The Youth Forums in the High Peak kicked off at the end of December and produced lively discussions with all young people getting involved. Some local groups are now showing interest in having young people on their committees / boards so the Youth Forums are a great opportunity for young people to gain the interest / confidence and skills to develop further, to represent young people in other places . The next online Youth Forum for anyone aged 11 to 13 years, will be held on Thursday 21st January starting at 6.30pm for 1 hour via Zoom email invites. Anyone who attended the last ones have been sent invitations already. There will also be one for 14 to 18 year olds and that will be held on either Wednesday 20th January or the following Wednesday 27th or possibly Thursday 28th. For further information, please contact Lynne Allen, Youth and Community Engagement Worker on 0781 250 3449 The aim of the Youth Forum in the High Peak is to: · Hear the Voice of Young People living in the High Peak · Establish a Youth led platform. Empowering young people to be involved in the running and shape of the Youth Forum going forward e.g. taking on roles of chair, presenting , taking notes , design of futures agendas , designing own publicity / posters, determining communication channels used for promoting the Youth Forum and subsequent actions and events that come from this. · Provide young people with training and development opportunities, presentation skills, chairing meetings, active listening, critical thinking etc. the skills needed to enable full participation in a forum setting. · Enable Young people to bring fresh ideas, approach and have an influence on new projects built for young people in the community · Develop an effective channel for capturing young people’s views on how money is spent locally for young people’s activities. ( such as the DCC Youth Action Grants ) · Provide a safe space for young people outside the school environment to talk about issues that matter to them and ensure that a clear pathway for issues raised leads to positive, constructive outcomes and actions. · Provide Youth Forum sessions to include training, workshop sessions, outside speakers to build engagement and knowledge within the Forum · Support and complement the work of CVS Youth Network colleagues. Provide 2-way communications enabling young people to provide feedback to colleagues on projects such as communication strategy, help shape how community groups communicate with young people. Enable colleagues to consult with young people and help shape new initiatives and ways of working especially moving through and out of the current lockdown situation · Establish 2 Youth Forums to meet the needs of different age groups: 11 to 13 years 14 to 18 years Young People of the High Peak Have your say! Get Involved and have a voice, no matter how big or...