Canolfan S4C yr Egin hosts special event to launch 'Cerddi Cymunedol’ (Community Poems) project

03.12.2020

This month, a special online event was held to celebrate and share the work of participants in the ‘Cerddi Cymunedol’ (Community Poems) project.

'Cerddi Cymunedol’ is a community project led by Canolfan S4C Yr Egin in collaboration with the Mentrau Iaith in Carmarthenshire namely Menter Cwm Gwendraeth Elli, Menter Dinefwr and Menter Menter Gorllewin Sir Gâr together with 'Mess up the Mess' young people's theatre company.

The project, which is funded by theWelsh Government Rural Communities - Rural Development Programme 2014-20, was an opportunity for 35 local participants to have a safe place to share, create, develop skills and enjoy together as a community as well as having company and hearing the expertise of professional poets.

On the evening, under the creative guidance of Yr Egin’s Engagement Officer, Llinos Jones, participants presented four brand new community poems. The poems were shown in a video format created by the talented Nia Ann Jones.

Following the event, Llinos Jones said:

'It was a great pleasure to experience and celebrate the work of all participants in such a lovely evening online live from Yr Egin. It was thrilling to enable communities from different areas to be brought together to show and share their work.

Engagement and participation have assumed a very different form over the last few months, like many other things in our lives, but what makes this work so truly special is that it can still connect, share and create, and offer opportunities to individuals who might not have taken the opportunity had it not been for the lockdown.

I would like to give everyone my heartfelt thanks for being part of the creation and part of the celebration, looking forward to meeting up face-to-face when the rules will allow us to do so.

Looking ahead and planning for the New Year 2021, I hope that it will be possible to continue to put Yr Egin at the heart of Communities, to continue to support and develop skills and to give new experiences both creative and digital to many more people.'

Nia Ap-Tegwyn is the Senior Language Officer at Menter Gorllewin Sir Gâr. As she discussed the project she commented:

“It was wonderful working with Canolfan Yr Egin on the Cerddi Cymunedol project back in June and July and it was great that we were able to offer something so different for the people from the area to do.

“这是一个机会对每个人来说,迪scuss the effects and feelings of lockdown and support each other. Although they did not 'know each other before joining the project, everyone gelled and developed a unique friendship during the sessions. The evening to launch the poems was special and touching and everyone had thoroughly enjoyed the opportunity. The Menter looks forward to working together again in the near future.”

This project also provided an opportunity to work with professional poets so that participants could be inspired and learn new skills.

Among the poets was the local young poet Megan Hâf Davies who is a pupil at Amman Valley School. Megan worked with Menter Bro Dinefwr and young people from the 'Mess up the Mess’ theatre company. She added:

“It was a real privilege to work with Menter Bro Dinefwr and Yr Egin on this project and I am very grateful for such opportunities. It was wonderful for me to write the poems and I really enjoyed the company of my colleagues! As a young Welsh person social media play a vital role in my life, and I think that they are a great platform for sharing creative work. Creativity is now more important than ever, and I very much hope that I will have the opportunity to compose alongside you once again in the future.”

Menter Gorllewin Sir Gâr was honoured to have the company of Tudur Dylan Jones while a group of fun learners from Menter Cwm Gwendraeth Elli had the opportunity to learn and create under the guidance of Aneirin Karadog.

The creation phase was an opportunity to spend time sharing feelings, emotions and life during the lockdown over 11 online sessions.

Lleucu Edwards was one of the community crew of Menter Gorllewin Sir Gâr. She noted:

“We had a fantastic evening on the 12th of November. I was delighted to see the four poems in a video so beautifully made by Nia Ann. I felt emotional watching the poems as they had been written at a difficult time. I really enjoyed the experience of working with the crew at Yr Egin and Menter Gorllewin Sir Gâr to share experiences over the period and to write the poem. Thanks to Llinos for coordinating everything and for the opportunity to be part of a very special and successful project.”

All the poems are available for you to enjoy on the Canolfan S4C Yr EginYouTube channeland social media accounts.

Note to Editor

For more information about the project or to discuss other projects and opportunities in the pipeline with Yr Egin contact Llinos Jonesllinos@yregin.wales/helo@yregin.wales

Cerddi Cymunedol was one of Canolfan S4C Yr Egin's Engagement Project projects this year as well as the Hanes Heddiw project and Create. Develop. Share. All the work can be seen in its entirety on our social media channels and YouTube Yr Egin.

• Yr Egin is a lively and vibrant centre that houses S4C's headquarters as well as a number of companies and organisations working within the creative and digital industries.
• The centre is located on the campus of the University of Wales Trinity Saint David in Carmarthen
• It is at the heart of the whole community providing opportunities for local people to enjoy the centre, its resources and its offer.
• This is a centre that brings together the creative and digital content industries to brainstorm ideas and make connections while nurturing talent and sharing resources under one roof.

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