2022: A reflection on the past year

2022 has been a year full of opportunities which I'm so grateful to have had. I'm extremely proud of all that I've achieved this year, and would like to thank my family, friends, teachers, youth workers and colleagues who are always there to support me.

2022 was the year that we were able to get the Liverpool City Region Youth Combined Authority up and running. At the time of writing in December 2022, the YCA have settled in extremely well since we first met in August. We are looking forward to working more closely with Mayor Steve and policy leads in the new year to help feed into the CA's policies.

Liverpool City Region Youth Combined Authority, September 2022

Over at Liverpool City Council, the Child Friendly City campaign was relaunched, and we're working to promote this as best we can in 2023 as we progress with the steps to gain CFC status for the city. I also had the absolute privilege of chairing Young People's Question Time at Liverpool Town Hall, which has put us in a position where we can begin to work more closely with our partner organisations to resolve issues which were raised at the event. I hope to publish the report from this event (or as much as I can) when it has been finalised in the new year.

Young People's Question Time, November 2022

At the National Youth Combined Authority, we've had lots of success: we've hosted two meetings with the Metro Mayors, worked with some incredible organisations such as the British Youth Council and Votes at 16 coalition, and ran a survey on Young People's uses of Public Transport and Active Travel. The results of the survey will be analysed and presented in early 2023 - I look forward to sharing more details about this as soon as I can.

NYCA meets with Mayors, March 2022

In September I was appointed as the Chair of Liverpool College Student Council, and our meetings have provided insights into both the positive and negative experiences, which have been fed back to the relevant departments of the school. I have continued in my role supporting the Liverpool College Eco Committee, and we have made some great progress, particularly in the last few months.

I've attended some amazing events in 2022, including Convention of the North, Youthforia, and the Labour Party Annual Conference.

Moving forward, 2023 is a big year for me personally, as it's the year I'll sit my GCSE examinations, start Sixth Form, turn 17, and (hopefully) pass my driving test! I hope that it will be another year full of youth action and positive change.


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