Cardiff Youth Council

Over the last few months we have been looking at data that we received from the School Health Research Network (SHRN) and the Child Friendly Cardiff Pupil Survey.

The SHRN is a partnership between Welsh Government, Public Health Wales, Cancer Research UK, the Wales Institute of Social and Economic Research and Data (WISERD) and Cardiff University. Every two years they run a Student Health & Wellbeing survey which asks students about a range of health behaviours and outcomes as well as their age, gender and how they feel about school. There were over 11,000 respondents to this survey.

The Child Friendly Cardiff Pupil Survey was designed to capture children’s views on a wide range of topics, including understanding their awareness of Children’s Rights, satisfaction with council and other public services, and what issues matter to them. There were over 7000 respondents to this survey.

After going through this data and speaking with other young people we put forward 5 motions to be debated and voted upon so that we can set our priorities up until July 2024.

The motions put forward were:

• Health & Wellbeing
• Bullying
• Environment
• Social Media (Fake news /reality)
• Cost of living

On Wednesday 15th February we had a really good debate on the motions put forward and then voted on them.

We used the single transferable voting system to ensure that what ever priorities were set had enough backing from our members and the outcome is that we will we focusing on

• Health & Wellbeing
• Cost of Living

We will now start to look at developing our priorities into workable and achievable outcomes…. so watch this space.

These are not the only things we will be working on this year as we have a newly from group looking at Gender Equality as well as the work our Children and Young People’s Advisory Board (CYPAB) are doing with the Child Friendly Cardiff Team.

On top of this our Reformation group are working hard to help develop and improve what we do as a youth council.

The Universal Declaration of Human rights (1948) states that “everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, … birth or other status.”

International law therefore states that Gender Equality is a human right.

Cardiff Youth Council has set up a Gender Equality Steering Group to explore experiences of gender inequality and what can be done within the city to improve this.

We had our first meeting today where it was great to get like-minded young people together discussing gender and their experiences.

The main themes that came from our initial discussion were centred on misogyny, gender stereotyping and young people being able to explore their own gender positively and safely. We identified that the internet also had a massive impact on each of these themes, whether it be through negative experiences on social media or the increased popularity of misogynistic influencers.

We look forward to our next meeting on the 16^th February to discuss this further!

Mae’r Datganiad Cyffredinol o hawliau Dynol (1948) yn nodi bod gan “bawb hawl i’r holl hawliau a rhyddid a osodir ymlaen yn y Datganiad hwn, heb wahaniaethu o unrhyw fath, megis hil, lliw, rhyw, iaith, crefydd, … geni neu statws arall.”

Mae cyfraith ryngwladol felly’n dweud bod Cydraddoldeb Rhywedd yn hawl ddynol.

Mae Cyngor Ieuenctid Caerdydd wedi sefydlu Grŵp Llywio Cydraddoldeb Rhywedd er mwyn archwilio profiadau o anghydraddoldeb rhwng y rhywiau a’r hyn y gellir ei wneud yn y ddinas i wella hyn.

Cawsom ein cyfarfod cyntaf heddiw lle’r oedd yn wych cael pobl ifanc o’r un anian at ei gilydd yn trafod rhyw a’u profiadau.

Roedd y prif themâu a ddaeth o’n trafodaeth gychwynnol yn canolbwyntio ar misogyny, stereoteipio rhyw a phobl ifanc yn gallu archwilio eu rhyw eu hunain yn gadarnhaol ac yn ddiogel. Nodwyd bod y rhyngrwyd hefyd wedi cael effaith enfawr ar bob un o’r themâu hyn, boed hynny drwy brofiadau negyddol ar y cyfryngau cymdeithasol neu’r poblogrwydd cynyddol o ddylanwadwyr misogynistaidd.

Edrychwn ymlaen at ein cyfarfod nesaf ar yr 16eg o Chwefror i drafod hyn ymhellach!

