Local young leader heads to Parliament as part of National Youth Select Committee

Maya Guelbert, Wokingham Borough’s youth MP, has been awarded the opportunity to give young people across the borough a stronger voice in shaping policies that affect them. 

She has been selected to sit on the prestigious Youth Select Committee-National Youth Agency, which is part of the UK Youth Parliament programme delivered by the National Youth Agency and supported by the House of Commons. 

It gives young people the opportunity to scrutinise and hold inquiries into topics that matter to them. Previous inquiries conducted by this committee considered the impact of knife crime and the cost of living crisis on young people. 

'Young people's views important to me'

Maya, a student at The Holt School in Wokingham, is also chair of the local youth forum.

Speaking ahead of her new role, she reflected on what inspired her journey into youth leadership and what this achievement means for her community: 

“I’ve always had leadership attributes and when the opportunity came up, I really wanted to make sure that it would be possible to have the views of young people in Wokingham Borough represented on this wider national scale, because it’s always been extremely important to me.”

When asked about the significance of being chosen for the Youth Select Committee, Maya said: “It’s absolutely amazing, I felt honoured when I got the email confirming that I’d been selected, because it just showed again that young people’s voices these days are being taken seriously and I feel so lucky to be able to represent Wokingham Borough’s young people at a national level.”

Her appointment is not only a personal milestone but a significant opportunity for young people across the borough and Berkshire as a whole. 

Maya explained how she aims to bring their voices to the national stage: “Several steps that I’ve taken so far, include drafting some surveys that I’m going to send out to all the local schools and hopefully, I’ll get as many students as possible to respond to that. 

"Once the committee does decide on a topic for our inquiry, I’m going to try and see if I can get as many opinions as possible, to gather statistics as well as views that I can put directly to the committee to show them this is what’s going on in our constituency.”

Influencing decisions at highest level

Cllr Prue Bray, executive member for children’s services, welcomed the news. She said: "We are immensely proud of Maya’s achievement. Her selection to the Youth Select Committee is a testament to her dedication and passion for representing young people.

"This role will ensure that the voices of young people in Wokingham Borough are not only heard but actively influence decisions at the highest level.”

The Youth Select Committee supported by parliament, gives young representatives the opportunity to investigate issues directly affecting young people and to make recommendations to government. 

Wokingham Youth Council is a group of passionate young people from across Wokingham Borough aged between 11 and 18. It meets to discuss topics that matter to young people, help the council by giving feedback on strategies and policies as well as hold events, including mock House of Commons and Youth Politics debates.

Anyone of secondary school aged between 11-18 can join by emailing youthvoice@wokingham.gov.uk.