The Grand Council is be made up of a total of 100 young people from across Wales, representing the views of a wide range of both voluntary and statutory organisations. In-depth discussions have taken place around the total number of young people on the Grand Council. Young people across Wales can access the Grand Council through the different ways below.
Local Authority Wide Forums
100 Young people from across Wales:
22 - local authority statutory representatives
22 - local authority school councils representatives
22 - local authority voluntary representatives
22 - local authority equality representatives
12 - co-options
Funky Dragon is using the term local authority-wide forum as we recognise that some forums representing the geographical area of a local authority are either independent or are supported by an agency other than the Local Authority such as the Princes Trust or the Children’s Society.
Each Local Authority Wide Forum is offered two places for young people (one for the statutory sector and one for the voluntary sector) on the Grand Council. It is up to each forum to democratically elect their representatives. Representatives are asked to commit to a 2 year term with the Grand Council.
Each Local Authority Wide Forum will be responsible for carrying out its own election process. The only conditions Funky Dragon puts on the process are:
- The young people involved are aged between 11 and 25
- The election must be a fair and democratic process
- Only young people are able to vote
- One young person should represent the statutory sector e.g. youth clubs, schools, social services etc
- One young person should represent the voluntary sector e.g. local charities, uniformed group, young farmers etc
Funky Dragon reserves the right to refuse any representative if any of the above conditions are ignored.
Co-options
In effect these are empty places. The aim is to make sure that the Grand Council is as representative of children and young people in Wales as possible, whilst recognising the fact that 100 young people will never be truly representative of young people across Wales.
Once the Grand Council is in place these will be used to ensure as wide a range of representation as possible. Should the Grand Council feel that they are under represented in anyway then they can actively seek organisations to get young people representing an area/ interest.
The Election Process
Within the structure of Funky Dragon there are positions that require an election by the Grand Council. These are for positions on the grand council and the management committee.
For the Grand Council these are:
- Co-option Places
For the management committee these are:
- Trustees under the age of 18
- Trustees aged 18 or over
If you are interested in joining the grand council you need to go through your local youth forum. Click on youth forums and you will find contact details for your local youth forum worker who will be able to help you.