West Country pupils to gather at school summit

Hundreds of young people will discuss the future of the West of England

WECA Mayor Dan Norris says he wants children to shape the region's future
Author: Euan PattisonPublished 26th Apr 2023

Secondary school students in the West of England are taking part in the West Schools Summit today (26 April) at Aerospace Bristol, to discuss the challenges they may face as they get older.

The event will feature interactive workshops plus pitching to Metro Mayor Dan Norris, leader of the West of England Combined Authority (WECA) and business leaders, on how to improve the West of England.

The event will be hosted by Mr Norris, who says: “The ideas that students will come up with by the end of the day could, genuinely, change our West of England region for the better.

"Because one thing I’ve learnt as Metro Mayor is that the imagination of our young people truly has no limits.

“We know that young people are the change-makers and inspirational voices we need to hear in this critical decade for the West of England - think those net-zero targets we’ve set ourselves for 2030.

"This Summit is all about asking young people about what the future could look like and to turn their amazing ideas into reality.”

Ideas put forward at the event by the students could inspire a change of policies by WECA, such as how the West of England utilises public transport.

After the Summit, WECA say they will have progress reports issued to demonstrate how the event has made an impact, in the hopes of making the West of England a more sustainable region for future generations.

“(The event) is a reminder that everyone’s voice matters in the West of England, and that everyone has the power to make a difference by working together to create an even better West of England region for all," Mr Norris said.

"That’s Pupil Power.”

The event is due to run from 10am to 1:30pm.

There's more information about the Summit via this link.

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