Southampton's Youth Forum are delighted to announce...
We are now members of the British Youth Council!
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What is the British Youth Council (BYC)?
We're glad you asked! The BYC is the National Youth Council of the UK. A registered charity that aims to empower young people aged 25 and under to influence and inform decisions that affect their life.
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What do the BYC do?
Well...the BYC help members to get involved in their
communities and democracy locally, nationally and internationally. We now have
the opportunity to get involved with the BYC network, which includes the UK
Youth Parliament and Youth Voice, which empower all young people to speak
up in their communities.
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What is the UK Youth Parliament?
The UK Youth Parliament allows the election of a Member of
Youth Parliament (MYP), who is given the important role of representing...YOU!
This is done by the MYP reaching out to find out what is important
to young people in Southampton and then representing them at
national Parliament sitting in November.
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How can I get involved?
It's easy! Aged 11-25? Become a Youth Voice representative by joining our monthly youth forum, held at the Civic Centre. Email the youth forum here to find out about the next meeting.
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For further information on the British Youth Council visit their website or email Hayden Collins.
Meet your Member of Youth Parliament...Shanté Jackson!
Shanté is 16 years old and is currently a member of
Southampton's Youth Forum. Shanté has been elected by the Youth Forum to represent
Southampton's young people as our interim Member of Youth Parliament, Shanté had this to say:
"I am absolutely delighted to be Southampton’s
Member of Youth Parliament, here’s a bit about me and a few things I hope to be
part of and achieve! Firstly, I am a fanatic of politics so I saw this as the
perfect opportunity to get involved and help, my overall aim - to be a voice
for the voiceless.
"I hope to work towards lowering the voting age as it’s our
future which is being decided and this is a first step towards equality for the
youth. Furthermore, I am passionate about the environment and education and I
strive to help Southampton become a safer, better place for us all. I hope to
impress!"
Here more from Southampton's new MYP in next month’s edition of
Southampton Speak Up!
What is Southampton's Youth
Forum...
Southampton's Youth Forum is an opportunity for
young people, aged under 25, to have their say on Southampton. We meet monthly
at the Civic Centre where we discuss important issue for young people,
with the assistance of a pizza slice...or two!
The Youth Forum identify three key priorities every year, which are important to us. Currently these are a cleaner city, mental health awareness and education to employment. We then focus on these priorities, across the year, aiming to spread awareness or organise events to tackle the issues. Here is what we've done so far:
- Cleaner City
- we have teamed up with the London Sustainability Exchange to carry out an
experiment testing the quality of air in various locations around central
Southampton. As a result, we reached out to members of the public to
gain pledges on how they can help battle the fight against pollution!
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Mental Health Awareness - we are currently in
the middle of planning an exciting event to deliver to young people in schools. We look forward to sharing more information soon!
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Education to
Employment - we have identified that more needs to be done to
help raise awareness of apprenticeships within schools. We will be
discussing at our next meeting later this month how this might look, so
make sure you check back in August's edition!
If you would like more information on the Southampton Youth Forum
please get in touch with Hayden Collins.
A message from Children in Care Council (CICC)...
CICC and the Care Leavers Forum are groups for young people in care
and care leavers to have their voices heard around issues that are important to
them.
There are three groups, Junior CICC (aged 7-11), Teen CICC (aged 12-15) and Care
Leavers Forum (aged 16-25) who meet monthly at the Civic Centre.
The groups have been involved in sharing their
views and opinions around their care with professionals to support:
- Southampton’s restorative
practice work
- Informing serious case
reviews
- Helping the Independent
Reviewing Officer team update paper work that is used for young
people in care
- Helped produce training for
newly qualified social workers
We've organised fun activities previously such as bowling, golf,
a movie night and Nando’s, and have some exciting trips planned for the rest of the
year.
If you would like
more info on CICC or the Care Leavers Forum please get in touch with Sallie
White.
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