportunity to assist long-term client, Cardiff Council, with their ‘Power to young people: Cardiff Influencers Programme 2024′ on 31 July.
Cardiff Council’s School Organisation Team launched this programme following Cardiff being named as the first UNICEF Child Friendly City in the UK. The UNICEF programme aims to create cities and communities in the UK where all children have a meaningful say in, and truly benefit form, the local decision, services and spaces that shape their lives.
The Cardiff Influencers Programme mirrors this, with the aim of allowing young people from Cardiff to become involved in shaping strategy, and to have an influence on how the Council invest their millions of pounds in education across the capital of Wales. The programme focuses on sustainability, effectiveness and allows young people to have a direct impact on how the Council create and/or renovate educational spaces across Cardiff.
As part of this programme, the Council run a summer school packed with interactive learning activities centred around the key topics that need to be considered when designing and developing spaces within educational settings, this is where Blake Morgan had the opportunity to get involved.
Fifteen students (known as the “Influencers”) spent two days exploring Cardiff, attending workshops with professional experts, and were given the opportunity to provide their feedback to influence how Cardiff Council invest their education budget in the coming years.
It was great to see real enthusiasm and positive engagement from the Influencers across the programme. Blake Morgan is extremely proud to have sponsored and supported this excellent programme and look forward to next year.
Commented Blake Morgan Associate Sophie Latham, who accompanied the Influencers on day two to assist with the full itinerary. Activities included:
- A walk around the capital to observe a range of developments, dining and social spaces which sparked discussions regarding sustainability and planning.
- A networking lunch at Blake Morgan with Sophie Latham, Jo Rees, Tom Cotter and Kaya Williams from Blake Morgan’s Construction and Project Cost Management teams.
- An afternoon at Blake Morgan’s Cardiff office where the Influencers took part in various workshops and discussed perspectives on how spaces are designed to achieve maximum performance and satisfaction.
- A tour of the Principality Stadium.
Workshops centred around:
- dining and social spaces where the Influencers addressed the ‘balancing act’ between comfort and practicality that the Council face when designing dining/social spaces for students; and
- environment, sustainability and the circular economy, an informative session delivered by Jill Davies of Cardiff Metropolitan University.
After the workshops, Blake Morgan sponsored a tour of the Principality Stadium and attended with the Influencers. Whilst considered the “fun” activity for the day, this provided the Influencers with another perspective on how to create multipurpose areas that are both environmentally friendly and practical.
Share:
