Earlier this week Youth Parliament caught up on their campaigns, what’s coming up soon and some concerns that they have. Josh has kindly recapped the meeting and given us some food for thought.
It was great to catch up with the three elected Members of Youth Parliament (MYPs). Having been slightly out of touch with the group due to my university commitments it was brilliant to hear the progress that they have been making towards their campaigns, and it is wonderful to see the impact that they are having across Somerset for children and young people.
The MYPs are heading into their second term of office which means it’s also Youth Parliament elections. Our group will be creating new promotional material and soon there will be information on our website about how people can nominate themselves.
The current MYP’s are also off to the House of Commons at the end of February to represent Somerset young people and will take part in a national UK Youth Parliament debate! Very exciting!
As well as our MYPs commitment to their campaigns we can’t ignore the fact that over the coming months children and young people will no doubt find themselves under an increasing amount of pressure, either through concerns about heading towards starting secondary school or facing revision and mock exams, so I urge them to share their burdens with parents, carers and trusted adults so they can understand and support you.
Many young people can become isolated during this time and it can be incredibly exhausting and frustrating particularly when they don’t feel that they have anywhere to turn in terms of being able to speak to a trusted adult who they feel understands the pressures and some of the anxieties that they’re under.
It is incredibly important for all young people to have the right support network around them but this is particularly poignant at this point in the academic year and I would urge any parents carers or trusted adults to be perhaps slightly more aware of what’s going on for young people at the moment and that will no doubt put them in a better stead to best support young people.
Josh
Not just elected members
Did you know that Somerset Youth Parliament isn’t just it’s elected members? Any young person in Somerset aged 10-25 years can become a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group.
For more information about becoming a member of the Somerset Youth Parliament Advisory Group and to join, visit our Join Us page.
