Y Pwyllgor Diwylliant, y Gymraeg a Chwaraeon
Adolygiad Polisi: Cyfraniad y Celfyddydau a Chwaraeon at Adfywio Cymunedol
Wales Council for Voluntary Action
A response to the consultation by the Culture, Welsh Language and Sport Committee - policy review: the contribution of arts and sport to community regeneration 1. Wales Council for Voluntary Action is the representative voice of voluntary organisations, community groups and volunteering in Wales. It has over 900 organisations in direct membership and is in contact with thousands more through national and regional voluntary sector networks. 2. There are at least 30,000 voluntary organisations in Wales of which over 30% work in the field of sports and recreation, and arts, culture and heritage. The majority of these are local organisations based in their community run by volunteers for the benefit of their members and users and their communities. 3. Sport and recreation organisations account for around a quarter of all the voluntary organisations in Wales, the biggest single forum by number. They include innumerable local sport groups and clubs very many of which are involved not just in playing games or other activities but also in coaching, bringing on youngsters for the future, as well as providing focusi and social benefits for local communities. 4. Many other voluntary organisations offer a recreational benefit to members and communities in addition to their more specialist interests whilst community centres, youth centres, village halls etc all contribute to sport and recreation. 5. Arts organisations are involved with drama, craft, theatre, music, poetry, literature, dance, circus, art, and/or community arts. Cultural organisations include those particularly involved supporting and promoting the Welsh language and culture an issue of particular importance and relevance in Wales. Others are involved with minority ethnic cultural interests. 6. Community arts organisations aim to bring added value to their communities, through involving people who would not otherwise have such opportunities for participation. It has been well demonstrated that social exclusion can be tackled effectively by participation in voluntary/community arts and crafts. Wider arts organisations bring aesthetic enjoyment; arts and cultural events bring visitors, and in turn economic benefits for an area. 7. The role of hundreds of voluntary organisations and volunteers in sport and particularly in arts has been, and remains, essential to keep the Welsh language alive. The links between arts policy, sports policy and community regeneration policy 8. The Welsh Assembly Government’s community regeneration programmes, Communities First and Rural Community Action, do not identify sport or arts activities as key themes although there is strong evidence that both are instrumental in tackling problems associated with health, crime, employment and education. 9. WCVA, therefore, welcomes the Committee’s policy review and the opportunity it gives to consider ways of better integrating arts, sports and community regeneration policy at a national level. The Policy Integration Tool developed by the Assembly Government’s Strategic Policy Unit allows for new policies to be tested out for their synergy with existing policy across all departments. At a more practical level, there is early evidence that both the Arts Council and the Sports Council as Assembly Supported Public Bodies are beginning to develop the capacity to link into Communities First areas resulting in better targeted support to some of Wales’ most disadvantaged areas. 10. However, it is important that this does not compromise the independence and spontaneity of local activity, by attempting to channel it too rigidly, nor limit support for non Communities First areas. We would like to see the remit letters for both the Sports and Arts Councils emphasise the need for an active programme of support to Communities First areas whilst not withdrawing support from other areas. How local arts and sports projects can contribute to community regeneration 11. Arts and sports projects can contribute to community regeneration in a number of ways, often unplanned and unexpected. These may include:- Personal change - making new friends, being happier, more creative and confident, a reduced senses of isolation, more people taking up training
- Social change - more cross-cultural community understanding, stronger sense of 'locality’, bringing different groups together, improvement in organisational skills
- Educational change - improved school performance, adults progressing to further educational study related to arts and sport, adults gaining confidence to progress to other educational and training opportunities
- Health change - improved fitness, physical and/or mental, in children and adults
- Environmental change - increased awareness of the environment and of community heritage Economic change - impact on number of new jobs and people finding work, improved image of community helping inward investment, increased sales of art work and more investment in arts programmes, increased numbers of sporting events
- Educational change - improved school performance, adults progressing to further educational study
- Health change - improved fitness in children and adults
December 2003
