BY HANNAH GRAHAM

IN July, I and some of the members of the youth parliament and the Dorset Youth Council (DYCE) held a meeting with Cllr Deborah Croney.

Unfortunately, Cllr Croney was unable to attend the meeting in person due to medical issues, but she kindly agreed to hold a conference call instead, so we were still able to have an extremely productive meeting.

The present MYP Sophie Trott and DMYP Jake Perkins reviewed their plans for their current manifestos.

Sarah and her sister Sophie – a fellow DYCE member who was also present – are planning to create a new anti-bullying policy for schools that is made by young people, for young people.

Jake is currently working with other DYCE members to create a leaflet or poster demonstrating the importance and value of work experience to young people, giving young people the guidance and advice they need in order to get the most out of their work experience.

Cllr Croney was extremely keen to hear their ideas and she spoke with us about her contacts that could help us and guide us in the right direction.

She spoke about how we could link the manifestos to other projects within the council.

It was extremely helpful to be able to speak with the councillor and it gave us a brilliant starting point for campaigning.

It is really important that DYCE gets help and advice from other areas of the council, and it's always a brilliant experience working with different people who offer a new perspective on our projects.