Young people come together to help shape the East Midlands region

Young people from across the region have come together to give their views on the East Midlands region and what’s important to them.  

It’s all part of the East Midlands Combined County Authority (EMCCA) Youth Committee workshop, which took place on Wednesday 29 January. The workshop focused on gathering the views of young people to understand how they would like to see the upcoming Youth Committee operate, ensuring a truly youth-led approach.  

At this session, twelve young people came together to share their thoughts on key questions, including what the committee’s areas of focus should be and how its success will be measured. 

Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward, attended the session. As well as listening to the young people during the workshop, she also joined them for lunch, answering questions and engaging in meaningful conversations about change for the region.  

Mayor of the East Midlands, Claire Ward, said: “The EMCCA Youth Committee will be at the heart of how we empower youth leadership. It will give the young people on the committee a clear role in regional decision-making. It will signal to young people across the region that we value them and want them to shape the future. 

“To ensure we get this right, we have been speaking directly to young people to ensure that the future Youth Committee will be shaped around their needs, ideas and ambitions, allowing them to guide the decisions that impact their future. I left the session feeling energised and focused on what we can do when we tap into young talent and I would encourage anyone to get in touch if they think it sounds interesting: you have not missed the boat!” 

EMCCA will be hosting additional workshops with young people to capture as many diverse voices as possible before establishing its first ever Youth Committee. Future workshops will centre around discussions on how the committee should be structured, recruitment plans, and how to ensure all young voices in the region are fairly represented. 

Oliver Roberts, from Derby College, said: “It was a great forum to communicate our ideas. It was very open, very engaging. Everyone had the opportunity to speak, even if they weren’t feeling comfortable. We got to have really interesting conversations with the East Midlands Mayor for example”. 

Former Derby Youth Mayor, Muhammad Muntasir, said: “If I was to summarise this whole day, it would be youth cohesion: to make sure that we all represent our views and make sure that we can make those changes as a collective.” 

To take part in Youth Committee workshops, you must be a young person aged roughly 15 to 18 (or up to 25 for those with additional needs) and be based in either Nottinghamshire or Derbyshire, as this comprises the EMCCA region. 

If you, or any young people you know, fit this criteria and would like to participate, please email youngvoices@eastmidsdevo.org.uk and we will consider you for a future workshop. 

Outcomes from this workshop, and from future workshops, will form the building blocks of EMCCA’s Youth Committee.  

Listen to what Mayor Claire and the some of the young people who attended the workshop had to say about the event.