Local Democracy Week Winners
A breath-taking paper tapestry created by children aged 11 and under has won the Local Democracy Week art competition run by St Albans City and District Council.
Pupils at St Hilda’s Primary School, Harpenden, submitted the colourful work entitled: Living Together In A Multi-Cultural Society.
They sketched pictures and icons on paper strips to represent countries from all over the world, using paints, pencils and other media.
The strips were then carefully woven together by the children under the watchful eye of the school’s Head of Art, Julia Rigby.
She described the resulting art work as “a symbolic representation of all cultures inter-mixed in harmony to create something beautiful.”
It also chimed with this year’s stated themes of respect, dialogue and interaction.
The Mayor of St Albans City and District, Councillor Salih Gaygusuz, will visit the school to deliver the winning prize – a £50 Waterstones voucher to buy books for the library.
Cllr Gaygusuz, who helped judge the contest, said: “This was the runaway winner.
“It was a wonderful creation by the children and has a very important message. It summed up many of the ideas that we were trying to get across during Local Democracy Week.”
Local Democracy Week, a European-wide event held from Monday 12 October to Sunday 18 October, seeks to engage people in and raise awareness about local politics.
The main event staged by the Council was a youth takeover of the Council Chamber.
At a cross-party meeting Councillors selected 15 topics which would be suitable for the students from District schools and colleges to debate.
The students formed themselves into three parties: the St Albans Youth Party, The Versatile Party and The Progress Party.
They then chose three topics for debate. These were:
• People who live unhealthy lifestyles should get less help from the NHS than other people;
• Should 16 year olds should be given the vote; and
• Local Councils should spend more on mental health and less on street cleaning and refuse collection.
Feedback from the students and their teachers was very positive with the responses including: “Very educational and fun.”
In a later event linked to Local Democracy Week, residents can “Find out what it is like to be a Councillor” on Wednesday 4 November from 7.30pm to 9pm.
Residents can come to the Civic Centre on that evening to meet Councillors, discuss local issues and find out what it is like to be a Parish or District Councillor.
During October and November, Councillors will also be out and about visiting schools and care homes, and meeting residents in the District.
The Mayor will give talks on the Mayoralty to schools and groups. If you wish your school or organisation to be involved in these initiatives, please contact the Council on 01727 819281 or email member.support@stalbans.gov.uk
Cllr Beric Read, Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Localism, St Albans City and District Council, said: “Local Democracy Week was a success again this year.
“It is important to engage and inspire young people and encourage them to become the Councillors of the future.
“We continue to hold events that offer people a chance to learn more about what we do.”
Councillor contact:
Cllr Beric Read, Portfolio Holder for Community Engagement and Localism, St Albans City and District Council
Email: Cllr.B.Read@stalbans.gov.uk
Tel: 07956 220264
Contact for the media:
John McJannet, Principal Communications Officer, St Albans City District Council
Tel: 01727 296130
E-mail: john.mcjannet@stalbans.gov.uk