As we welcome the new year of 2024, I think it’d be the perfect time to recap what I, as both a youth councillor and a member of Youth Parliament, got up to for the past 365 days that were 2023. Let’s get into it.
January
We started off the year with a redesign of this very website, changing the aesthetic from elegant to modern, and with a refresh of KYCC’s projects. I decided to join the Feeling Safe in Kent (FSiK campaign), and we spent our first meeting splitting into three subgroups and orienting ourselves for the year ahead.
UKYP was already in the middle of our two year term, and we spent this meeting discussing an upcoming convention, as well as deciding on a new, Kent-specific campaign surrounding vaping.
This month I was also selected to work with the Electoral Commission on the Young Champions project, and the group had it’s introductory meeting.
February
A key event this month was the launch of Transit96’s bus fare cap campaign, where I led a group of young people aiming to get the Government to extend their temporary bus fare cap to a permanent measure. This was accompanied by a petition.
KYCC did not have a standard monthly meeting in Februrary, but I was able to attend a meeting which contributyed to the commissioning of a new Mental Health service in Kent, as well as meeting with the district commander for Kent Police Maidstone, Chief Inspector Mark McLellan, to discuss issues faced in the local area.
On a more national level, MYPs and youth voice advocates alike met in London with British Youth Council’s (BYC’s) YouthCon. Here, we discussed the Youth Parliament’s new ‘Food for Learning’ campaign, receiving fundamental training on how to best execute the vision of UKYP. The Votes@16 also launched its manifesto, and we learned that the UKYP grant had yet again been awarded to BYC.
Finally, the Electoral Commission’s Young Champion’s project began its coproduction of new educational resources for young people around voting.
March
A big month for KYCC as the annual Chair/Vice Chair elections took place. We welcomed Liv as our new chair and Precious as our Vice Chair for the next year, and the FSiK group chose Justice and Elani as its respective chairs. Last, but by no means least, the UKYP group in KYCC chose me as its chair and Michael as its Vice Chair, which was incredibly fufilling and rewarding. Thanks to all the Kentish MYPs who chose me to lead the group.
Lastly in this month, the Electoral Commission’s Young Champions project wrapped up with a residential, spent making informative videos, finalising our coproduced educational resources.
April
A short and simple month, where the FSiK group was deep in work on its Ask for Angela campaign (What is Ask for Angela?), discussing marketing strategies and poster design briefs, and where the UKYP group discussed the Food for Learning campaign and our own Vaping campaign.
May
Due to train strikes, we were unable to hold our egular meeting and therefore this month is being excluded from the recap as it is largely irrelevant.
June
In KYCC, the FSiK subgroup recieved the necessary copyright permissions to move ahead with the Ask for Angela campaign, so we moved quickly to establish a base to launch off.
UKYP discussed the upcoming YouthCon and annual conference, before discussing the Food for Learning campaign where we continued to support British Youth Council, as well as our own Vaping campaign, which, at this point, had shifted to one that is more internal to KCC.
I also had the opportunity to meetup with people working on behalf of the Violence Reduction Unit (VRU) to create some campaign videos around key topics like bullying, domestic violence, and being a bystander to a crime. These videos have since been published, and you can see them here.
July
In KYCC news, the FSiK group mainly focussed on contacting businesses to ask whether they’d like to sign up to the Ask for Angela scheme, and on the UKYP side, Kentish MYPs travelled to London to attend BYC’s YouthCon, where we heard about all the work happening across the UK and where we touched up on our training and skills.
Oh, and there was the Annual Conference. Watch the video here:
August
This month, I had a meeting with PS Andy Stringer and his team to discuss the work of the Child Centred Policing team for Maidstone, and I joined other YCllrs to create decorations for the upcoming Big Mental Health Conversation. However, as it was teh summer holidays, KYCC went without it’s usual monthly meeting.
Pivoting to Transit96, I made the decision to resign from Transit96, to enable me to better focus on my other commitments and to allow the group to prosper under the leadership of someone who could commit more time to the group. The CEO position was handed to fellow MYP, Sammy Austen-Jones, and I accepted an offer from him to be the first member of the Transit96 advisory board. Read more here.
September
At our KYCC meeting, we continued with our standard work, but UKYP had a productive month. I was able to attend BYC’s Annual Council Meeting online, shaping the charity’s campaigns and policies for the upcoming year, and the Steering Group (UKYP’s equivalent of a board) and Debate Lead (for the House of Commons sitting) elections went ahead. Congrats to those who won.
October
The first event in October was the Big Mental Health Conversation, which I was privileged to be invited to as a host, a photographer, and a designer for the event. It was a great day and I was delighted to be able to assist in the running of it.
At the end of the month, I also announced my campaign for reelection to KYCC. The campaign has been archived here.
Unfortunately, Transit96 was shut down this month by Sammy Austen-Jones, its new CEO. I understand and support his decision, but it was still sad to see. You can read more surrounding that here.
November
For me, this was the busiest month of the year. Mocks stacked on top of elections stacked on top of the House of Commons sitting was not a winning combination, but I made it work. I successfully got reelected to KYCC (read more here), which I am ever so grateful for, so I wish to extend my thanks to all of you for allowing me to do what I love.
I was also able to travel up to the House of Commons for our annual sitting again, which was an amazing experience, and (much like last year’s) one I will never forget. Unfortunately I wasn’t able to give a speech, but I’d highly recommend watching the whole event below:
December
And finally, we have caught up with the present. There is not much to report on this month, except the first KYCC session of the new cohort. It was lovely to say hello to all our new members, but saddening to say goodbye to some who were coming for the last time.
Following this theme, I’d like to thank many people:
- All the workers at KYCC – they have enabled both myself and my work to prosper, really helping our campaigns really come alive.
- All my friends and colleagues at KYCC – they have both helped improve as a person and helped improve Kent as a place. Their hard work should not go unnoticed, but I’d also like it on the record how lovely they all are.
- My fellow MYPs – they continue to inspire me and help me develop both professionally and personally. I have grown close with many of them, especially those with me in the South East (which is obviously the best region), and I’d like to thank every single one of them for their work and themselves.
- All the workers at UKYP – they have allowed us to exceed expectations as a group, and their dedication to us and our work should not go unnoticed and unappreciated.
- All those at Transit96 – the group may be gone, but it remains in our hearts. Thanks to everyone who helped me achieve my goals through this group, and thanks to Sammy for ending things with grace.
- And, finally, to my consituents – through their votes, they have enabled me to continue doing what I love, and I will never forget that.
So, to everyone, thanks for reading, and for a great 2023,
Hadyn Cutler MYP
PS – Read last year’s recap here
Hadyn Cutler MYP 
Leave a comment