Why do we need to grow a stronger youth council?
On Friday 18th October 2019 we published our “Growing a stronger youth council” report. These are the closing remarks from our report.
We know that people have very different views about our youth council. Some feel that it’s already doing so well there is no need to change things, whilst others feel that we shouldn’t have a youth council at all. But that’s just what the adults think.
What we committed to do, in response to both challenge and support, is to make sure that our young citizens have the strongest voice possible in what happens next. So we’ve focused on what children and young people in Kirklees think.
By working closely with schools and local organisations, we have made sure that as many young people as possible had the chance to share their views. We asked questions that our young people could understand. Only after we heard what young people think did we ask how our youth council might find a place in their lives.
What we have discovered is that Kirklees Youth Council can (and does) have a place. And it has the potential to support many more of our young people with the activities that they want to be part of, in the way that they want to participate.
If we each have a pathway to being involved in local democracy and civic life, the youth council can be there at a key stage of that personal journey and stop our pathways from being broken. Thanks to the openness of our participants, and the thoughtfulness of our Young Commissioners, we now have a better understanding of how Kirklees Youth Council can be there for everyone, when they need it.
We need to grow a stronger youth council. By helping our young citizens to learn, grow and discover democracy, we will strengthen active citizenship in Kirklees.