Young People and Local Democracy

Get Involved in Local Democracy

How do I do that?

A definition of some terms may be a useful starting point…

Democracy: 'Government by the people for the people' Local Democracy: The local government of an area. This could be where you live through to the whole of Herefordshire. It involves the local council and all people who have a say about how things are. So what about Politics? What does this mean? 'Working to change the way things are in our society' this can be anything from the price of CD, what age you can drink alcohol, to what school meals are like!

Think about it…What do you love? What do you hate? What would you change?

Locally:

There are many opportunities across Herefordshire where you can get involved in decision making, being heard and making change happen such as:

• Rural Media: Youth Times Project  
• 2XL Youth Projects: Action Groups
• Close House: Youth Committee
• Herefordshire Council Youth Service: Youth Forums, Youth Council, Shadow Childrens Trust Board and many more!

Contact your local area youth worker to find out how you can get involved locally.

Or you may like to think about setting up your own group or project! Lots of young people have done this. There are many areas of life in which people could make a difference if they chose to… human rights, disability, drugs, racism, better pay for young people, local transport, bullying, loneliness, more leisure facilities for young people (Skate-park campaign groups) etc…

What about County Wide Democracy?

You could join the Herefordshire Youth Council or the Shadow Board (of the Childrens Trust) both are a voice for young people in Herefordshire to look at and act on issues that matter to young people across the county, working with decision makers, to effect change for the better.

It all started in 2006 with a Youth Conference called Speak Out! Young people from across Herefordshire were invited to get together and Speak Out and feed their opinions into the Herefordshire Plan and also to find out more about Youth Councils.

There is now a core group of young people who are involved in planning, inspecting and influencing decisions and decision makers in the county and nationally they would love to hear from you if you want to get involved or have any ideas.

Your Choice, Your Voice

Please contact the Youth Involvement Team