Mentoring Group Thursday the 2nd of July 2026

On 2 July, UKON Careers delivered another engaging session as part of our Carnival Costume Mentoring Group, supporting participants as they entered the final creative stage of preparing their costumes for the Barking and Dagenham Carnival.

With the carnival fast approaching, this session marked an exciting milestone as mentees began embellishing their costumes with gems and decorative details. This important stage allowed participants to transform their costume designs into vibrant carnival creations while developing their creativity, attention to detail and artistic skills.

The session was filled with enthusiasm, focus and determination as participants carefully selected colours, patterns and decorative features to personalise their costumes. It was inspiring to see each young person developing their confidence and expressing their individuality through their unique designs.

The Carnival Costume Mentoring Group continues to provide much more than an opportunity to create costumes. Through hands on creative activities, participants are developing valuable transferable skills including teamwork, communication, patience, problem solving and self expression. The programme also provides a supportive environment where young people can build confidence, develop positive relationships and celebrate their achievements.

Creative projects such as this make an important contribution to supporting health and wellbeing. By encouraging self expression, creativity and collaboration, participants are developing resilience, improving emotional wellbeing and experiencing the positive benefits that creative engagement can have on mental health.

We are incredibly proud of the progress made by every participant and look forward to seeing their costumes continue to develop over the coming sessions as they prepare to showcase their creativity at the Barking and Dagenham Carnival.

UKON Careers would like to thank everyone who continues to support the Carnival Costume Mentoring Group and help create positive opportunities for young people to develop their skills, confidence and creative potential.