York shopping. Photo: Photo: EamonCurry123/flickr CC:BY.
Participation in city affairs
Two pupils from the Mount School write about their involvment in the York Youth Council
The York Youth Council (YYC) is a newly founded council committee for people aged eleven to eighteen years. The youth council is made up of nominated young people representing the schools and youth groups of York. The big aim of the youth council is to give the young people of York a real voice in the issues which affect them. It allows young people to voice their opinions on what goes on in York and allows them to contribute towards the issues that affect them. It also provides the opportunity for young people to publicise themselves in a positive light. YYC aims to become the voice of young people in our area, conveying their wishes to local decision-makers. The councillors will be trained to get the skills they require to represent their peers, and hopefully go on to make some improvements that will make a difference.
What is our part?
Our part is to contribute towards the York Youth Council and help give voice to young people who don’t have the opportunity to be present in the meetings. There is a Communications Committee, which works on the monthly newsletter informing young people about the work the YYC is doing. There are also two groups working together to organize our campaigns. This year we have decided that we are going to work towards a York Youth Festival in the summer of 2010 where the young people of York will have the opportunity to show case and celebrate their talents. The aims of the Youth Festival are:
- To promote the achievements of young people in York.
- To create positive publicity for young people of York and York Youth Council.
- To promote groups and activities that are available for young people in York.
- To create a fun day out that is suitable for all ages.
We are also looking at setting up a Youth Café as a place for young people to go. This has been done before, and was very successful but the café closed due to the lease running out. This café will be very beneficial to young people as it will allow them to freely relax and socialise with their friends and they will also be able to volunteer to help run the café after school or after attending youth groups. As Mount School representatives, it is our job to bring the Mount School’s perspective to the table and help make changes that affect us.
What are we hoping to achieve?
To make life more enjoyable for young people in York and to listen to them and try and improve what matters to them. There is the option of young people to come along to a few of the York Youth Council Meetings so they can contribute their ideas towards making our campaigns as much of a success as possible. We hope that the Youth Council will continue to be a success for many years to come, and deal with some of the issues young people face in their daily lives in York.
