Shaping the future: a look inside our Youth Council

Caitlin McGuinness (aged 17) is a member of Lisburn & Castlereagh City’s Council’s Youth Council. The Council was set up in 2017 to give young people the opportunity to engage with key decision makers, have their say on local issues and be a representative voice for young people in their area. 

Caitlin, a pupil at Our Lady and St Patrick’s College, Knock, tells us what it’s like to be involved:

“The reason I joined the Youth Council was because we had an assembly about it in school and my best friend thought it would be great for our CVs. I went for moral support but when I met the youth workers, they started a debate about a variety of issues in my area and I quickly realised how much fun it could be. I decided to commit my Wednesday nights to it and from the first ice breaker I was hooked. 

“What I have most enjoyed about my Youth Council journey was, over Halloween half term break, we went to Edinburgh for our study visit which was amazing! We got to meet three other youth groups who hosted events for us. 

“It taught us a lot about teamwork and it helped us with our own campaigns on job searching and health related to young people.
“We had a meeting with The Mayor, Councillor Kurtis Dickson who willingly answered all our questions and gave us valuable insight into local government. We have learned a lot about what councils do, having had the opportunity to attend a ‘Meet the Councillors Event’ and we had consultations with the police, allowing us an insight into the organisations supporting the Youth Council.”