Search is on to fill two prestigious positions

A double search is underway in North Tyneside to find the next Young Mayor and Member of UK Youth Parliament.

Nominations are now open for those aged between 11 and 18 to put themselves forward for one of the important positions.

Holding office for a year, the Young Mayor will act as a figurehead for young people in the borough, giving them a voice and helping to influence decisions made by North Tyneside Council’s Elected Mayor, Cabinet and Council.

The Member of UK Youth Parliament will also be in position for a year and their role is to represent young people from the borough, taking forward their views and debating on their behalf locally, regionally and nationally.

Speaking about the two roles, North Tyneside Elected Mayor, Norma Redfearn CBE said: “Our young people are incredibly talented and passionate, and they are great ambassadors for our borough.

“It is hugely important to me and my Cabinet that they have their voices heard at the highest level and are integral to decision making in North Tyneside. We very much welcome their thoughts and plans on how the borough can be further improved for the benefit of children and young people.

“Our current Young Mayor Suzie Mckenzie and Member of Youth Parliament Abi Tang have done some truly remarkable work, as have their predecessors, and I always enjoy hearing about their latest projects.

“I would really encourage the borough’s young people to find out more about these exciting and interesting roles.”

Young Mayor, Suzie added: “While my time as Young Mayor has certainly been a different experience, I have thoroughly enjoyed my time and I’d like to think I have achieved a lot, not only in terms of my pledge but also in personally developing my own skills that I will take with me throughout life.

“At the start of my term, I developed the ‘I’m an NT Quaran-teen and I survived lockdown’ wristband project that included a wristband and a Z-card leaflet detailing how young people can take better care of their mental health – especially coming out of the lockdown. My hope was to reach out to young people in the borough who may have been struggling with their mental health. Even if the project only reached one young person, I would consider this a success.

It’s so fulfilling to see your projects out in the community helping others so I encourage you, if you’re passionate about change for young people in North Tyneside and voicing their opinions to key decision makers, apply to become the next Young Mayor of North Tyneside.”

Member of UK Youth Parliament, Abi Tang, said: “Applying for Member of UK Youth Parliament is such an amazing thing to do. The opportunities that come with it are endless as well as the people you get to meet, the projects you get to work on and the things you can say you’ve done.

“If you are a young person who is passionate and interested about helping tomorrow’s leaders for the better, then becoming a Member of UK Youth Parliament it is so worthwhile and rewarding and 100% the position for you.”

The successful candidates hold the posts for 12 months, from 7 March 2022. Most of their duties are arranged outside of the school day. They are also supported to make certain they honour all school commitments.

Nominations close on Thursday 9 December. Preliminary online voting then opens from 13 December until 14 January 2022, to whittle down the final top four candidates. The preliminary voting process was introduced in 2010, due to extremely high levels of interest in the Young Mayor position.

Final voting for the coveted position takes place in schools and selected council buildings between 14 – 16 February 2022.

Young people aged between 11 and 18 who live, work or attend school or college in North Tyneside, are eligible to stand for one of the positions in the election, and take part in the vote.

Nomination packs are available from 17th November 2021 at www.northtyneside.gov.uk, by emailing youngmayor@northtyneside.gov.uk or by calling (0191) 643 8218.

ENDS