Our Member of UK Youth Parliament Shifa travelled to London this month determined to make a change for young people in Cardiff and across the UK. We asked Shifa how the trip went and what they discussed, she had this to say.

“As an MYP for Cardiff, one of the opportunities I’ve been granted is the chance to debate in the House of Commons as part of UKYP’s Annual Conference. It was an exciting and interesting experience, and I particularly enjoyed getting to meet some of the 250 other MYP’s from across the UK for the first time, as well as getting to meet Sir Lindsay Hoyle. The main issue that was voted for in the last Make Your Mark Ballot was Health, so we were given 5 subtopics related to that to debate in the Commons, and then there was another vote to decide our focus for the academic year. The topics were:
• The Impact of Discrimination on Health
• Mental Health
• Cost of Living and Health
• Education and Health
• Environment and Health

I was lucky enough to be chosen to speak on the first topic, although the winning topic was Cost of Living & Health. I have also recently been selected as the Social Action Group member for Wales, meaning I will play a role in shaping the campaign for Cost of Living & Health over the coming months. Additionally, the full motion will be turned into a petition which, if it reaches 100,000 signatures, will be considered for debate in the House of Commons.”

Shifa is also one of the lead organisers for this years YouthCon bringing together young people and MYP’s from across Wales on the 11th March!

Cllr Caro Wild, Cabinet Member for Climate Change, attended our latest General Meeting in the Chambers of City Hall to talk through the One Planet Cardiff strategy.

The One Planet Cardiff strategy is Cardiff Council’s ambition to become carbon neutral by 2030 – further information can be seen here – https://www.oneplanetcardiff.co.uk/

Cllr Wild ran through the OPC agenda and opened up the debate to the floor, CYC members were very vocal and gave Cllr Wild feedback to consider.

Mynychodd y Cynghorydd Caro Wild, Aelod Cabinet dros Newid Hinsawdd, ein Cyfarfod Cyffredinol diweddaraf yn Siambrau Neuadd y Ddinas i drafod strategaeth Caerdydd Un Blaned.

Strategaeth Caerdydd Un Blaned yw uchelgais Cyngor Caerdydd i ddod yn garbon niwtral erbyn 2030 – gellir gweld rhagor o wybodaeth yma – https://www.oneplanetcardiff.co.uk/

Aeth y Cynghorydd Wild drwy’r agenda CPH ac agorodd y ddadl i’r llawr, roedd aelodau CIC yn uchel eu cloch a rhoddodd adborth i’r Cynghorydd Wild i’w ystyried.

By Zack Hellard – Vice Chair or Cardiff Youth Council and Member of the UK Youth Parliament

On Friday the 16th of September, I attended the Service of Prayer and Reflection in Llandaff Cathedral to mourn the death of our late Queen Elizabeth II in the presence of His Majesty the King Charles III and the Queen Consort. I was present as a representative of Cardiff Youth Council and notably the young people in Cardiff whom admired and respected the late Queen deeply.

The event was a solemn and respectful reflection of the life of a monarch who had devoted her entire life to the service of our nation; a chance for everyone to pay homage to all of the good she had done. To be invited to such an event as a representative of Cardiff is one of the greatest honours of my life- to be able to pay the respects of both myself and those absent in such a historic way. 

With the closing of the Second Elizabethan Age, we are reminded of the values Queen Elizabeth II instilled into every action she did, notably those of compassion and courage. The life of Queen Elizabeth II is one we can draw many life lessons from, whether that be from her time as a steadfast and reliable presence or as the great reformer.

God save the King.

