Political awareness for youth council

With around six months or so remaining before the next set of elections, members of Limavady’s youth council recently held an open debate about the views and policies of Northern Ireland’s main political parties.
By The Newsroom
Published 26th Nov 2013, 15:09 BST
Pictured are members of Limavady Youth Council with Catriona Coyle WELB Youth Worker, Ursula Coll WELB Youth Support Worker, and Councillors Peter Lavery Alliance Party, Aaron Callum UUP, Mayor of Limavady Gerry Mullan SDLP, Boyd Douglas TUV Tony McCaul Sinn Fein, Alan Robinson DUP, James Mc Corkell DUP and Micheal Coyle SDLP.Pictured are members of Limavady Youth Council with Catriona Coyle WELB Youth Worker, Ursula Coll WELB Youth Support Worker, and Councillors Peter Lavery Alliance Party, Aaron Callum UUP, Mayor of Limavady Gerry Mullan SDLP, Boyd Douglas TUV Tony McCaul Sinn Fein, Alan Robinson DUP, James Mc Corkell DUP and Micheal Coyle SDLP.
Pictured are members of Limavady Youth Council with Catriona Coyle WELB Youth Worker, Ursula Coll WELB Youth Support Worker, and Councillors Peter Lavery Alliance Party, Aaron Callum UUP, Mayor of Limavady Gerry Mullan SDLP, Boyd Douglas TUV Tony McCaul Sinn Fein, Alan Robinson DUP, James Mc Corkell DUP and Micheal Coyle SDLP.

At a recent ‘political awareness conference’ at the Roe Valley Arts and Cultural Centre, Year 10 and 11 srtudents from schools across the Limavady Borough took part in the open debate. Before learning about the different political parties’ views, each participant was handed a replica voting card and asked to cast their vote. A voting and political awareness quiz followed to assess students’ knowledge of the political system and local representatives. This was followed by two political parties, chosen at random, who openly debated a range of topics - from recycling, underage drinking and flags to youth punishment and more. The programme for the day also including ‘Speed dating’, which involved representatives from the local parties moving from table to table, answering quick fired political questions posed to them from the students.

After engaging in discussions and taking into account their learning throughout the day, students cast their votes again to see if views changed.

Related topics:LimavadyNorthern Ireland