Thank you, Deputy Presiding Officer. My intention this afternoon is to update Members on the election of the first youth parliament for Wales, and particularly to inform Members that next week at the Urdd Eisteddfod we will launching the voter registration campaign for the first youth parliament election. This parliament will give a national democratic voice to the young people of Wales and will enable them to note and raise awareness of the issues that they choose to discuss. 

The registration period will be open to all young people in Wales between the ages of 11 and 18, and will be open from the end of May, which is next week, until mid November. In September of this year, young people will be able to put themselves forward to stand for election. The election, which will be online, will be held over a period of three weeks in November, with the intention of holding the first meeting of the Welsh youth parliament in February 2019.

Sixty youth parliament members will be elected, forty of which will be elected by a first-past-the-post system through an electronic voting system in each of the 40 constituencies in Wales. Twenty of them will be returned by partner organisations to ensure that diverse groups of young people are represented in the parliament.

As far as we are aware, our parliament will be the first youth parliament to democratically elect its representatives at its inaugural election, and that's an incredible achievement.  

I’m sure that every Assembly Member here today will be as eager as I am to ensure that young people in their constituencies and regions are made aware of the exciting opportunities presented by this initiative. A wide range of resources will be made available to you to facilitate the work of promoting and raising awareness in your areas. We do hope that you will promote the parliament from next week onwards.

Many national youth organisations and young people have helped to shape our plans and have agreed to continue to support us on our journey. I want to put on record my heartfelt thanks to them for their ongoing dedication and for sharing their expertise that will undoubtedly play a pivotal role in ensuring the next phase of the project is a success.

Now, the hard work begins. Through our work with schools, colleges, youth groups, representative groups and key individuals, we want to reach as many young people as possible. I am confident that the engagement programme that our education and youth engagement team has developed will inspire young people who face real or perceived barriers to take part in this process.

As a nation committed to the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, implementing such an ambitious project is a significant development for us. Article 12 of the convention of the UN on the rights of the child sets out the right of children and young people to express an opinion and for that opinion to be taken into account when decisions are being made on any matter that affects them. 

In the context of our work as a legislature, establishing a youth parliament ensures that we are discharging our duties to the voters of today and tomorrow—to each and every citizen in Wales—and each and every one of them will have a stake in our democracy here in Wales.