Every year Durham Sixth Form Centre enters a team into the European Youth Parliament UK Inter- Schools Debating Competition and after being successful in the UK National Session 2021, we are delighted to announce that Lily Local has been selected to attend the Swedish National Session in Lund, March 2022. 

The European Youth Parliament (EYP) is a non-partisan educational organisation for young Europeans, and, with almost 500 events held across the network every year, including more than 32,000 participants from 42 countries, is the largest organisation in Europe for non-formal European political education. The aim of EYP is to engage young people with European political issues by providing them with a platform for cultural exchange and discussion. Conferences, known as Sessions, at regional, national and international level gather young people from across Europe, where they are invited to share their opinions on the future.

Lily first attended the North East regional session with other DSFC students and took part in a committee which debated male suicide rates and how support in Europe could be improved to lower rates.

Lily then successfully progressed to the nationals which were held virtually over a week in August. The theme was accessible advances, looking at Individuals with different physical and mental needs. The debates discussed how people are differentially able to access multiple domains of everyday life, from work to entertainment and how Europe could support ongoing efforts to develop smart technologies which improve accessibility within societies. 

To be chosen to take part in the 18th National Session of EYP to be held during March 2022 in Lund, Sweden, is a great honour for Lily. The topic for Sweden will be harnessing the lesson of a global pandemic and heed the wake-up call for enhanced cooperation and solidarity regardless of borders, as  nations can’t stand alone against the global challenges we face.

This opportunity has hugely improved Lily’s confidence, developed new skills and has helped Lily make new friendships. We wish Lily the very best of luck for this exciting opportunity to represent the UK and Durham Sixth Form Centre next year in Sweden.