OUR VOICE: HAVE YOUR SAY AND VOTE NOW

Posted on by Sarah
A young person voting on a ballot paper.

We are excited to share “Our Voice, Our Vote, Our Future“… Our BIGGEST Youth Consultation! Have your say on what is important to you! This is your chance to directly impact the future of Carmarthenshire. The top issue voted for, will become the focus of our projects and campaigns, ensuring your voices are heard and acted upon.

Take a look at the TOP 10 ISSUES that made it onto the ballot paper…. and don’t forget to use your VOTE!

The TOP 10 ISSUES

Improving Mental Health Awareness in Schools
Promote mental well-being with additional well-being days and expanding opportunities for more extracurricular activities

Stop Body Shaming
End body shaming and raise awareness of its harmful impact on young individuals

Stop Anti-social Behaviour
Engaging with and creating more community spaces for young people. Educate more people about anti-social behaviour

Stop Vaping/Smoking
Limit access and make vapes less appealing for young people

Teach First Aid in Schools
Expansion on basic first aid by learning more life-saving techniques to save more lives

More outdoor lessons in Schools
Encourage greater outdoor engagement. Discover, grow, and learn where your food comes from.

Stop Bullying
More safeguarding and education for bullying of all kinds

The state of school and lack of funding
Increase funding for schools to improve their quality, giving young people a better learning experience

More Opportunities for Young People
More open days, apprenticeships and work experience for young people

Teach real life lessons in school
Beyond textbooks: Teach skills that launch life (finance, careers, CVs)

VOTE HERE!

Click HERE to download a copy of our Poster.

Together, we can make sure every young voice in Carmarthenshire is heard! Join in the conversation on socials by using #OurVoiceOurVoteOurFuture

TOM AT YOUTH SYMPOSIUM, MESSINES

Posted on by Sarah
Image of the group (18 people) who took part in the Youth Symposium. They are standing in front of the large central stone tower in the Island Of Ireland Peace Park.

Our member Thomas Vaughan-Jones, 19 of Llandyfan recently represented Wales and the UK in the Island of Ireland Peace Park: Youth Symposium held in Belgium.

The Island of Ireland Peace Park in Messines, Belgium recalls the shared sacrifice of those from the island of Ireland from all political and religious traditions who fought and died in World War One. A Peace Pledge, written 25 years ago, is on display in the central circle of the Peace Park.

As the Park marks its 25th anniversary, this year, Tom was one of fifteen young adults who were invited by Youth Bank International, and run by members from Corymeela, to create a new Modern Peace Pledge that reflects their priorities at the event that took place between the 9th and 13th November, 2023.

During his time in Messsines, Tom had the opportunity to meet with other young adults from across the world, from Australia, New Zealand, Germany, Ukraine and other home nations. Together they explored opinions and experiences of conflict, peace, harmony and justice. It was very interesting for Tom to hear the stories and history of others cultures and nations while also sharing his own experiences.

Image and PDF Link to the new modern Peace Pledge created by the group in Messines, Belgium.

Over the five days Tom contributed to reviewing the Peace Pledge and collaboratively creating a new Modern Peace Pledge which was presented on Saturday 11th November at a formal ceremony at the Island of Ireland Peace Park. Tom also took part in a tour of battlefields and met with Major of Messines.

Tom said “I had a really fun experience that I will never forget. I have made new connections with young people from all around the world, and hope that our important work over these five days will not be forgotten. I’m really thankful for this opportunity, and hope to take part in similar projects like this one in the future”

Sarah Jones, Senior Participation Officer for Carmarthenshire County Council said “This five-day programme empowered and inspired Tom and other young minds to explore conflict and building peace in global and local context. It was a fantastic opportunity and we are grateful to Youth Bank International for making the experience possible.”

Off To London We Go… For Olivia

Posted on by Sarah

Our UK Youth Parliament Member, Olivia, 17 from Hendy is preparing to represent Carmarthenshire and Wales at the UK Youth Parliament Annual Sitting taking place in the House Of Commons, Westminster later this week. ‌​‌​‌​​​‍‌​‌​​‌‌‌‍‌​‌‌​​‌​‍‌​‌‌‌​‌‌‍‌​‌‌‌‌​​The event, which is their twelfth sitting, is taking place on Friday 17th November 2023 where Olivia with other representatives will contribute to a debate and vote to decide the issues they will prioritise for their ‘Food for Learning’ campaign. 

Olivia has been a Youth Council Member for over 5 years and has been elected by other Youth Councillors to represent Carmarthenshire. She will be joining over 200 Members of the UK Youth Parliament aged 11-18 who will take part in a national debate in the House of Commons. Speaker of The House, Sir Lindsay Hoyle MP will be welcoming the Youth Parliament for their annual sitting in the house, with the afternoon sessions chaired by Deputy Speaker of the House of Commons, Nigel Evans MP

Olivia, who is a dedicated and passionate young person said;
“Being able to represent Carmarthenshire at the Annual Sitting in the House of Commons, London excites me. I’m thrilled to have this opportunity but also a little anxious. I’m particularly interested in hearing what young people from other places have to say and expressing my own views. I sincerely hope that I will have the opportunity to speak with many new people and explore a variety of topics that are significant to young people in the UK.”

