PEMBREY Brownies were delighted to be joined by their local Assembly Member, Lee Waters, as part of their Democracy Day for Parliament Week.
The Democracy Day event aimed to teach the Brownies about the workings of Parliament and the Senedd. They also found out, through participating in a range of fun, engaging activities, all about the electoral process and about how laws are made.
Tori, one of the Brownies who took part in the event, said: “It was good to learn where laws and rules are made. I learnt that laws about buildings, schools and hospitals are made in the Senedd. I got to speak to Lee and ask him how he helps to make laws.”
The event was organised by Leah Thornton-Lane, who also attends local schools around the Llanelli constituency in order to involve children and young people in Citizenship and PSE. Leah, a former Pembrey school pupil, was keen to involve the group in Parliament Week. She said:
“I think it is so important that we introduce young people to the idea of democracy and allow them to be involved at a young age. It was great to see the girls engaging with the activities and learning about the Senedd and Parliament.”
The AM, who was in the Senedd on Democracy Day, joined the girls towards the end of the event so that he could participate in a Question and Answer session via Skype. He said:
“Full credit to the Pembrey Brownie leaders for engaging their Six in how democracy works. The Brownies are all about getting young girls to explore their world around them and holding a ‘Democracy Day’ is a fantastic way to do that. The great thing about Skype is that I was able to beam into their meeting in Pembrey straight after coming from a meeting in the Senedd and answer their questions about what I do and how decisions are made.”
During the course of the evening, discussions around how young people can get involved in their community and with their representatives were made. There was even a quiz testing parents’ knowledge of current affairs.
As a follow-up to his discussion with the Brownies, Lee will be joining the girls in Pembrey for a Litter Pick as part of his Litter Taskforce initiative, and for them to work towards their community badges!
