Youth Council

Get involved

What our Youth Council do

We want young people to be more involved in making decisions about issues and services that affect you and we want to support you in making positive changes. Our Youth Council gives children and young people a 'collective voice' that is listened to and acted upon by the important decision makers.

Our young people come from a range of different areas and backgrounds across schools, colleges and youth groups. We pride ourselves on being a diverse and accepting group.

As a member of the Youth Council, you will be expected to develop different ways of gathering the voices of young people across the county, exploring the things that matter to them. You'll be responsible for helping develop new projects, events or campaigns to gather opinions, raise awareness and support with key issues impacting on children and young people. You'll also support the elected members of the Youth Parliament to campaign on issues affecting you, as young people both locally and nationally.

The Youth Council also work with other organisations to explore what's available for young people to access and how these services could be made better and best work for young people.

We aim to:

• Build a diverse and well represented Youth Council.
• Elect a Representative for UK Youth Parliament.
• Consult with young people to gather thoughts and opinions on subjects and issues that matter to them.
• To use this information and share it with important decision makers in order to make a difference to services that are being provided for young people.
• Provide opportunities for children and young people.
• Celebrate the achievements of children and young people.

What our Youth Council can offer you

• Work towards Certificates of Achievement which are recognised by employers, universities and colleges.
• Contribute to your community and build on your knowledge of political processes and citizenship.
• Gain and build on skills, confidence and self-esteem.
• Be provided with the opportunity to experience new things.
• Influence future policy and decisions on issues that are affecting you, as a young person, including; transport, antisocial behaviour, mental health support, leisure facilities, youth services, crime, the environment and much more.
• Build positive relationships!

Documents to support the work of our Youth Council

• Durham Youth Council Anti-Bullying Policy (PDF) [175KB]
• Durham Youth Council Code of Conduct (PDF) [170KB]
• Durham Youth Council Social Media Policy (PDF) [229KB]
• Durham Youth Council Safeguarding Policy (PDF) [425KB]