Young people and their families from across Warwickshire gathered at the Council Chambers in Shire Hall this week to meet their new youth councillors and to thank outgoing members for their contrib...
Young people and their families from across Warwickshire gathered at the Council Chambers in Shire Hall this week to meet their new youth councillors and to thank outgoing members for their contribution. In attendance were Cllr Izzi Seccombe, Cllr Dominic Skinner, Nigel Minns - Strategic Director People, John Coleman - Assistant Director Children’s Services and Children’s Services staff.
Youth councillor, Daisy Tipping chaired the meeting and opened proceedings by welcoming everyone on behalf of Warwickshire County Council’s Targeted Youth Support team, Warwickshire Youth Parliament and councillors.
Leader of the Council, Cllr Izzi Seccombe introduced outgoing members who then each said a few words about their achievements and what they had learned from the experience.
Outgoing youth councillor Daisy Tipping said: “I decided to get involved in the Warwickshire Youth Council as I felt that young people are often ignored, and I wanted to do more to raise awareness of issues around mental health and safety on the streets for both girls and boys.”
Fellow Youth Councillor Isaac Searle was encouraged to take part by Daisy, and he said: “Climate change is absolutely the biggest threat to us, and young people are leading the way in doing something about it. I recently spoke at a full council meeting and a motion was passed to make climate change a priority for the council.”
25 new members were announced at the event and they will be in office for 12 months.
During their term of office, the youngsters will represent the views and interests of young people in their constituency, both locally and nationally, by meeting councillors, MPs and other decision makers to take forward issues of local importance.
The most important role of the Youth Council is to gather the views and understand the needs of young people across Warwickshire and to do this they ran a consultation called ‘Have your Say’. The results are in and the top three priorities for this year are reducing plastic waste, support for mental health and developing better careers advice and work experience opportunities.
Councillor Izzi Seccombe concluded: “It is vital that the views of young people are heard, and this forum enables them to use their elected voice to bring about social change through meaningful representation and campaigning. I always look forward to welcoming the new councillors and supporting them to meet the needs of local young people. It’s incredibly rewarding to see so many people take part and I thank all of those who took part this year. It is always refreshing to see so many young people get involved in politics.”
For further information, visit the website - www.warwickshirevoice4youth.org.uk.
Alternatively, visit their Twitter page by visiting: www.twitter.com/wv4youth