Toni, 13
Hi, I am Toni. I am from Cape Youth Project and I am 13 years old. I am the oldest person in the Islington Children's Parliament and I've been involved now for two years. One of the best things I've done since being involved in the Children's Parliament was the residential we went on last summer at a place in Essex called Cardfields.
The reason for the residential was so that all the representatives of the parliament could get together and talk about issues young people face in Islington. It was also about having fun. During the weekend we did all sorts of different activites, like fishing, drama and painting.
There was also a bonfire. On one of the days we did an activity to find out what was important to children living in Islington. We were asked to write down on post-it notes what we were worried about. The three most common themes were EDUCATION, CRIME and BULLYING.
We discussed these things and decided that adults should be more aware of what young people think. We also felt that they should take our concerns more seriously so that we feel safe in the areas where we live and go to school.
Judith, 11
After we went to Cardfields, on the residential, we did a
presentation for the Islington Children's Fund. We went to explain why the Children's Parliament is so good and why we like being involved. Finally the audience asked us 40 minutes of very hard questions.
Jordan, 9
I got involved in the Children's Parliament when my playworker at school just asked "do you want to be on the CP?" I'd heard about it before but didn't really know what it was. When he explained what it was I definitely wanted to be involved because it's important to give children a voice.
I've been a member for roughly a year and am really pleased I'm involved because I really feel I am doing something helpful in Islington. I've become more confident since joining because it's good to feel part of something and I get on with all the others. I've never ever had a single argument or disagreement with another member.
When we go to the meetings we discuss things that are troubling all people in Islington, for instance buses. Being a member has also put me in touch with other youth groups like Children's Express and Listen Up.
I'm now one of the Children's Parliament editorial correspondents, which means I get to report back on what's been happening. Hopefully there will be more correspondents now that Darell (journalist at CE) has been to a Children's Parliament meeting.
We meet every 6-8 weeks in the CP and we usually have one or two visitors to help us. We had Steven Walker from London Buses once, and of course, the famous Darell!
Recently we (me, Judith & some other members) did a Graffiti project at Cornwallis youth club. I have enjoyed being in CP very much.