Members of the Youth Parliament will vote. Each debate topic will be introduced with speeches from regionally elected Members of Youth Parliament, who will put forward arguments for and against the issue, before opening up to the floor. Following the five debates, each Member of Youth Parliament in the Chamber will vote for their top issue to decide which issue will become their national campaign for 2023

THE 5 TOPICS BEING DEBATED;
★ Holiday Hunger – Create provisions to ensure young people have access to meals outside of term time
★ Quality of Food – School meals should be made using good, healthy and nutritious ingredients and no ultra-processed foods. 
★ Standardisation –   Ensure young people all have access to the same quality and volume of food in schools. 
★ Financing and Funding – Create arrangements to fund school meals. 
★ Additional Pricing – Ensure the prices of any additional food are reasonable and consistent across the UK.

Following the sitting, Members of Youth Parliament will campaign on the issues they vote as their priority. They will also conclude their year-long efforts to draft their Parliamentary bill.

Sarah Powell, Carmarthenshire’s Senior Participation Officer said
“Olivia is incredibly excited to be a part of the UK Youth Parliament and it’s an amazing opportunity for her. It’s great to see so many young people engaging in politics to talk about issues that matter to them and contributing to making a difference, especially in the financially challenging climate that we face.  I’m so proud of Olivia in representing Carmarthenshire at such an important national event.”

The debates will be streamed live (with a 20 minute delay) on Parliamentlive.tv or you can follow the conversation on Social Media using #UKYPHoC

CARMARTHENSHIRE’S BIGGEST YOUTH CONSULTATION

Posted on by Sarah
Carmarthenshire’s Youth Consultation

Are you a young person living in Carmarthenshire? Are you passionate about making your community a better place? If so, we want to hear from you!

Carmarthenshire’s Annual Youth Consultation “Our Voice, Our Vote, Our Future” is a unique opportunity for young people aged 11-18 to have their say on the issues that matter most to them. We want to hear from young people from all backgrounds and experiences. Your input will help to shape the future of Carmarthenshire.

So, how do we select our topics?

On November 24th, we will be hosting an exciting event where school representatives will present motions and debate the issues most important to them. Following the event, a vote will take place to determine the top 10 topics for the consultation ballot paper. The ballot papers will be available online from January and will be open to all young people in Carmarthenshire aged 11-18.

How do we vote?

Voting opens online as soon as we announce the top motions that made it onto the ballot papers!

Stay tuned to our social media and the hashtag #OurVoiceOurVoteOurFuture to be the first to know when voting opens and to get updates on the consultation.

Make sure you share with all your friends so that they can get involved too – this is your chance to make a real difference in your community, so don’t miss out!

Article by
Lucas Palenek

OVER 100 YOUNG PEOPLE ATTEND YOUTH CONFERENCE

Posted on by Sarah

We hosted our Annual Youth Conference on, Wednesday, 25 October at Parc Y Scarlets, Llanelli. 160 young people, teachers and practitioners attended the Youth Conference this year, in what is the 20th Anniversary of the Carmarthenshire Youth Council, with discussions and workshops taking place to celebrate and raise awareness of Children’s’ Rights.

Delegates heard from the Children’s Commissioner, Rocio Cifuentes, who, as a guest speaker, spoke of the importance of listening to our young people. Carmarthenshire County Council’s Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language, Cllr. Glynog Davies emphasised to the young people that their rights are reflected in the vision and policies of the Local Authority and that he, as does the Children’s Commissioner, has an open door policy to listen and advise our future generation.  

The Conference, named “RIGHTS TOGETHER: A Celebration of Children’s Rights” is Carmarthenshire first Annual Youth Conference since the pandemic and has been organised in partnership with Carmarthenshire County Council Youth Support Services. We invited young people and practitioners from Secondary Schools and Youth Projects from across the county to take part in the event with the aim to bring together services and organisations to create an empowering and informative event for young people aged 11-18 years old within Carmarthenshire.

We held a formal Conference in the morning, where we ran workshops and discussions exploring what is a Right and an energetic Rights Auction which introduced the 42 Articles of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child or UNCRC for short. Working with partners, service areas, projects and organisations we hosted a ‘Showcase’ during the afternoon where young people took part and got involved in a range of fun, informative and engaging activities around Children’s Rights. We are extremely grateful to all the organisations, projects and service areas that supported this part of the event and played an important part in making the event such a success.

Thomas Vaughan-Jones, Youth Conference Planner said “I was really looking forward to the ‘Rights Together’ conference! It was a fantastic celebration of young voices and the importance of children’s rights. I hope the young people, teachers and professionals have leave the event feeling inspired and empowered to create positive change. It’s was a day filled with learning, and fun; and I’m so proud to have been a part of it!”

Cabinet Member for Education and Welsh Language, Cllr. Glynog Davies said: “It was a privilege to be present at this year’s conference, to meet with our young people and hear their views on the issue of children’s rights. It is so very important to celebrate and raise awareness of children’s rights, in our goal to make a better Carmarthenshire for young people. Thank you to each and every one that attended our Youth Conference today and for your valued contribution.”  

For more information you can follow the conversation on Social Media using #RightsTogether