Newcastle City Council is the biggest business in the area. It runs schools in the city. It is responsible for a lot of developments in the city. It gives permission for things to happen, or not. It provides services. It owns the airport, the Metro, 40 per cent of Eldon Square and lots of other properties in the city.
| It is important, not only for people to understand what’s going on, but to recognise that they can have an influence. |
Now, for the first time in its history, it is trying to get young people involved in what goes on. The council has established a 'young people's parliament', with each school in the city electing two representatives, and members have been away on training days and met with Council officials.
They are now considering what they want the Council to do and will present their views to the Council, which in turn will listen to those views and come back with their ideas about what it intends to do.
"It's a new model of how we are going to do things", says Councillor Tony Flynn, leader of the Council. "We have started off the young people's parliament to see whether it works and to let young people see whether they can make some changes in their city.
"I think it is important, not only for people to understand what's going on, but to recognise that they can have an influence at the end of the day".
But Cllr Flynn readily admits that the youth parliament is only a start towards getting young people involved in making decisions. "There is a lot more we can do actually".
Young people in schools should be demanding schools councils from teachers, he says. "That's where it starts, in your youth clubs and in your schools. Hopefully schools will set up the proper forums where people can have their say."
He also thinks the Council should probably do more to educate young people in schools about citizenship and democracy and how decisions are made that affect our lives.
"I think we should learn how to influence those decisions", he says. "There's a lot of young people coming through the schools, and you are going to be the rulers of Newcastle soon, so we have to make it a good place for you people. The young people are the future of Newcastle aren't they?"
About the team
This article was produced by editor Lindsay Marchant, 16, and reporters Ashleigh Rainey, 9 and Emma Allison, 10. It was published in the North West Post in Newcastle.