It is always sad when you must leave certain things behind and my time with Cardiff Youth Council will be one of those things. However, my feelings are not bittersweet though, as Cardiff Youth Council is the forum that enabled me to think of a children’s rights policy that set the benchmark of how children’s rights are delivered throughout the city and beyond. In attending the three out of four training sessions hosted by Cardiff Youth Council in partnership with UNICEF between 02/11/2022 to 23/11/2022 via MS Microsoft Teams. I thought of the following idea:

“To provide a basic pack of documents such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child in English, Welsh and Easy Read formats, to a leaflet on local authority services near residents and a letter from the Children & Future Generations Commissioners, the Welsh Government Minister on Social Care and local authority leaders on the importance of children’s rights and also on the importance of holding them to account as public servants.”

This idea was in response to attending the third session of the four-part series taking place, where there was a discussion of how local authorities provide children’s rights education to parents across the City of Cardiff. To my surprise at the time, not much was being done by them to educate parents about their child’s rights and following on from that fact, I thought of that idea you see above.

On an ending note, I just want to thank Cardiff Youth Council’s staff members, as well as the participants of the group for the many years of fun and engagement, so much so, that it has enabled me to change the world around us for future generations to come.

Thank you,

Kyle Jamie Eldridge – Cardiff Youth Council Member

The new vision for Cardiff, Stronger Fairer Greener was publicly launched by the Leader of Cardiff Council, Cllr Huw Thomas, on the 19th July in the Parkgate Hotel, on Westgate Street.

Our very own Chair – Mia John and Vice Chair – Saffron Vanderkolk-Pellow hosted the event.

Stronger Fairer Greener replaces Capital Ambition, it sets out the priorities of the Leader and the members of his Cabinet to deliver:

A Stronger Cardiff: Attracting new investment and businesses into the city, boosting economic productivity, creating good-quality jobs in Cardiff’s high-value and foundational sectors, and boosting our resilience to climate change and associated environmental threats.

A Fairer Cardiff: Delivering excellent education, training, into work and social services, as well as transport connectivity, to ensure that all citizens are able to benefit from Cardiff’s growth and the new opportunities it creates.

A Greener Cardiff: Delivering a robust network of active travel and public transport, making Cardiff a ’15-minute city’, generating renewable energy and enhancing local biodiversity, ensuring that growth is sustainable and aligned with our commitment to becoming a Carbon Neutral City by 2030.

Lansiwyd y weledigaeth newydd ar gyfer Caerdydd, Cryfach, Tecach, Gwyrddach yn gyhoeddus gan Arweinydd Cyngor Caerdydd, y Cynghorydd Huw Thomas, ar 19 Gorffennaf yng Ngwesty’r Parkgate, ar Heol y Porth.

Ein Cadeirydd ni ein hunain – Mia John a’r Is-Gadeirydd – Saffron Vanderkolk-Pellow oedd yn cynnal y digwyddiad.

Cryfach Tecach Gwyrddach yn disodli Uchelgais Prifddinas, mae’n nodi blaenoriaethau’r Arweinydd ac aelodau ei Gabinet i gyflawni:

Caerdydd Gryfach: Denu buddsoddiad a busnesau newydd i’r ddinas, hybu cynhyrchiant economaidd, creu swyddi o ansawdd da yn sectorau sylfaenol a gwerth uchel Caerdydd, a rhoi hwb i’n gallu i wrthsefyll newid yn yr hinsawdd a’r bygythiadau amgylcheddol cysylltiedig.

Caerdydd Tecach: Darparu addysg, hyfforddiant, gwaith a gwasanaethau cymdeithasol rhagorol, yn ogystal â chysylltedd trafnidiaeth, i sicrhau bod pob dinesydd yn gallu elwa ar dwf Caerdydd a’r cyfleoedd newydd y mae’n eu creu.

Caerdydd Wyrddach: Darparu rhwydwaith cadarn o deithio llesol a thrafnidiaeth gyhoeddus, gan wneud Caerdydd yn ‘ddinas 15 munud’, cynhyrchu ynni adnewyddadwy a gwella bioamrywiaeth leol, gan sicrhau bod twf yn gynaliadwy ac yn gyson â’n hymrwymiad i ddod yn Ddinas Carbon Niwtral drwy 2030.