The August Youth Parliament Advisory Group meeting was jam packed with discussions on diverse and important topics affecting young people across Somerset and the world as a whole. In this article, Layla, member of the Youth Parliament Advisory Group gives us an update.
August’s Youth Parliament meeting, in my opinion, covered a lot of very relevant and important topics. This month, we talked about issues within youth and what we think are the most important.
I chose mental health, equality and respect, as well as feminism, whilst other themes were education, the environment and social media. Within this discussion the recurring theme seemed to be about schools not doing enough when prejudice occurs – either by not addressing it at all or doing very little in response to discrimination.
My question after this discussion is how can we address this? I feel passionate about this topic because I think that even if hate isn’t happening against you, it doesn’t mean it isn’t happening to people you know. Whether that be the colour of your skin, your gender or sexuality that makes you different, sometimes people are oblivious to things not directly happening to them, which I strongly believe should change.
Layla
Nominations are open for the next Somerset Members of Youth Parliament!
Nominations are now open for the 2025 Youth Parliament Elections, where young people aged 11-17 years who live, go to school or college in Somerset can self-nominate for the chance to represent their peers, campaign on issues that matter to young people and represent Somerset on the national stage.
For more information about the elections and to self-nominate, visit https://somersetyouthparliament.org.uk/elections/
