The UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) provides opportunities for young people aged 11 to 18 to use their voices in creative ways to bring about social change. Decision-makers across the UK use UKYP as a mechanism to seek the views of young people.
Magda Smith was elected as a UKYP representative during CYC AGM in April 2022. Her job is to represent the views of young people in Carmarthenshire to decision-makers on a local, regional, and national level, Magda said she was “excited for this opportunity and couldn’t wait to see where it takes her”. Since then, she has been actively involved in the program, using her elected voice to bring about social change through meaningful representation and campaigning.
After the Make Your Mark 2022 Consultation, Health and well-being are voted the top issue. Together with other MYPs Magda worked hard organising and running Health and Wellbeing Focus Groups in Carmarthenshire to further understand the issue.
MYPs voted to shortlist the 5 Health and Wellbeing topics for debate at the House of Commons Sitting. She said: “It is important for me if I am to represent the voices of young people in Carmarthenshire, to the best of my ability, to understand more about the issue that we are focusing on to make a difference to our county”.
In November 2022, Magda, among other Members of the Youth Parliament shortlisted the 5 Health & well-being subtopics for debate at the House of Commons Sitting. At the sitting, MYPs voted for the Health / Cost of Living subtopic to be the focus of the 2023 campaign. After the debate at the House of Commons Sitting, she said “That was an amazing experience, I can’t wait till next year to start moving forward on the campaign for the topic we voted on being health/cost of living”.
