Ruby Pinner from Hellesdon High School joined the NCW (formerly WCN) team as a Young Ambassador in 2016.

It has been a wonderfully busy year. With becoming a UNESCO Young Ambassador as well as starting Sixth Form and my first part-time job, the past few months have definitely been a time for new beginnings. I currently feel like I’m in a constant state of change, growing and remoulding and trying to grab every opportunity that comes my way. The Ambassadors programme has not only granted me so many fantastic experiences, it has made me a much more outgoing and confident person altogether.

I found out about the Young Ambassadors after winning the Young Norfolk Poetry Competition in 2016. I had always loved writing poems but never imagined sharing my poetry in the way that I have since joining the programme. One of the activities that I have undertaken through Young Ambassadors has been the National Saturday Creative Writing Club which saw some of my poems published in a printed anthology. The club also resulted in a presentation evening at Dragon Hall; reading my poetry aloud had proven extremely nerve-wracking but after workshopping in sessions I felt ready to perform some of my work. Dragon Hall was such a breathtakingly beautiful venue for the night and I will remember it in years to come.

It has made me a much more outgoing and confident person

I have also been able to improve my skills in other areas of writing that I wasn’t so familiar with. One of my favourite parts of joining Young Ambassadors is that I have been able to watch so many fascinating cultural events. My reviews for the Norfolk & Norwich Festival and the Noirwich Crime Writing Festival have received editing and feedback from industry professionals. I was able to take my new-found experience in reviewing to my internship with the Young Norfolk Arts Festival communications team. We were responsible for the promotion, running and organisation of events, with members focusing on either photography, graphics, radio or written journalism. Not only did the experience allow me to attend multiple gigs, as well as arts and literary events, I had my preview articles and reviews published in the Eastern Daily Press, I was able to play an active role in writing the YNAF Backstage Blog and spoke about the Festival on Future Radio. It was fantastic to meet so many talented and like-minded people. I was also on the judging panel for the Young Norfolk Writing Competition 2017 which saw over 150 entries from across the county. With such a high calibre of entries this was an enjoyable but incredibly difficult task!

For the most memorable and action-packed year of your life I recommend applying to join the UNESCO Young Ambassadors 2018!