13 students across Dorset are campaigning to become the county’s next Members of Youth Parliament.
They will stand for election at the end of this month, with voting taking place in schools between 28 Jan – 1 Feb.
Two Members and two Deputy Members of Youth Parliament will be elected. Dorset County Council runs the campaign in conjunction with Participation People.
Cllr Andrew Parry, Cabinet member for Education, Learning and Skills said: “The UK Youth Parliament is a great opportunity for young people to have a strong democratic voice and a chance to have their say on the issues that matter to them and their peers.
“They will be engaging with fellow students as well as members of the public in making Dorset a better place and should be applauded for being prepared to serve and uphold the courage of their convictions. I am looking forward to meeting the elected MYPs and hearing their manifestos next month.”
Current Dorset MYP Laurence is running a period poverty campaign in schools, making sure girls have what they need when they need it. And together with Deputy MYP Matthew they championing Mental Heallh services across Dorset and have organised Dorset’s #YouthVoice Summit with 136 young people and decision makers to talk about community problems and how to fix them. Laurence recently visited KeeP 106 and you can listen to the interview here when he appeared on KeeP Driving. Also Laurence took part in The All Inclusive Show which you can hear at 11 am on Thursday 17th January.
Deputy MYP Stasia Smith is also running a video campaign to help young people deal with exam stress and wants to encourage students to talk about how stress affects them together.