Local Democracy Week
Local Democracy Day 2009
Pupils from secondary schools in the District (Archers Court
Maths & Computing College, Astor College, Castle Community
College, Dover Grammar School for Girls and Sir Roger Manwood’s
School) got the chance to debate in the Council Chamber, quiz
Councillors, and make bids for funding for special projects for
their schools as part of a day of activities held at Dover District
Council on 5 November.
This was the ninth in a series of popular annual events.
The day included a ‘Question Time’ style debate in the Council
Chamber, where students were able to put questions to Kent County
Council and Dover District Council service heads on the themes of
youth homelessness, things to do/places to go, youth services and
young people staying safe. There was also a fun session of
‘political speed-dating’ which saw pupils quizzing Councillors and
awarding them marks for listening skills amongst others.
Students were also given the opportunity to bid for money to
fund a project for their school, with prizes of £600, £300 and £100
to be won, as voted for by students. Archers Court won first
prize with their project to create a community DVD resource aimed
at raising young people’s awareness of personal safety. Dover
Girls Grammar scooped the second prize of £300 for their bee
conservation project and Castle Community were in third place with
£100 for revamping the Linwood Youth Centre.
Students also heard from the Council’s Chief Executive about
regeneration plans for the District, and were informed about the
roles of the Kent Youth County Council and Dover District Youth
Forum.
Councillor Sue Chandler, the Council’s Cabinet Member for
Community, Housing & Youth, said:
“The day was a great success and we were delighted to be able to
support national Local Democracy Week again this year.
We had a lot of fun and students were able to learn about the
importance of democracy at a local level. During the
debate, pupils asked some excellent questions and the feedback we
received from them was enormously valuable. We were
very impressed with the ideas and the preparation that had gone
into the presentations the young people made for the funding
project awards. This was a great opportunity to listen to
young people and to continue our work to give young people an
active voice in the district.”
Contact
If you are a secondary school in the Dover District and are
interest in participating in the Council’s Local Democracy Day
2010, or would like further information, please contact us on the
details below.
Telephone: 01304 872303
E-Mail: democraticservices@dover.gov.uk
