North Wight

Adi Volney

Teenagers need more to do during the day and places to go in the evening as an alternative to hanging around and getting drunk. More physical adventurous activities would help if they were very cheap. We need activity leaders to talk to teenagers about what they want.

We could have art and craft workshops where young people could learn to make things they could use. An example could be making bows and then learning archery.

Police and Social Services shouldn’t just send children and young people home to a house they’ve run away from because they feel unsafe. There should be a place they can stay while the house is checked out.

Pregnant young girls and young mums need more support with raising their child or advice and counselling if they choose to have an abortion.

Unemployed young people need more guidance on how to manage their money, Connexions do this but sometimes it’s not enough. Cookery skills should be taught more in schools and there should be more training in practical work skills.

Ben Yates

I will campaign to get a sports facility to serve the Wootton, East Cowes and Fishbourne areas. This could be achieved by the town and parish councils working together.

More things to do and places to go will lead to less of a problem with youth crime and anti-social behaviour.

Collaboration between Medina High and Ryde High could be improved and Ryde School could be included in this.

School travel needs looking at with designated school buses for specific areas. Bus routes need to be discussed as does the free bus pass system and how people become eligible for them.

I would aim to put suggestion boxes in schools and youth clubs to find out what young people are saying they want.

Bill Holland

I am Bill Holland and I am standing to represent the North Wight on the youth council this year. I have been a member of the youth council for 2 years and have helped in many projects which the youth council have tackled.

One of the main issues I will to continue to pursue is making sure that the youth council, and what we do, is accessible to you. It is for this reason that I believe that the youth council needs to be publicised so much more. This year I have already set up publicity boards in locations such as Cowes High School and, if re-elected, I am aiming to put up more of these.

I believe that my two years experience already on the council is invaluable. I can bring many skills to the youth council. I am articulate, persuasive and straight-talking. This means that I can get your view listened to on both the youth council and the council, where appropriate. I am committed to everything I do as well as being enthusiastic.

Please feel free to contact me with any ideas or suggestions you have about how to improve your local area and, if re-elected, I shall endeavour to make sure that your voice is heard. You can contact me via email on hollandiwyc@hotmail.co.uk

Charlie Ringer

I campaign for:

• Better representation for young people on buses, if you’re sick of being constantly treated badly on public transport I will fight for you to get this changed.
• A more positive image of young people by the police and media. Often the media and the police are too quick to jump to conclusions – we are not all yobs and I will fight to get this changed!
• A fairer deal for young people in the workplace.  Just because you are younger than other employees doesn’t mean you deserve to be treated badly, I’m fed up of being discriminated against because I am young, and I’m sure you are too.
• More youth based facilities, music events and club nights. Whatever style of entertainment or music you enjoy, I will get events orientated around you.
• More sports and activities for young people, including regular extreme sports events.

I will communicate with you by way of notice boards and surgeries along with emails and you can contact me to tell me what you, the young people, want to change.

Emma Winchcombe

Newport needs a place outside where teenagers can hang out together without being moved on. There could be a MUGA a shelter and a graffiti wall, any one of these would improve the situation. PCSOs and street youth workers could help supervise such a place.

I’d like to organise regular all day events, for young people, at St Georges football ground. These would involve things like football coaching, dance classes, drum workshops and lots of different activities to attract different age groups.

We need regular music events for under 18s and to cater for different groups we could have a rave night one week and a bands night the next, these could take place in night clubs before the older people go in.

I would also look for funds to hire out the Studio, in Newport, on a regular basis, for young people, as an alternative to youth clubs.

Lucy Fordham

My main interests in the youth council are improving youth employment, as it is very difficult for young people in schools to get jobs, and young people sometimes don’t know where to start when looking for a job.

I am also hopeful about improving public transport for young people and I have already had a meeting with Marc Morgan-Huws, the head of Southern Vectis, and should soon be helping with a training video for the bus drivers, talking about how they should treat young people.

The third thing I will be involved in if I am elected is the Myplace project which the youth council hope to set up, for which we will hopefully be getting a grant of up to £5million for a place for young people.

On top of this I would like to improve the general impression of young people on the island, as we have had a bad press recently.

Rosie Winchcombe

If elected I will aim to get a place, in Newport, where young mums can meet each other on a regular basis. There could be a crèche, for their children, run by child care students from the college. They could also learn lots about child care and, for example, access things like computer courses etc.

I’d like to organise regular all day events, for young people, at St Georges football ground. These would involve things like football coaching, dance classes, drum workshops and lots of different activities to attract different age groups.

We need regular music events for under 18s and to cater for different groups we could have a rave night one week and a bands night the next, these could take place in night clubs before the older people go in.

I would also look for funds to hire out the Studio, in Newport, on a regular basis, for young people, as an alternative to youth clubs.

Scott Goodhew

We need more sports facilities in the East Cowes area offering a range of sports that are low cost and used properly.

The Youth Centre, in East Cowes, is very small and we could do with larger premises, a new youth centre could have a workshop where young people could learn key skills such as woodwork and metalwork that could help them achieve apprenticeships providing them with a better future. This would help keep kids off the streets and occupied, this would also stop them getting in to trouble.

I’d also like to see more gigs and music events in the area, the Church Litten band nights need to be publicised more, and they could also be made more regular and expanded to different venues around the Island. A variety of music enables young people to actively enjoy their time out rather than being disruptive to local communities.

The use of derelict sites should be used to create more open space for people to go rather than building flats and car parks. The amount of flats being built in East Cowes is ridiculous and money should be used to provide facilities for young people.

Harvey Dobson

Bullying is one of the main factors to consider in schools. It affects every student and can put a lot of pressure on students leading to a lack of confidence, stress, bad home life and unsociable communication. As a council we need to communicate positively with people affected by bullying and help them recover from the pressure as well as to provide resources demonstrating what bullying can do to a person.

Youth Café - The idea of a youth cafe has been floating around a lot but never really happened, now that the opportunity has finally arisen to make one, I would like to pursue this dream and help turn it into a reality that everyone can enjoy as part of an economically friendly Island of the future.