The City of Weyburn is encouraging youths in Grades 10, 11, or 12 to get involved in local government and have a voice in the community by joining the Weyburn Youth Council.
Members of Weyburn Youth Council take part in City Council meetings, gain an understanding of how municipal government works, and represent the voice of Weyburn’s youth on a number of important topics.
The Weyburn Youth Council is made up of five Weyburn Comprehensive School or homeschool students from Grades 10 to 12, who meet once a month, and attend City Council meetings on a rotation on every second and fourth Monday of the month, from October to June.
Applications, which need to be submitted by September 30th, can be found HERE.
Grade 12 WCS student Harper Williams is entering her third year on Weyburn Youth Council, and since she is the only Grade 12 member with experience, she will likely be Youth Mayor this year.
She said ideally, youths get involved as early as Grade 10 so they have the opportunity to gain experience over their tenure.
"Even if you're wanting to come and try it out in Grade 12, we love having new people. Anybody within that age range is more than welcome to come out."
Williams said those who join WYC don't have to specifically be interested in politics or be planning a career in political science.
"It's just your opinion and your thoughts that we really want to see," she noted. "I do really like just sitting in on the meetings because you get an inside scoop on what's kind of going on in Weyburn and what the city Councillors are wanting to do. You get to talk with the Mayor. It's very interpersonal in that way, where you very much are involved in the community on a slightly deeper level."
She shared her highlights so far.
"I love doing our Captivator series and being able to give other people just a slight bit of experience that we also get as youth councillors, and just introduce people to not even the world of politics, even just the world of like how Weyburn is run and the opinions that surround that."
Williams said the involvement has improved her communication skills.
"I'm not really going for something in politics, which is something that I like to stress to people," she clarified. "I do like being involved with people. The way this is benefiting me is people skills, talking, having group discussions, really getting into the nitty-gritty of being part of a group, which is something that I feel like a lot of people, especially teenagers, are scared to kind of get themselves involved in. You see a lot of people sheltered on their phones. This has been a great experience for me to just kind of get out there."
She said the type of youths they'd like to see apply are those who want to be involved in the discussions.
"If you have opinions, we want to hear them. You do not have to follow the crowd. You can have arguments, discussions. That's what we're wanting is people to actually engage because we bring in guest speakers, and then we discuss with each other. And it's no fun if everybody's just kind of sitting there the entire time. If somebody's making a point, battle it, even just a little bit. The best thing that you can do is want to speak up."
"Another great trait is even just wanting to kind of become a leader. Some people will just kind of stay back in the shadows, but this is a great opportunity to get your voice out there and shine in any way."
"Even just showing up to a meeting, that's a very big thing for anybody to do. So definitely people who are willing to communicate, willing to share their opinions, but also still willing to listen to others. The listening aspect is just as important as communication because everybody's got opinions, and that's the best part of Youth Council is we get to hear them all."
She said she is on the SRC at WCS, and while there has been a pattern over the years of students taking part in both councils, the trend is changing.
"More people are showing up who have a different variety of extracurriculars and skills," she noted.
Applications include an essay question.
"The essay question basically entails, why do you want to be involved in youth council? Why do you want to be in a group like this? What do you want to do if you become a member of this group? Stuff like that, where the people who are looking through the applications can really see if you have the drive to do something, make a change, to actually give your opinion, that kind of stuff. It's important for a group like this."