Newcastle Youth Council and Youth Parliament

Overview

We are in support of youth democracy in Newcastle. The Youth Council and Youth Parliament give young people the opportunity to experience the excitement of elections and local democracy in a non-political way. 

Benefits include:

  • becoming an active citizen by having your voice heard and campaigning on issues that matter
  • learning about the importance of democracy and voting
  • a positive contribution to add to a CV or university application
  • helping to increase confidence and develop important skills, like public speaking

Who can take part?

The Youth Council and Youth Parliament are open to:

  • any young person aged 11 to 17 years old
  • who live, study or work within the Newcastle City Council area

How many seats are there?

The two bodies have 19 seats in total:

  • 12 seats on the Youth Council
  • 4 seats for the Youth Parliament
  • 3 seats drawn from existing participation groups

Young people are elected for a two year term.

If you are elected

If you stand and are elected then you become a member of youth parliament or a youth councillor. 

You will be supported through an induction, training and team building process. 

You will then meet as a formal group at least once a month and can get involved in other activities, depending on your individual commitments. 

There is also no cost to young people or their families in getting involved, as all travel and event costs are met. 

If you are not elected

We would encourage young people who are not elected to continue to work with us through our locality youth voice groups. These are informal, unelected groups that anyone can join at any time. 

Members of these groups have lots of opportunities, including event planning, interviewing staff and having a say about their local area. 

If a place becomes available on the Youth Council, then you could have another chance to stand for a seat. 

More information

Our voice and influence team lead on the development of the Youth Council and Youth Parliament. 

If you have any questions or would like more information please: