National Mental Health Debate for Young People
‘Are young people involved in decision making?’
Join us for the Royal College of Psychiatrists Wales and TEC Cymru National Mental Health Debate for Young People, where primary schools will argue for and against the motion 'Are young people involved in decision making?’
This in person event is being held for schools throughout Wales to enter and will take place as a part our our Schools Conference at Techniquest, Cardiff on the 29th February 2024.
This event follows on from last year's successful National Mental Health Debate for Young People, on that occasion schools debated the motion 'Can young people prevent climate change?'.
We are asking that schools register interest and we will send further details through.
- Each invited school will nominate two student spokespeople to represent them at the debate.
- One person from each team should argue ‘for’ the motion, and one person should argue ‘against’ the motion on behalf of their school.
- Each contribution should last two minutes as a maximum.
- Each student may contribute in either English or Welsh.
The debate will take place in the morning of the RCPsych Wales Schools Conference at Techniquest on the 29th February 2024. Following this, there will be a panel debate around the debate topic.
Schools will have the opportunity to interact through registering votes on whether pupils agree or disagree with the motion both before and after the debates.
If you would like to register your school to participate, and attend the Schools Conference, please complete the electronic form from the blue box opposite in the first instance.
We will be in touch in early January with a full programme and more details on what will happen during the day.
We'll be keen to hear the views directly from young people on the motion 'Are young people involved in decision making?'. Here are a few questions that may help generate discussion.
- Do young people feel empowered to take action?
- Will schools/politicians and others listen to young people when making decisions?
- Will small actions lead to big changes?
- Should young people feel optimistic about the future?
- How can young people ensure their voices are heard?
The motion can highlight instances within family, school, or wider societal settings.
We also have permission to share a couple of examples from recordings that were shared for our most recent debate for secondary school pupils. These can be shared on request, please contact Antonia Fabian.
Timeline
- Please register for the conference as soon as possible.
- The full event programme, with confirmed schools and guest speakers will be issued in early January 2024.
Notes for schools
The Royal College of Psychiatrists in Wales has a long history of running these successful mental health debates for young people in person. We have also successfully held virtual debates in this format for both primary and secondary secondary schools pupils across Wales for the last couple of years.
Our event partners
Technology Enabled Care Cymru (TEC Cymru) are the national video consultation service, supported by Welsh Government.
More information
For further information, please contact Antonia Fabian.