Young people needed to stand for election

The search is on for young people willing to get involved in local decision-making and stand for this year’s Herefordshire Youth Council elections.

There are 23 seats up for grabs countywide and it is hoped to recruit a minimum of 46 candidates to stand for them. 

The aim of the Youth Council is to provide a representative voice and ensure that young people are involved in influencing decisions, getting their voices heard and acting on issues that matter to them.

During its first year (2006), the Youth Council made its mark on a number of key projects: it allocated funding to more than 30 youth projects, contributed to a county-wide play strategy to be published shortly and consulted more than 700 young people to find out what their main issues are at the moment.

Term of office is for one year, so new and existing candidates are needed to drive forward the good work started by the existing Council.

Those interested in standing as a candidate need to attend a Make Your Mark training event to learn what’s involved and get help drawing up a short manifesto before hitting the campaign trail.

The manifestos will be published as leaflets and distributed across the county via schools and youth clubs as well as posted on the Youth Council web site. 

Young people will be able to vote for their preferred candidate via text message or at a school-based ballot box during the election period, which runs from March 19 to March 25..

Andy Preedy Herefordshire Council’s Youth Services Assistant Manager said,
 “This is a great opportunity for young people to get involved in key issues that affect them.

“No previous experience is needed, just energy, ideas, commitment and the willingness to listen to and represent other young people”.