Every 6 weeks, a motivated and dedicated group of young people from the 23 regions of the North West, aged 11-18, meet at an event named Youthforia. The group consists of MYPs (for Oldham this is Nayema and Jade), DMYPs (Samah and Roshni) and youth councillors. We meet at various locations around the North West. Oldham is usually very well represented at these events, often with more people wanting to attend than there are places, and on a few occasions we have even hosted it. At these meetings, we discuss our regional campaigns and work on the national campaigns, particularly the Make Your Mark campaign which seeks the views of young people up and down the country on a ballot which informs topics for the MYP House of Commons debate later in the year.The steering group, which I am an elected representative for Greater Manchester North on, ensures Youthforia is efficiently run and well organised. The members also plan and run many of the workshops throughout the event. During the Youthforia event, the youth councillors receive useful training and information and are encouraged to go away and proactively make a difference in their communities. We do a lot of work on the campaigns and feel we have really achieved something and made a difference after each meeting and everything we have learned can be taken back to our local areas and used benefit the young people in Oldham as well as exchanging best practice with other local authorities.
“I find Youthforia one of the most valuable aspects of being on the Youth Council. I’ve formed friendships with other young people who are similarly passionate about youth democracy, have had many opportunities to get involved with great organisations such as the Steering Group, and generally just broadened my horizons and enhanced my worldview”
YCllr Jade Calder MYP
