Page 16 - Real-08

Rochdale Borough Youth Cabinet
member goes international
Rochdale Borough Youth Cabinet member
Georgia Jones, 17, took her role international in
2019, not only representing Rochdale, but the whole
United Kingdom at the annual Model European
Parliament conference.
Currently a second-year student at Rochdale Sixth
Form College studying A-level law, English language
and psychology, Georgia’s enthusiastic work in her
spare time has opened many doors and opportunities
for her.
Whilst she has only been a Rochdale Borough Youth
Cabinet member for just over a year, she has already
made an impact, helping to make changes locally and
nationally.
Run by Rochdale Youth Service, the Youth Cabinet
supports the Member of UK Youth Parliament for
Rochdale Borough in their manifesto. It also has
other roles in which young people from Rochdale are
represented locally and regionally, can feedback to
key decision makers and put motions forward for the
adult cabinet.
The Model European Parliament (MEP) is a
leadership programme for youths aged 16-19 in
the EU member states with the aim of giving an
insight into how the European Parliament works.
The programme develops political awareness and an
understanding of common issues, as well as providing
knowledge about EU institutions.
Their most recent conference, held in Malta over a
week in November 2019, saw Georgia debate with
the ‘Committee on Women’s Rights and Gender
Equality’, questioning gender-based discrimination
and how it still affects many young people today. She
also discussed whether political gender quotas are
the solution to ensure fairer representation.
The committee was so impressed with Georgia that
she was recommended for the position of Committee
President for 2020.
She will next be attending a MEP conference later
this year in November, hosted in Bulgaria.
REAL ROCHDALE - SPRING 2020 16
We interviewed Georgia about her role as a local
youth cabinet member, her recent trip to Malta and
her ambitions for the future.
What started your interest in politics?
At the start of college my friends said they were
going to get involved with the cabinet, so I decided
to go with them. Over the last year, I’ve just got very
into it.
I’m very passionate about the environment and
working to tackle climate change, as well as
educating others on the environment. I was able to
shadow the Environmental Management team at
Green Lane for a day. They said they’re willing to do a
few projects together, which I’m hoping to start.
What have you achieved as a youth cabinet
member?
I’ve been a youth councillor at Rochdale Council
and a member of the youth cabinet since December
2018. I was elected as a Pioneer of Sustainable Hope
(POSH) Ambassador for the borough by the other
cabinet members because of my passion for
campaigning about the climate.
As a POSH representative, I have contacted the IT
services at the council about using Ecosia [a search
engine which donates 80% or more of its profits to
non-profit organisations that focus on reforestation]
as a search engine across the local authority, instead
of Google.
We have also received funding to get recycle bins in
more centres, purchase recycle boxes for crisp
packets, and I have taken part in litter picks.
When I first joined, the youth cabinet organised a
‘Week of Action’ – a mental health campaign aimed at
raising awareness and removing the stigma
surrounding mental health issues. Mental health was
the number one issue in the borough in the 2018
Make Your Mark ballot, organised by Youth
Parliament, showing how important this issue is to
local young people.
We also had Mental Health Awareness Week in May
2019 where we campaigned about tackling body
image and the impact social media has on this, and
we’re currently planning for the knife crime action
week in March 2020. We’ve been involved in lots of
other things too outside of Rochdale like the Greater
Manchester Youth Combined Authority.
We all just throw out ideas at meetings, debate the
ideas, plan it out and then act.
Apart from climate change, what else are you
passionate about?
My interests are very much international at the
moment, but a big one is human rights. There’s a lot
about immigration and asylum seekers, especially
in America: how they’re treated over there at the
borders interests me.
There’s a Human Rights Festival being planned in
Manchester for 2021. The organisers are trying to
get all the local areas involved and they visited
Rochdale to get some thoughts from us about what
we’re proud of as a very multicultural town.
How was your trip to Malta for the MEP
conference?
The trip was such a wonderful experience. I’m keen
to make a positive change for young people’s futures
and this is going to give me a great opportunity to do
this. I am so honoured to be asked to be Committee
President. I made some wonderful friends, and I’m
really thankful for the opportunity.
17
I got involved by going to Youthforia, an event hosted
at Rochdale Town Hall where about 130 young
people from across the North West came together to
share resources and campaign ideas. I met the
organiser, we discussed European Youth Parliament
and the conference, and I thought it sounded
interesting. I emailed him afterwards, and he said I
had a place!
I was very nervous because I didn’t know what I
needed to do or how much I needed to research. I
was going on my own too, so that was
nerve-wracking.
What are your future plans?
I’m swayed more towards law than politics, but my
end goal is to be a legal advocate for the European
Court of Human Rights, hopefully working with
European Parliament. I would have to go to
Strasbourg in France as that is where the human
rights court is based, but I’d love to live in France
anyway.
Why is it important for youths to be involved in
politics?
We need to be aware of what is happening, not only
in the UK, but internationally. It will hopefully fuel our
generation to change the problems current parties
aren’t fighting for.
Rochdale Borough Youth Cabinet meets every Tuesday,
6pm-8pm, at Rochdale Town Hall. With 17 current
active members, new members are welcome.
REAL ROCHDALE - SPRING 2020