Issue - meetings

The Assembly received the BAD Youth Forum’s 14^th Annual report, introduced by Erik Stein, Group Manager for Youth Services who was accompanied by Rao Khan, Pelumi Oyewo, Mariya Zhecheva, VaisalyGnanapandithan, Memoona Fatima, Sumayyah Rahman and Elise Kapferer from the Forum.

The Forum was made up of 60 young people who were elected from schools and youth groups in the Borough in January 2015.  Amongst the initiatives undertaken by the Forum during the year were the election of the first ever Young Mayor, Angelica Olawepo, and the creation of sub-groups to consider the following issues:

Anti-bullying Sub Group – The sub group chose to focus on bullying as 95% of the Forum as experienced bullying at some point in their lives and they wanted to raise awareness.  Members of the Sub Group became anti-bullying ambassadors following training which was run by Kidscape, an anti-bullying charity.  Members attended an anti-bullying event where they learnt news skills and went on to develop a workshop for young people.  The workshop, was delivered to four of the 10 Secondary Schools in the Borough, with over 70 young people participating.  The Sub Group also helped out at a local homeless shelter to demonstrate their commitment to the whole community.

Healthy Living Sub Group – The Sub Group was commissioned by public health to create a project that raises awareness of rising levels of obesity amongst young people. The Sub Group undertook a work shop on healthy eating with information about how to eat healthily on a budget and all participants were provided with a healthy meal from a menu developed by the sub group. The Sub Group also carried out inspections on different health facilities within the Borough and developed a report following each visit.  The reports were largely positive however some barriers to young people were identified, particularly in relation to affordable, quality sport facilities.

Other key aspects highlighted during the presentation included:

Young Inspectors – The Young Inspectors undertook 58 pharmacy inspections across 17 pharmacies, the largest amount undertaken in one year.  It was noted that since the work of the Young Inspectors had started, teenage pregnancy rates in the Borough had dropped.  The Young Inspectors also undertook inspections at leisure centres and undertook test purchases with Trading Standards.

Consultations – The Forum participated in nine consultations during the year and assisted the Police in developing a questionnaire aimed at young people.  The questionnaire received over 1900 responses.

Young Mayor – The first Young Mayor had attended several events during the year and held a charity fun day which raised hundreds of pounds for charity.

A new Forum had been elected in January, with five more members.  A new Young Mayor had also been elected for 2016, Pelumi Oyewo, who spoke to the Assembly setting out her aspirations for the year.

A number of Councillors paid tribute to the hard work of the Forum during the year, particularly for their work in addressing bullying  ...  view the full minutes text for item 46