England Swings Like a Pendulum Do!

5th Commonwealth Youth Parliament – London

The Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly were proudly invited to submit entrants for this years 5th Commonwealth Youth Parliamentary conference to be held in London UK to mark the Diamond Jubilee year of Her Majesty the Queen. The event is part of an ongoing commitment by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and the CPA UK to its young people, giving them the opportunity to engage further with politics, parliamentary democracy and the commonwealth. This year’s theme was ‘governance’, exploring the topic at the local, national and international level. Chelsea Evans applied to attend and was successful.

 

After arriving in London on Monday night, then having a quick look around central London on Tuesday morning, the conference began with an introductory evening at 5pm on Tuesday the 4^th of December at the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. This allowed time for the 60 delegates from around the Commonwealth, including the Falkland Islands, Malta, Saint Helena, Canada, South Africa, Bermuda, New Zealand and 5 other delegates from throughout Australia, to mix and mingle. On arrival at Westminster, CPA Chair Rt Hon. Sir Alan Haselhurst MP welcomed all of us as the future activists, leaders and lawmakers of the commonwealth and urged us ‘to form friendships, build networks, and to share cultures and understanding’.

 

 

The 3 ½ day conference was packed from start to finish, but because Chelsea had to catch a 10pm flight back to Australia "...I was unable to stay for the award ceremony, however it was an amazing opportunity to meet youth from all over the world who where interested in the future of their communities on both a local and global scale. It opened my eyes to issues affecting others, not only in other small communities but at all reaches of the globe. Yet each and every person at the conference was willing to learn and expand their understanding of the people and cultures around them. I made many friends and have been in touch with several since the end of the conference. I look forward to continuing my awareness of other people’s cultures and how we can all make a positive difference in the lives of those we are close to. I would like to thank the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Norfolk Island Legislative Assembly for giving me this opportunity and to our letl community, all my friends and family for their support. I hope to see many more young people from Norfolk Island take these opportunities, because you never know what could come of them".