THE

#ukyp

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ANNUAL SITTING TIMES

Sunday 29th July 2012
Mr Clooney on the red carpet

Top tweets
George Clooney, @JessieJ and @justinbieber have just arrived at the prom! @SAMCOATES: Really enjoyed #ukyp12 today. So many engaged, passionate young people. Youre an inspiration! The @ItGetsBetter campaign is truly amazing, and this video really does capture the emotions and feelings @AWANZAIN PGs have done an amazing dance intro to #UKYP12 maybe the trustees team should do the same for @bycLIVE ACM! @TIMLOUGHTON: Great buzz at #ukyp12 in Nottingham yesterdayreally enjoyed extended questionsgood luck 4 rest of weekend and thanks 4 all you r doing 4 yp @FRANKLYNMUSIC: Ive never seen so many passionate and informed young people in one room in my life. #ukyp, big up yourselves. @KYLETHORNTON: Fantastic discussion with @bycLIVEs David Clark on how we can bring @UKYP to Scotland

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Things can only get BETTER!

Making the news

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Page 2

The BIG Vote

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The results are in...

AND IT ALL KICKS OFF WITH A BANG!

By Olivia Bushell
Torbay
The 2012 annual sitting proved to be inspirational within the first two hours as guest speaker John Bercow revealed his perspective that sex and relationship education and political education should be made compulsory in citizenship education. His stance filled me with confidence as I became aware that his views on the matter are closely aligned with that of Torbay Youth Parliament. The motivational speeches continued with Peter Tatchell encouraging us that campaigns can be successful when put into action, as demonstrated by his various human rights campaigns. Finally, the other MYPs and myself left the conference centre with the wise words of Tim Loughton ringing in our heads as he reminded us that: young people make up 20% of the population but 100% of the future.

PG rep Natalie with Rt Hon John Bercow MP

WAVING THE FLAG FOR TEAM GB...

By Gemma Cain
Somerset
Childrens Minister Tim Loughton

Our keynote speaker was Tim Loughton MP, Parliamentary Under Secretary for Children and Families, accompanied with a flag and blower, speaking to us about young people and the power they have reaffirming that we are, in fact, the future. All in all the first evening was fun, inspiring and informative. We laughed, we learned, but most importantly we kicked off UKYP Annual Sitting 2012 in style!

THINGS CAN ONLY GET BETTER!

By Michaella Philpot
Essex
On the 1st night of the sitting there was an optional workshop to be involved with the 'It gets better campaign' and be part of a film. It was really good to see so many MYP's passionate about the campaign even if they were not part of the LGBT comm unit y. O n t he Saturday morning we then got to listen to the It gets better song. It was really nice to hear people standing up for themselves and helping deliver an inspirational message. a short film which had people talking about their own experiences and how badly it has affected them, also showed some photos of people who suffered so badly from LGBT bullying that they took their own lives. To see so many young people feel like they have no other way out was one of the most upsetting thing from the weekend. However was also one of the biggest eye openers to just how what can seem like just a few words to one person can mean a great deal more to another.

MYPs at the It Gets Better workshop

A LONG WAY FROM HOME

By Charley Finch
Devon
Nottingham is a long way from the rolling green hills of Devon, seeing the cultural diversity at this Annual Sitting is an exciting experience and this is a great thing to see compared with being in Devon where 96% of the population are White British Devon not being very diverse isn't a bad thing however it does have its implications with not many people knowing about diversity of religion and culture. This means that we may not be representing the other 4 % of the Devon population however this sitting is helping us realise that we need to make sure that we do represent everyone, this has made us think about our local homophobia campaign which has come about from young people telling us how homophobic bullying isn't being eff ectiv el y in secondary schools. 51% of the population in Devon is female however only 24% of the Dev on Co u nt y Co u nci l councillors are female so does this mean that women are not being fully represented? I think we need to make sure everyone is represented and we will keep that fresh in our minds when we are travelling back to our rolling hills. Remembering that young people are 20% of the population in the UK however we are 100% of the future and together we will make our mark and keep making change!

