Blaby District Youth Council

Blaby District Youth Council Hate Event

Blaby District Youth Council have several priorities this year, with “hate” being a top priority for them.  As part of a campaign to raise awareness, they ran a competition for local schools where students could produce a piece of work which had to include the tag line; Hate Has No Home Here. 

On Friday 6 December 2024 the schools that had taken part in the competition came to the Council Chamber to showcase their work in front of our panel of judges which included Blaby District Chief Executive, Blaby District Youth Council Chair and a Hate Crime Police Officer. 

In the Primary School category 1^st place went to Croft Church of England Primary School and 2^nd prize to St Peter’s Church of England Primary School, Whetstone.  In the Secondary School Category, 1^st and 2^nd place went to Brockington College, Enderby.  The winning schools will be receiving prize money for their School PTAs to use.

The judges were overwhelmed with the quality of work that has been produced and the artwork will be incorporated by the Youth Council and our Community Safety Partnership as part of a Hate Awareness Campaign.

Blaby District Youth Council

Blaby District Youth Council is a group who represent the views of young people throughout the District, giving them the opportunity to:

• Have a voice
• Discuss relevant issues
• Engage with decision-makers
• Contribute to improving the lives of young people within their communities

Anyone aged between 11 and 19 (or up to 24 with additional needs) who lives, works or goes to school in the District can join.

What's in it for you?

• Learn about your community and develop an understanding of political processes, citizenship and representation
• Get involved in community projects and be involved in consultations on topics that affect young people
• Influence future policy and decisions on issues affecting young people
• Gain valuable skills and experiences for the future. There are roles available to help you do this: Chairing the meetings, Secretary (taking meeting minutes) and get certificates of achievement to add to your CV
• Councillor Shadowing: get a flavour of what it’s like to be a local councillor and how democracy works in practice. It’s also a great chance for you to spend time with Councillors and share your concerns and hopes and develop your confidence and leadership skills
• Use your volunteer hours towards Duke of Edinburgh or other accreditations through your school or college
• Free membership to Enderby Leisure Centre

Below are just some of the things we have achieved as a Youth Council:

• Visited Parliament where we were given a tour, took part in a representation and voting workshop and had a Question and Answer session with our local MP
• Organised a hate awareness event, in partnership with Leicestershire Police, which was attended by Parish Councils, District Councillors and people from local voluntary organisations working with young people
• Held a health and wellbeing event for young people at our local leisure centre
• Invited Magistrates from our local court to attend a meeting where they ran a mock trial. We were introduced to the legal system through an interactive experience
• Attended the British Youth Council Annual Council Meeting in Cardiff where we put forward a policy motion on self-harm, which was accepted into their manifesto for 2018/19
• Made 3 short films to raise awareness around self-harm in young people. The aims were to encourage young people to speak out and get support, and deliver the message that 'it can get better.'
• Held a Youth Conference, which was attended by 60+ young people, where we agreed our priorities for 2019/20

Priorities for 2023 / 2024

• Vaping
• Green Agenda
• Hate Crime

Youth Council Meetings

Blaby District Youth Council meetings usually take place on a Monday evening, every four weeks, except where there is a Bank Holiday. All meetings are held at Blaby Council Offices, Desford Road, Narborough, Leicester, LE19 2EP. To find out more or when the next meeting is taking place, email vcshub@blaby.gov.uk.