Youth Parliament 2023: Hate Mate Crime

We are very pleased to announce that the WIRRAL YOUTH PARLIAMENT will take place this year! And It will be hosted in 2 parts.  

FIRST COME FIRST SERVED BASIS FOR PLACES 

Part 1 – On Wednesday 1st November 4.30-6pm at Pilgrim St Arts Centre will be a round table event where elected members and other professionals will meet with young people from across Wirral Youth Voice groups to learn about the issues affecting them regarding HATE MATE CRIME DISCUSSION 

Part 2 – On Wednesday 15th November 5.30-8.30pm at Birkenhead Town Hall. This will be a HATE MATE CRIME DEBATE. Motions will be debated which were submitted and agreed with Mayor of Wirral and UK Youth Members of Youth Parliament. The debate will happen with young people, Elected members and relevant professionals.

PART 1 – ROUND TABLE EVENT on 1st November

Booking will be confirmed by ourselves and needs to be returned by Friday 20th October to selinewakerley@wirral.gov.uk AND claireparr@wirral.gov.uk. You will have refreshments from 4.30pm then a round table discussion/workshop from 5-6pm on HATE MATE CRIME.

PART 2 - WIRRAL YOUTH PARLIAMENT INFORMATION – on 15th November

WIRRAL YOUTH PARLIAMENT MOTION FORM needs to be returned by noon 3rd November 2023 to selinewakerley@wirral.gov.uk AND claireparr@wirral.gov.uk . BUT you do not have to put a motion forward you can just attend and have your say on the motions already put forward!

Up to 4 young people can attend from each school or youth group and places will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. The youth parliament event is aimed at ages 11- 19yrs of age (up to 25yrs for SEND/Children Looked After)

The theme of this Youth Parliament is HATE MATE CRIME. Consultation has taken place with over 8 Youth Voice groups exploring issues impacting their lives and bullying stood out as a recurring theme. On further investigation the over-riding theme of HATE MATE CRIME became apparent that the experiences being described by young people involved protected characteristics including gender, race, sexuality and disability.

The Youth debate will explore the issues and nuances attached to dealing with HATE MATE CRIME that young people feel is a problem or a current block in facing this issue.

• The Youth Parliament is organised to provide an opportunity for you to meet and debate with councillors, Council Officers and other decision makers on matters that are important to both of you.

• It is a formal meeting with procedures to be followed.

• The Parliament is regarded as a time for you to influence the thinking of councillors and to shape policy development in Wirral.

• It is important that you are prepared so that you can be fully involved in the process.

• The debate topic is decided by young people, but it should be something that is relevant to both young people and councillors.

The young people’s contribution

This is an opportunity for you to put forward an argument on the topic being debated.  What is important to remember is that this is a formal process and people can only be asked to speak if they:

• Are opening the debate

• Are formally opposing the debate or

• Are seconding the debate

In past years there were several debates covering a number of issues, namely:

• Arming the police

• Cyber cafes in parks

• Apprenticeships in council contracts for young people

• Officers, MPs and Councillors taking a pay cut

Key points about speaking in the debate

• If you are opening the debate you can speak for up to five minutes.

• If you are the main opposer you can speak for up to five minutes.

• If you are seconding the motion you can speak for up to two minutes or you can choose just to formally second the motion.

• You or your school can nominate you to open the debate or to oppose the motion.

• If you are not a main speaker you can still contribute to the debate by raising your hand to let the Mayor know you want to speak.  You can speak for or against the motion.

• If you are want to take part in the debate it is advisable that you do some research beforehand to gather evidence to support these.

• Once you have spoken it is unlikely you will be invited to speak again in this same debate.

• If there are other debates the process as outlined above will apply.  If you have not researched evidence but wish to make a point and you can support this view, you may indicate to the Mayor that you wish to speak.