WELCOME
Apologies – Tia H., Isabelle A.
The meeting was opened by the chair with good news from Youth Councillors.
STAYING APOLITICAL IN MEETINGS
As an organisation, the Oldham Youth Council is apolitical, meaning it does not affiliate itself with any political party. However, being apolitical can differ from how it is perceived in as an organisation, and as an individual.
This meeting agenda item focused on what is and isn’t allowed when it comes to political affiliation when representing the youth council. Points such as ‘You are able to retweet a post from a political party, as long as it is not endorsement, and more topic based’ came up, along with other issues. Hopefully, this gave Youth Councillors who attended the meeting a better understanding on what and how to be apolitical.
ANNUAL CONFERENCE 2019 UPDATE
Over the weekend, Oldham’s Members of Youth Parliament – Liam and Isabelle – had attended the UK Youth Parliament Annual Conference, where they got the chance to represent the views of Oldham on a national level. Liam fed back to the Youth Councillors what happened throughout the weekend, what types of motions that went through, discussed what he had voted for to be on the Make Your Mark Ballot for 2019, and opened up for some questions about the weekend.
HOW CAN THE YOUTH COUNCIL BE MORE ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY?
Following on from the un-meeting, this topic focused on how the Youth Council can reduce the amount of harmful environmental impact. Ideas such as these came up:
- Branding – Do an Eco-Friendly message.
- Reusable Cups.
- Grow plants in Tupperware (Well-being officer).
- Merch – no single use plastic, recyclable enamel rather than plastic bottles.
- Blank projector screen when not in use.
- Only use AC responsibly.
- Plant trees each year to counteract carbon footprint.
HOW SHOULD OUR ELECTION CAMPAIGN LOOK LIKE?
Another topic coming from the un-meeting, this focused on how the OYC election campaign, for the 2020 election should look like. The points and ideas coming from the meeting are listed below.
- Posters.
- Address the perception of the sort of people on Youth Councils (Not all just one stereotype).
- Fun! Friends! Don’t just make it about CVs, show that it can be enjoyable (Videos from Resi)
- No longer recommending candidates to speak to year groups.
- Drop Logo/Photo on ballots.
- More about what OYC does, such as oppurtunities.
- Timeline of events.
EVENTS AND TRIPS
Reminders for upcoming events and trips were given to youth councillors in the meeting.
AOB
At the next meeting, 21/08/19, the Officer elections are happening for the following roles:
- Communications Officer
- Campaigns Officer (x2)
- Well-bieng Officer
- Events and Outreach Officer
