Chair’s opening:
The Chair opened the meeting and outlined the agenda.
Consultation training:
Chris led a session on consultation training, he explained the aims of this activity and YCllrs worked in pairs.
The training session began with icebreakers to encourage interaction and a relaxed atmosphere. Participants shared personal facts, practised asking closed (yes/no) questions, and then progressed to open-ended questions to gain more detailed responses.
Feedback was collected to verify understanding of the distinction between these two question types.
The majority of participants chose to conduct surveys for data collection. Based on this, they analysed their survey results and drew hypotheses.
The importance of sample size in research was also discussed.
Consultation and Youth Engagement:
YCllrs then applied steps from training to real-life consultation scenarios, with a focus on methods to enable young people to voice their opinions in the community.
Most turned their attention to the consultation results concerning the statement: “I am generally free to express my ideas and opinions.”
Results: – Male – 56% – Female – 45% – LGBTQ – 42%
This prompted a discussion as to why these figures are so low.
Further strategies will be developed to promote discussions in schools.
Annual conference report:
Louie and Ying returned from the annual conference, sharing insights on motions concerning period poverty and xenophobia.
They presented an overview of their daily activities, which focused on different government departments.
They also encouraged youth councillors to contribute ideas on national issues.
Events and trips:
20th November – barbecue and quiz fundraiser.
8th December – Youthforia.
11th December – final meeting of the year and Christmas party.
AOB:
Emphasised the importance of mutual respect during discussions.
Invited ideas for the Christmas party.
