With a heatwave pushing the temperature gauge into the high 90s, it can be hard to encourage children and young people to do more than just flop in the shade during the long school holidays.
But Cardiff’s amazing Summer of Fun – a series of organised events promoted by the City Council – continues to provide a huge range of activities right across the city, all designed to keep youngsters amused, occupied and stimulated.
And it’s important no-one feels left out, so the Council and its partners, including the National Youth Advocacy Service (NYAS) staged a special event at the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama (RWCMD) for under-represented groups of children and young people.
More than 200 children and adults came along last week to the event – a partnership between the Child Friendly City team and Children Services – including care experienced young people, refugees and asylum-seekers, members of the LGBTQ+ community, young carers, those with a disability and additional learning needs.
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Among the activities on offers were:
- Technocamps (robotics and coding)
- Environmental craftivism
- Bird watching, bug hunting and tours around neighbouring Bute Park
- Bicycle paint-spinning art
- Sports and outdoor games
- A gaming station
- Dinosaur exhibits from the National Museum of Wales
- Costume design workshops with the RWCMD, and
- A sensory room experience laid on by Barnardo’s
Cllr Sarah Merry, the council’s Cabinet Member for Education and the chair of the corporate parenting advisory committee, said: “This was a wonderful, well-attended event which typifies everything that’s good about the Summer of Fun – creating fun, accessible events and activities for a diverse range of children.”
And Cllr Ash Lister, the Cabinet Member for Children’s Services, added: “To become a truly Child Friendly City it’s important to make sure that every child can access our activities, so I’m extremely grateful to our staff and partners for putting on such a fantastic series of events.”
Cardiff has an ambition to become an internationally recognised Child Friendly City, as recommended by the UK Committee for UNICEF. A programme of work began in 2018 to improve the way children and people’s voices are heard in the city.
With Welsh Government funding, Summer of Fun is part of Cardiff’s Child Friendly Recovery, which began after the pandemic.
