Dancing for democracy at South Norfolk Council

Young people are dancing for democracy tonight as they officially launch South Norfolk Youth Action. Three local bands - Lost? PointBlank and Zabacaz - will be at Diss Youth Centre from 8pm.

South Norfolk Youth Action – SNYA - is the new voice for young people in the area and its official launch gig is one of the highlights of the council’s Local Democracy Week.

SNYA has its own leadership and logo and sits at the heart of the council’s democratic structures commenting on budgets, shaping policy, calling councillors to its meetings to give evidence and getting young people on to council officer job recruitment panels.

Now it is involved, along with other young people, in writing the council’s radical Youth Involvement Strategy – one of the first in the UK. Work on the strategy is proving to be a wake-up call to other councils who are queuing to get advice on setting up their own strategies.

SNYA vice-chair Jennifer Clutton, 16, is in no doubt about what this means for young people. She has written an article for the council’s community magazine The Link, which goes to over 49,000 homes in November.

She says: “We need to make sure that the wider public knows that ‘us youth’ aren’t all bums! You know and we know that young people are the future. My message to young people is: Join us, and you can make a difference…now.”

Active Citizenship Co-ordinator Fran Ronan, who is working on the strategy and helped set up SNYA said: “Young people are taking South Norfolk Council by storm - on Monday they were all over the council headquarters debating and discussing council services with officers. By the end, they had put together an A to Z guide for services, written by young people and for young people. We will publish that soon.”

More than 70 young people from schools across the area came to the offices in Long Stratton to “Make their Mark” – the theme for this year. And as a mark of ultimate respect, councillors returned the compliment and spent a day in their schools attending everything from double maths to PE.

Wymondham Conservative Councillor Daniel Cox has only just recovered: “I survived, although I was at a loss over what was going on in German, and only just got through PE! Seriously, Local Democracy Week is one of the best things we do, and it also gave me a great insight into teaching.”

Young people are also making a video of this week’s events.

Said Fran: “Young people are a force for change in society – they are certainly changing this council, and for the better.”

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