Inner South Community Committee held their Youth Summit on 8 November at the Civic Hall Banqueting Suite and welcomed young people aged 8-17 from across the Inner South wards of Beeston & Holbeck, Hunslet & Riverside and Middleton Park.
This was the first Youth Summit since the pandemic and the Children & Families Champion Councillor Gohar Almass was proud to welcome over 120 people from 11 schools across the Inner South Wards.
The young people in attendance took part in multiple activities including a democracy workshop, a Q&A session with local Councillors, an interactive Youth Activity Funding game and a visit to the Chamber to see where local democracy took place.
Also in attendance were Child Friendly Leeds, Leeds 2023, Leeds Youth Service, Royal Air Force, West Yorkshire Police and West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Services who engaged with the young people, let them try on their uniforms and advised what activities were available in their ward.
Throughout the day the young people were able to interact with a wide range of stakeholders, peers and local Councillors in a fun environment whilst learning the importance of democracy and what that means at a national and local level.
The event ended in the Chamber with an award ceremony.
Everyone who attended was given a certificate and goody bag with items from notebooks to pens, water bottles and much more!
Children & Families Champion, Councillor Gohar Almass (Labour, Beeston and Holbeck) said:
“I was delighted to see so many young people attend representing different schools from the Inner South of the city having a great time while learning about democracy, local Government and how it all functions. The feedback was very positive during and after the interactive workshops.
“I’m also very grateful to the LCC Communities Team, Voice of Influence & Change Team, my fellow councillors and all the organisations who participated in making the summit a great success.”
Community Committee Chair, Cllr Mohammed Iqbal (Labour, Hunslet and Riverside) added:
“This generation of young people will be making decisions for the city in the years ahead, so it was tremendous to welcome them to the Civic Hall, the Leeds home of local democracy, and to hear what they had to say about their priorities for the Youth Activity Fund.
“I’m glad that we were able to create this opportunity through the Inner South Community Committee to support young people to listen and share ideas – it’s a really practical and engaging way to learn about how they can have their say.
“A huge thank you to all involved in making this a success.”
This post is based on a press release issued by Cllr Gohar Almass and Cllr Mohammed Iqbal
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