What was the event?
To mark Local Democracy Week (13–19 October 2025), Youth Voice Bucks hosted The Youth Democracy Event on 16 October 2025 as part of the Councillor Shadowing Scheme.
Local Democracy Week is an initiative that aims to raise awareness of democratic participation and encourage young people to get involved in local decision-making. With that in mind, we chose this week to bring together young people interested in the Councillor Shadowing Scheme and local Councillors for an inspiring and interactive event.
The event gave attendees the opportunity to:
- Meet and network with Councillors and other young people through fun icebreaker activities
- Hear updates about the Councillor Shadowing Scheme
- Ask questions, share ideas, and learn about the elections process from the Bucks Council Elections team
Feedback from young people
Did the event change how you see local Councillors? If so, how?
“I did not think that they would be this down to earth and engaging, having seen them as far away political figures my whole life. They were very friendly and seemed to care about problems and wanted to help us out.”
What is one thing you learned that you didn’t expect to?
“I learned that in candidate selection, if two candidates had identical votes, instead of redoing the voting, a candidate at random would be selected”.
Feedback from the Councillors
What advice would you give a young person thinking about taking part in the Councillor Shadowing Scheme?
“The Councillor Shadowing Scheme gives you the opportunity to learn about how we decide what happens to your school, the Youth clubs, Sports centre, your health, roads and much more. You can shadow a Councillor with a professional background that you’re interested in to learn more about your career choice.”
“You can document and share your experience with friends and family, use it for your personal statement or reference for your part-time job. You will help the council by sharing your ideas on how we can do better or do it differently.”
– Cllr Shade Adoh
What’s one thing you learned that you didn’t expect to?
“I learned first-hand about the importance of youth engagement in local politics, especially to improve voter turnout and understand of how councillors serve their residents in Buckinghamshire.”
– Cllr David Moore
What surprised you most about the young people’s engagement during the event?
“The young people were genuinely interested, informed and intuitive. They came across as confident and comfortable to be in our company, a lot more so than I think I would have been at their age. I think this may partly be due to the youth voice programme and what they’ve already been involved with. It was a pleasure to spend the evening with them.”
– Cllr Penny Drayton
Was there a particular conversation or moment that stood out to you, and why?
“The event demonstrated the creativity, imagination, and energy that young people bring. As Councillors we must keep reminding ourselves never to lose this and ensure we keep these connections.”
– Cllr Jonathan Waters
Elections Team feedback
“It was great to see young people so interested and engaged with the election process and be part of the Youth Event for Democracy Week. It was also lovely to be able to share some of the activities involved in delivering an election with young people and Councillors.”
– Elections Team
Interested in joining the Councillor Shadowing Scheme?
Read more about the Councillor Shadowing Scheme
Send Lucy a message on WhatsApp on 07767 433826 or email at youthvoicebucks@buckinghamshire.gov.uk