The most recent Youth Parliament meeting saw new members to the advisory group, discussions on digital parenting, social media, campaigns and members taking on more responsibilities. This month the updates have been written by Member of Youth parliament James Lawson and Advisory Group member Noah Bass.

This month, we had two new members join the meeting – Noah and Daniel. We were all pleased that they decided to come, because the more people who join, the more diversity and opinions we have to add to discussions. Certainly this month, we saw many different opinions shared with the group.

The meeting started with us discussing the risks of digital parenting. We all agreed that although technology offers many benefits, it can be dangerous and risky for everyone. Solutions for this offered by the group were to encourage parents to pacify younger children with toys rather than tablets (I just thought of a neat slogan for a possible campaign – ‘Toys not tablets’) and increase the level of control on social media to stop kids lying about their age.

Next, we discussed our core business which includes consents, social media and other important things that we talk about every month. In particular, this month we spoke about potential group roles that we could take on. This included having someone who writes about the meeting and also someone who updates social media more regularly.

The last part of our meeting was on campaign updates. Keep checking back on the Youth parliament website for campaign updates.

James

I am Noah Bass and I am a member of the advisory group to Somerset Youth Parliament.

On Sunday 4th August, we had our monthly meeting. We talked about a wide range of topics and did a fun activity that involved listening to instructions which is a valuable life skill. This really helped us connect as a group and get to know each other better.

One topic we discussed was social media. Part of our discussion was formed around documentaries such as BBC’s Digital Parenting and Why do some children beat the odds? Members frequently contributed their ideas and it turned out to be a really good discussion.

Another topic we talked about was the website and articles. We discussed how we are open to do as many articles as desired. You don’t have to be a member. For example, if you were a guest and attended a meeting, you could write an article about your experience in the meeting.

Our final topic was that of upcoming meetings. Our September meeting is yet again through Microsoft Teams. However, we are hoping for our October meeting to be face-to-face. We will meet Chief Executive Duncan Sharkey and possibly some of our local MPs.

Overall, we had a great meeting with lots of discussions and contributions. Somerset Youth Parliament is an open group that gives everyone a voice and we are always happy to welcome new members.

Noah

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Youth Parliament includes elected Members of Youth Parliament and an Advisory Group which anyone can join if they are between 10 and 25 years old, and they live, work or attend a school in the county.

To join us, visit our Join Us page and fill in our application form.