Lincolnshire makes its mark at UK Youth Parliament in Belfast
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Young representatives from Lincolnshire joined over 300 members of the Youth Parliament from across the UK in Belfast recently.
For the first time in its history, the UK Youth Parliament held its annual sitting in Northern Ireland. The four day event saw debates on the environment, health, crime and education. Other issues included lowering the voting age to 16, and transport provision for young people.
As part of the sitting, the 11-18 year-olds visited Stormont and were addressed by Francie Molloy, Deputy Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, and 15 year-old Member of Youth Parliament, Aaron Meredith, from South Belfast. The number of high profile speakers also included the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow, the Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Charles Hendry, and Robin Newton, Junior Minister within the Office of First and Deputy First Minister in Northern Ireland as well as an inspirational speaker in Dr Gill Hicks OBE FRSA, a survivor of the London terrorist bombings and founder of M.A.D. for Peace.
Shannon Holland-Houghton (Member of Youth Parliament Lincolnshire East) who attended, said: “Stormont was an amazing experience on top of the brilliant annual sitting. To see so many young people brought together with something in common, destroying the negative stereotype always shown in the papers was fantastic. It felt like a real family!”
Councillor Mrs Patricia Bradwell, Executive Councillor for Children’s Services, added: “With the recent stories of young people rioting in Belfast, it is refreshing to see so many members of the Youth Parliament meeting in the same city to discuss politics and issues affecting them. It’s important that our own representatives get the chance to listen, learn and have their say.”
Please refer to the downloadable reports for more information.
