The British Youth Council (BYC) is the voice of young people in Britain today. It represents the views of young people to the Government, decision-makers and the media.

BYC is an umbrella body and is made up of a large number of youth groups – including uniformed organisations, political parties, youth clubs and the National Union of Students.

The BYC has four aims:

• provide a voice for young people
• promote equality for young people
• help young people be more involved in decisions that affect their lives
• advance young people’s participation in society and civic life.

As the largest uniformed organisation in the UK, Girlguiding UK (that's us) sends a full delegation to BYC meetings. The delegation is made up of Senior Section members selected from each Country/Region. As a member of the Senior Section you could be part of this! Through BYC your views can be taken forward into the wider community, you can have your voice heard and make a difference.

Our delegation get involved in various projects with the British Youth Council and take part in their annual meeting every year to represent the views of our young members. The BYC work on a youth manifesto and the annual meeting is our opportunity to put forward issues that are important for our organisation. These issues get voted on at the annual meeting by all the different members of the BYC and this year there are seven issues ranging from climate change to mental health.

As well as the annual meeting there is also a convention which is a two-day event focusing on skills workshops for members, involving sessions such as public speaking, debating and leadership skills.

There are many other opportunities throughout the year and you don’t have to be a delegate to get involved! See www.byc.org.uk for more information about their campaigns and how you can get involved by becoming a campaigner or taking part in one of their mini online polls!

You can also help us by letting us know of important issues that you feel the BYC should be working on! 

Recent things we have been doing with the BYC:

• getting involved in the campaigner’s project and some of our delegates are attending induction days to become trained as campaigners.
• promoting the BYC 60th birthday and campaigns at our Annual Event in Birmingham
• taking part in surveys and mini polls
• meeting with the CEO and the elected chairman of BYC to discuss further work at our Spring meeting in May.

Our delegation also has a role within Girlguiding UK for advocacy work and promoting the organisation. Last year at the Annual Event we helped with the launch of the Girls Shout Out campaign and held a stall in the Marketplace. This year at the Annual Event in conjunction with the BYC’s 60th Birthday we showed our members the work that the BYC does.

There is also the opportunity to participate in other events such as Innovate and many of our delegates work with the County/Region Junior Council on projects and events. As well as all this there is an annual European Region Network meeting for Scouts and Guides. This is where Scouts and Guides from all over Europe meet to share views and work on topical issues. Last year this was held in Lithuania and this year it is in Dublin, Ireland.

But in order to do all this we need your views and ideas so that we can best represent you - our members! If you want to find out more or get involved then contact byc@girlguiding.org.uk or log on to www.byc.org.uk .