Youth Parliament Candidates Training

February 1st, 2008 by mas | Filed under Courses & Events, Films & Social Media, Participation & Citizenship.

You may have already seen the films of the Candidate Speeches for Cheshire Youth Parliament. Before the young people standing for election get to this point they attend a Candidates Weekend. All young people in Cheshire can attend the Candidates Weekend and over 2 days we provide some training to help young people consider whether they really want to stand for election, and if so what they would stand for.

Some of the criticisms of the Youth Parliament system are that its not truly representative and that the people that get elected are just elected on the basis of how many friends they’ve got. The Youth Voice team in Cheshire have been working really hard to ensure this isn’t what happens up there. Prior to the weekend they organise meetings at youth clubs in each region to encourage young people to attend the training. The training activities we use include using Prospective Sheets to consider the issues the different regions face and exploring this from different peoples perspectives, some practical sessions to help build peoples confidence and skills to deliver a presentation or speech, and some group development activities. The group development activities are a good opportunity for young people to develop some skills but also for them to observe each other and help them make decisions about who they would like to potentially represent them.

A nice aspect to work of the Cheshire Youth Parliament team is that during the weekend the focus isn’t just on the potential MYP’s (Member of Youth Parliament) - they’re also seeking to involve all of the young people attending in future projects that they can work on together towards some of the issues they identify. This is very important because it not only takes the emphasis away from ‘winners and losers’, but it also means that for some they can become involved to a lesser degree this year and then perhaps stand for candidacy next year when they feel more confident.

The candidates and the Youth Voice team are now busy working hard towards the elections and we wish everyone up there the very best over the coming year.