OUR WORK
Here at Actif North Wales, the goal of our day-to-day work is to tackle inequality in access and opportunities to be active, always working in partnership to do this.
ACTIF GOGLEDD CYMRU. ACTIF GOGLEDD CYMRU. ACTIF GOGLEDD CYMRU. ACTIF GOGLEDD CYMRU.
ACTIF GOGLEDD CYMRU. ACTIF GOGLEDD CYMRU. ACTIF GOGLEDD CYMRU. ACTIF GOGLEDD CYMRU.
TACKLING INEQUALITY IN ACCESS AND OPPORTUNITIES
We run short projects to test different ways of working, and at other times we invest in longer-term projects, again always working with partners.
Our goal is always to support and empower individuals and communities to be more active, by capitalising on the strengths and resources that already exist locally.
Here are some examples of our work below.
APPOINTING ACTIF CO-ORDINATORS
We have appointed an Actif Coordinator in Anglesey (Môn), Gwynedd, Flintshire (Sir y Fflint), and Denbighshire (Sir Ddinbych). We always appoint someone local, who is familiar with the area and its people. The coordinator’s job is to work closely with the local people to find out what the barriers are that currently prevent them from being active, identify what kind of active activities people would like to have access to locally, and then work with the community to try and implement these wishes.
Here is Megan, talking about how she went about working as a coordinator in Upper Denbigh (Dinbych Uchaf), in partnership with Hwb Dinbych.
Sponsoring Projects Through the Innovation Fund
We also sponsor projects that encourage collaboration between partners and meet a need. An example of this is the ‘Cycling at the Venture’ project. We had identified a need to invest in North Wales to support girls and young women to have more access and opportunities to be active, as their current levels of physical activity were low.
We therefore saw an opportunity to support the ‘Cycling at the Venture’ project, which was run by Cycling Wales and The Venture in Caia Park, Wrexham — the largest council housing estate in Wales — where the highest levels of child poverty in Wales are found. This was a project that supported local organisations, which already knew the area and its people, and also encouraged collaboration between different organisations. This was also a long-term investment, as it was a step towards changing the culture in Caia Park, making cycling something within everyone’s reach, and giving the children the skills to look after their bikes for the future.
Corporate Collaboration
We also collaborate at a corporate level to support systematic, long-term change. An example of this is our joint project with Betsi Cadwaladr University Health Board, Actif Workplace.
Knowing that we can spend up to 50% of our waking hours at work, it is vital to have the opportunity to stay active in the workplace. We therefore partnered with the Health Board to create a package of resources for this purpose, which includes:
- a series of ten videos that include desk exercises, quick exercises you can do in the office, breathing exercises, strength and balance exercises, and relaxation techniques.
- An Actif Policy that you can download and use as is, or adapt for your organisation, before sharing it with the workforce.
- An Actif Workplace Toolkit full of useful tools and ideas to help you create a healthy and active culture in the workplace.
Here is more information about our Actif Workplace project and here is the first video of the series.
PROJECTS PLAYLIST
Please see our Projects Playlist below – be sure to check our Youtube channel for all videos helping you stay Actif.
Projects
A HEALTHIER, HAPPIER NORTH WALES,
LEARNING SUMMARY
Want to learn more about our process and what we discovered along the way? Click below to read the Learning Summary from the Place-Based Pilot.
