Make Your Mark is a national vote organised by the Youth Parliament to determine the topics Youth MPs will tackle at the House of Commons this Friday (8 November, 2019). Locally, the City of Wolverhampton Council also uses the results as part of its ongoing scrutiny of services and to shape themes for its Annual Youth Summit.
The council's Participation Team and members of the City of Wolverhampton Youth Council coordinate the vote among 11 to 19 year olds in schools and youth groups, and for the first time every secondary school in the city was involved.
The themes of Protecting the Environment and Stopping Knife Crime received the most votes from local young people, closely followed by Tackling Hate Crime, Mental Health, and a Curriculum For Life. The topics which received the most votes nationally, and which will be debated by the Youth Parliament, were Protecting the Environment, Tackling Hate Crime, Votes@16, Welcome Refugees and the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child.
The debate, involving Youth MPs from around the country, will take place on Friday as part of Parliament Week, and will be broadcast on the BBC Parliament channel.
Wolverhampton Youth MP Zain Alsoud said: “Make Your Mark is such an incredible event and I really do think it shows what young people are capable of."
Fellow Wolverhampton Youth MP Adeel Khan added: “I am incredibly grateful for the opportunity to represent Wolverhampton on the national stage in this year's Make Your Mark."
Councillor John Reynolds, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Children and Young People said: "Our Youth MPs work really hard and this is a great opportunity for them to debate the issues which matter most to the young people of Wolverhampton.
"The vote in Wolverhampton is a real success story with every secondary school taking part, and we also had a record turnout, by far the highest in the West Midlands."
