Calling all 11 – 18 year olds in Witney! Interested in joining the new Youth Council? Watch the video below for a quick run-through on what is involved from local councillors Joy and Georgia.
What is a Youth Council?
A Youth Council is a group of young people engaged in community decision-making. This means that you get to have your say in changes around Witney, and possibly make a few changes of your own!
What can I do in a Youth Council?
Previous Youth Councils have hosted bake sales, taken part in remembrance day, attended events, and even hosted their own nerf gun stall at Witney Carnival.
The possibilities are as far as you can think of ideas, within the rules and limitations of the council (which we all have to follow). The best part is that you can learn the knowledge and find a way to still do interesting events – it’s a win-win!
Youth Council Socials
The Youth Council will have it’s own Instagram account and Facebook page which will be managed by the members. You can post related information about what makes you passionate:
- Encouraging young people to vote
- Awareness for petitions, events, pride, etc.
- Keeping people updated on what you’re doing
What are the rules?
There are some things you need to do as part of the Youth Council so that things go as smoothly as possible.
There are a minimum of four meetings a year, each held two weeks before council meetings. These allow you to talk about any issues, what you plan to do, and how you plan to do it. This can then get sent to Full Council (A meeting with council staff and councillors) to receive feedback.
There will need to be a Chair and a Secretary within the Youth Council Group.
The Chair steers the meetings, ensures they follow what needs to be talked about, and makes sure everyone who wants to talk gets to talk at the appropriate time.
The Secretary writes down the minutes – what gets discussed about and what decisions are made.
These roles are both very important to make sure you cover everything that needs to be talked about and that its all recorded for other people to see!
Any more questions?
The friendly staff at Witney Town Council are more than happy to answer any questions that you may have. Remember – there is no such thing as a silly question!
Feel free to drop us an email at info@witney-tc.gov.uk by clicking the icon below and we’ll get back to you as soon as we can.
