Steffan Powell is a familiar voice across the airwaves as a regular broadcast journalist at BBC Radio 1’s Newsbeat but he’s now teamed with an organisation to help make Wales a better place.

To mark 30 years of the Institute of Welsh Affairs’ role in making Wales better, the organisation is looking forward to the next 30 years by introducing people who will be shaping the Welsh agenda as the future unfolds.

Steffan, 29, who is currently based in London, said: “I am really pleased to have been considered in a list with other excellent people from across Wales and it is totally out of the blue.

“I have no idea who put myself forward, but I am very honoured.”

“Although I have been living in London for almost four years, my sister is currently living in Betws and plenty of my family and friends still live in the Amman Valley, so I do try to come back as much as a can and I am still trying to keep up my Welsh language.

“Some of my fondest memories was being a pupil at Amman Valley Comprehensive School.”

Stefan told The Guardian that the reason he began working in the industry because he thought young people were being ignored by mainstream news providers.

“Working for Newsbeat on Radio 1 means every day is different. I could be reporting on a major news event, interviewing the Prime Minister or talking to someone with a heartbreaking but important story to share.

“For many of the listeners it’ll be the only news they interact with all day.

“The challenge of trying to help 16 to 24 year olds make sense of the world around them is never dull. The reason I became a journalist in the first place was because I thought (and still do to some degree) that young people were being largely ignored by mainstream news providers.

“That means there is a risk of people becoming alienated from society or disconnected from the political process.

“News has an impact on everyone. I passionately believe everyone should be given the chance to engage with it in a way they can relate to. I’m lucky to work somewhere that understands that and helps me to try to do it every day.”

“I’m lucky to have done a little travelling through my work and I’m always very proud to tell people about the Amman Valley. The place I grew up, that equipped me for dealing with life.

“By representing the area, I hope I can show there’s no reason why we can’t continue to make a positive contribution to the world. It’s one of the things that motivates me.

“I hope, in 30 years, we will have achieved that balance of being both a humble and proud nation, a nation that is more outward looking and confident in its qualities, abilities and its future.”