Young people from across Warwickshire gathered at the Council Chambers in Shire Hall, Warwick to meet their new youth councillors and to thank outgoing members for their contribution.
Elected members from Warwickshire County Council were also in attendance along with Nigel Minns the council’s Executive Director for Children and Young People.
The most important role of the Youth Council is to gather the views and understand the needs of young people across Warwickshire.
Thirty new members, aged 11-18, were announced at the event, with representation from across the county. They will be in office for 24 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.
Zak, a new youth councillor representing Warwick, said: “I decided to stand for the Youth Council because I believe my voice can impact not only myself but also the people around me.
And Hope, a new youth councillor for Warwick, said: “The thing I am most excited about becoming a youth councillor is helping young people.”
Outgoing youth councillor Alice Battersby spoke at the event. She said: “I’ve been a member of the Warwickshire Youth Council for five years now, since just before the pandemic, and it has helped me to develop my skills enormously. I’ve learnt to communicate better, think more critically, and be more confident when expressing my ideas. It’s also given me access to a range of different experiences and opportunities”
“The youth council isn’t only for its members. It has a wider purpose too to represent the views of all young people in Warwickshire, and, if possible, to improve their lives. It exists to use youth voice to create a better Warwickshire for young people.”
Offering advice to the new members of the council, Alice continued: “Young people need to be represented, and they need to have a voice. For those of you elected today, I’d like you to remember that as well as your own voice, you are also representing the voices of all the approximately one hundred and thirty-one thousand under 18s in Warwickshire.“
Executive Director of Children and Young People, Nigel Minns, added: “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. We 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 got involved this year helping further our Child Friendly Warwickshire ambition to enable young people to be heard.”
Voting took place from 1 February to 28 February and young people across the county put themselves forward to becoming a Warwickshire Youth Council member. They presented their own manifesto around the issues which are most important to them. The process of voting was easy, and for the first time, participants had the option to vote online via our Child Friendly website, where they could read the manifestos of each candidate.
This year, 66 young people put themselves forward for nominations, 37 secondary schools participated in the elections, and more than 1,300 votes were counted. All the young people who took part in the elections will be involved in wider opportunities to be heard and those not elected as councillors will be invited to participate as Friends of the Warwickshire Youth Council.
To find out more about Child Friendly Warwickshire, visit: https://www.childfriendlywarwickshire.co.uk/