Young people and the mediaQuestion Time panel

MAKING THE NEWS

By Jake Pitt
Somerset
The media are and have always been unfriendly, if scared of young people. It is a perception that Im sure we can all agree is false and inaccurate. Its a view that is determined by those who cant remember what it is like to be young person; a reaction to difference and change. In 2009, a poll by Ipsos Mori showed that half of all stories about young people were negative. Whats more, a pathetic 8% actually included a quote from a young person. This is a poor show by British press, but you wouldnt have expected any better. I would encourage every one of you to approach your local newspaper and ask for a column to write about the issues affecting young people where you live. It doesnt hurt to ask. As a Member of Youth Parliament, it is a fantastic opportunity to get people talking about the campaigns we care about.

The PGs... theyve got the Moves Like Jagger!

DANCING WITH THE STARS

By Matthew Percy
Suffolk
On the Saturday night of the Annual Sitting, young people dressed to impress as they let their hair down ahead of the Big Vote. Unite have been extremely generous as the key sponsors of the prom, enabling young people to unite to celebrate the 12th year of the UK Youth Parliament in a style that would challenge Danny Boyle! We even had a surprise few celebrity guests!

#ukyp

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Top tweets
@xprincesscavita last day of annual sitting actually going to miss everyone :( @poppie_simmonds getting psyched up for my speech by raving to abc in the conference theatre :)
Jessie J, Justin Bieber and George Clooney on the red carpet... Or not!

IN MY OPINION...
The UKYP Annual Sitting has truly been an event I wont be forgetting anytime soon. The different activities on the programme have all been phenomenal from the public speaking workshop to the Question Time. I enjoyed the motivational speeches from the likes of Mr Speaker, Eric John and Franklyn. The question I would like to ask is what are the MPs and speakers doing to help improve how young people are portrayed in the media? Venanda Madanhi, Wolverhampton This year UKYP Annual Sitting has been amazing for me as a newbie. Early fire alarms, lots of laughter, remixes of classic Christmas tunes and more glamrags in the rooms than I thought humanly possible. This weekend has been an incredible learning curve and I feel very privileged to meet all the inspirational people Ive come across. Jack Matthews Poole

@natashaWhitman sat doing the fresh prince Caltan dance in my seat to Tom Jones @littlenasa still singing and dancing to songs with @ukyp this morning. Wish it was prom again @natglendening last day of #ukyp12 epically tired after prom last night so sad to be leaving later @hertsukyp: @kaylawwr is back with us after a night at A&E after having her foot stood on by stiletto wearing party goer ouch!

A WEEKEND TO REMEMBER!
By Vikram Patel
Birmingham
Annual Sitting is seen as one of the highlights of a MYPs term in office. Apart from the prestige of annual sitting, its also an opportunity for all MYPs to progress and develop their skills, which they can utilise productively in their own local and national campaigns to make their mark. The purpose of Annual Sitting is not only to train ourselves to be better MYPs skillswise, but it is also the experience of living on a University campus, something that some MYPs had never experienced before. Sitting is also about socialising and making friends with like-minded passionate young people which occurred for myself throughout the whole event.

THE RESULTS ARE IN....

After two hours of intense and high quality speeches by Members of UKYP from across the country the votes have been counted and the motions that will now appear in the National UKYP manifesto are... Education: Young people need to be better prepared for working life. Communities 1: There should be guidance, funding and minimum standards for Local Authorities to follow when consulting young people. Communities 2: There should be advice and support centres in every community for young people. Health 1: Mental health education and services should be improved. Health 2: There should be a specialist service for tackling obesity in young people World: Relationships should be built with Europe to spread knowledge and cultural awareness. Crime and Policing 2: There should be a greater move away from custodial sentences, towards rehabilitation, for young people who commit offences. Media: There should be increased opportunities to raise awareness of campaigns and UKYP. Rights1: Young people should be educated on how to access their legal rights. Rights2: The National Minimum Wage should be raised in line with the living wage. For full details on the full manifesto please see www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk

On behalf of everyone organising the event we would like to wish you all a safe journey home. A BIG thank you to all MYPs, workers, staff and supporters who have helped to make this weekend a big success!
All views expressed in this newspaper are the views of individual MYPs and do not necessarily reflect the views of BYC (or UKYP)