Statement by the Llywydd and Announcement of the newly elected Members of the Welsh Youth Parliament

– in the Senedd at 1:30 pm on 1 December 2021.

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Photo of Elin Jones Elin Jones Plaid Cymru 1:30, 1 December 2021

(Translated)

Welcome, all, to the Plenary session. Before we start, I want to set out a few points. This meeting will be held in a hybrid format, with some Members in the Senedd Chamber and others joining by video-conference. All Members participating in proceedings of the Senedd, wherever they may be, will be treated equally. A Plenary meeting held using video-conference, in accordance with the Standing Orders of the Welsh Parliament, constitutes Senedd proceedings for the purposes of the Government of Wales Act 2006. Some of the provisions of Standing Order 34 will apply for today's Plenary meeting, and these are noted on the agenda.

I have one announcement and one statement to make before we start our business this afternoon. The announcement is the announcement on Members of the Welsh Youth Parliament, who have just been elected, following the election campaign held in November. It is my privilege to announce the results for our second Youth Parliament. This is the culmination of many months of work by organisations, schools and the Senedd's dedicated Youth Parliament team, and we are indebted to all those who made this innovative project a success once again. There were 272 candidates and there was an election in each constituency seat, and we have 18 partner organisations, ensuring that diverse groups of young people are represented from across Wales.

The second term of the Welsh Youth Parliament will run for two years and the opening meeting will take place in February 2022. The first youth parliamentarians made a big impression on all of us and I'm sure that the new Members will be inspirational and will act with the same energy and vigour, ensuring that their peers see the relevance of the Youth Parliament by contributing to the work of our Senedd.

Photo of Elin Jones Elin Jones Plaid Cymru 1:32, 1 December 2021

For those young people who stood for election but weren't successful on this occasion, I know you will be disappointed, but thank you for your hard-fought campaigns and for putting your names forward. We hope that you will continue to follow the Welsh Youth Parliament's work and get involved in the coming months and years. The story is not over for you, I'm sure. 

I'm very pleased therefore to announce the successful candidates for the second Welsh Youth Parliament, representing constituencies and partner organisations. Here are the names.

Photo of Elin Jones Elin Jones Plaid Cymru

(Translated)

Here are the names of the young parliamentarians: Isaac Floyd-Eve, Poppy Jones, Owain Williams, Dylan Chetcuti, Finley Mills, Laura Green, Leaola Roberts-Biggs, Bartosz Firmaty, Rhys Rowlandson, Iago Llŷn Evans, Jake Dillon, Keira Bailey-Hughes, Samantha Ogbeide, Amir Alenezi, Lloyd Warburton, Tilly Jones, Finn Sinclair, Zach Davis, Iestyn Jones, Freddie Webber, Kelsey Hannah Brookes, Tegan Skyrme, Cerys Harts, Ffion Williams, Ruben Kelman, Ellis Peares, Qahira Shah, Andrew Millar, Kasia Tomsa, Tegan Davies, Tobias Baysting, Harriet Wright-Nicholas, Maddie Mai Malpas, Sonia Marwaha, Fatma Nur Aksoy, Ffred Hayes, Milly Floyd Evans, Fiona Garbutt, Hanna Mahamed, Hermione Vaikunthanathan-Jones, Bisan Ibrahim, Ella Kenny, Jake Dorgan, Stella Orrin, Roan Goulden, Ewan Bodilly, Ruby Cradle, Jack Lewis, Ffion Fairclough, Evie Kwan, Seth Burke, Georgia Miggins, Ollie Davies, Elena Ruddy, Shania Adams, Bowen Raymond Cole, Daniel Downton, Sultan Awolumate. 

Photo of Elin Jones Elin Jones Plaid Cymru 1:34, 1 December 2021

And that's it—all Members. [Applause.] Two Members, from Llamau and Voices from Care, will be announced shortly in addition, making 60 Members of our new Senedd Ieuenctid, Welsh Youth Parliament. Wishing you all the very best of luck with your work, congratulating you all, and we hope very much that we will be able to welcome you to the Senedd for the inaugural meeting in February.

Photo of Elin Jones Elin Jones Plaid Cymru 1:35, 1 December 2021

(Translated)

Many congratulations to you all on that work.