Sebastian Coe meets Staffordshire Youth Parliament and Youth Forum members

 

Young people representing Staffordshire’s Youth Parliament and Youth Forum joined fellow young people from the West Midlands Youth Parliament (WMYP) to meet Sebastian Coe, the double gold winning Olympic medallist and Chair of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic and Paralympic Games (LOCOG) on 8 December as he made a return visit to the region.

 

Hosted by the West Midlands Leadership Group for the 2012 Games, the event provided an opportunity for these young people to not only meet with Sebastian Coe but to ask him questions directly about the opportunities the Games will offer young people in the West Midlands. 

 

Questions ranged from whether the 2012 Games would deliver new sporting facilities for young people in the region, to how talented sportsmen and women could go about obtaining funding or sponsorship for training.

 

Staffordshire Youth Parliament member Caitlen Moon and Staffordshire Youth Forum Members, Joe Loverock, Zoe Shipley, Lewis Stone and Charlotte Aspley were present and also took part in a session led by Chris James, 18, who is WMYP’s representative on the West Midlands Leadership Group for the 2012 Games and Bethan Dovey, 16, Chair of the WMYP.

Seb Coe to the West Midlands, where he met with Staffordshire Youth Parliament Member Caitlen Moon and fellow Staffordshire Youth Forum among other West Midlands Youth Parliament members.
Picture courtesy of: photographer Adrian Burrows

County Councillor Maureen Compton, one of the Staffordshire representatives on the West Midlands Leadership Group for the 2012 Games said: “We are working with our partners across the region to engage local communities in the spirit of the 2012 Games.  The Staffordshire and Stoke-on-Trent 2012 Steering Group are planning to work closely with these young people in developing and delivering the opportunities from the 2012 Games”.

 

Caitlin Moon, Staffordshire Youth Parliament member said: "It was an amazing opportunity to be able to meet the 2012 decision makers and to find out how the Olympics will affect young people in the West Midlands. I personally enjoyed being able to question the committee on key factors that will affect the London 2012 games".

 

Caitlin added: “I asked a question about making the games the first Fairtrade Olympics, so ensuring everything from the cotton in Volunteer's t-shirts to the food sold at food stalls is fairly traded. I feel that the Olympic Games should be ethical and there are many people who benefit from producing fairly traded products”.

 

After meeting with the young people, Sebastian Coe went on to visit two of the region’s newest sporting facilities, the Gymnastics and Martial Arts Centre (GMAC) in Birmingham and the Xcel Leisure Centre in Coventry.  He also pledged his support for the National Charter of Rights for Disabled Children and Young People, led by Wolverhampton based charity, Include Me TOO.

 

For more information contact:

Steph Newport
Communications and Marketing Officer
Staffordshire County Council
T: 01785 278576
M: 07968 214576 
E: steph.newport@staffordshire.gov.uk