Youth Parliament

Next Youth Parliament event in 2021 will be organized in Setubal-Portugal

1. Background

The AEHT Youth Parliament was first introduced by Klaus Enengl when he was the AEHT President in 2009. Since its conception there have been five Youth Parliaments hosted in different AEHT schools and countries. Due to its success the current President of the AEHT, Remco Koerts, aims to embed the Youth Parliament more formally within the framework of the AEHT. The following guidelines are intended to help achieve this goal and ensure the Youth Parliament becomes a permanent fixture each year, implemented with a high degree of consistency and quality.

2. Aims of the Youth Parliament

The original aims of the parliament remain unchanged and can be described as follows:

To enhance the ability of young people to understand and debate key issues related to the hospitality, travel and tourism industry
To provide young people with networking opportunities and cultural exchanges in international settings
To help young people improve their knowledge and soft skills including English language communication, confidence, reliability, flexibility, team working, the ability to handle stress under pressure and maintenance of a good work ethic

The fourth aim of the AEHT is being proposed with these guidelines:

To promote and facilitate the participation of young people in the decision making processes of the AEHT

3. Youth Parliament Details

Supervision	Appointment of the Youth Parliament Supervisor (section 4 below)
Time of year	Held in April or early May
Length	Three days excluding travel days (one travel day is a weekend day)
Location	The first Youth Parliament to be delivered according to the new framework will be hosted by Docklands Academy, London in April 2019. In subsequent years different schools will be encouraged to host the event
Student numbers	Minimum of 25 students from a minimum of 8 different countries; Maximum numbers will be set by the host organisation
Remuneration	AEHT will contribute to the costs of student accommodation; the hosting organisation meets the costs of transport, leisure activities and food within the host country; the participants meet their own travel costs such as return flights to and from the host country; the host organisation meets the expenses of the Youth Parliament Supervisor attending the Youth Parliament

4. Youth Parliament Supervisor

The Presidium will appoint a Youth Parliament Supervisor (YPS) to provide oversight of the Youth Parliament each year and ensure that it is able to meet its four aims. The first YPS appointed will be Murray Cooper, who ran the event at Docklands Academy, London successfully in 2016. The YPS role includes the following responsibilities:

Compiling and updating guidelines for the Youth Parliament
Recruitment of AEHT schools willing to host the Youth Parliament
Provision of information, guidance and training as required to AEHT schools hosting the Youth Parliament
Delivery and/or moderation of the Youth Parliament on behalf of the host school
Reporting to the Presidium, Executive Board and/or General Assembly on the implementation of the Youth Parliament
Provision of public information about the Youth Parliament including previous events, to be placed on the AEHT website or in printed materials for distribution

5. AEHT Student President

Each year one student will be elected as the AEHT Student President by those attending the Youth Parliament. The AEHT will meet the accommodation costs of the Student

President to attend the AEHT Annual Conference for two days and two nights. The Student President or his/her school should, however, meet his or her travelling expenses to the conference. The AEHT Student President’s responsibilities/privileges include:

Giving a speech, whose content has been approved, about the Youth Parliament at the opening ceremony of the next AEHT Annual Conference
Attending the Hospitality Masterclass between the opening ceremony and briefing of competitors at the AEHT Conference
Attending the Executive Board meeting at the AEHT Annual Conference
Representing the student voice by liaising with members of the AEHT Presidium after the Hospitality Masterclass, where he or she can make suggestions to improve the association; and by submitting reports and/or articles for the AEHT website

6. Planned Activities

Oct 2018 - Youth Parliament Guidelines will be submitted to Remco Koerts and Klaus Enengl for comment and approval
Nov 2018 - Youth Parliament Guidelines will be submitted to the Executive Board and/or General Assembly in order to reinforce the event
Jan 2019 - The YPS will organise the next Youth Parliament to be hosted by Docklands Academy, London
Apr/May 2019 - The YPS will provide guidance, support and moderation during the implementation of the Youth Parliament. One student at the parliament will be elected as the AEHT Student President for 2019
June 2019 - The YPS will provide a report for the Presidium with outcomes of the Youth Parliament 2019
July 2019 - The YPS will provide public information on the outcomes of the Youth Parliament 2019 through the official website and/or through an email to all AEHT members
Nov 2019 - The Student President will carry out all of the responsibilities explained in Part 5 above starting with a speech about the Youth Parliament at the opening ceremony of the AEHT Annual Conference 2019

7. Youth Parliament Framework

The Youth Parliament will be delivered over three days excluding travel days (one travel day will be a weekend)

7.1 Planning Stage

The planning stage for the Youth Parliament will be from Jan to Mar. During this period the YPS will hold meetings with the host organisation and agree a plan for the following:

The exact wording of the main topic to be debated during the Youth Parliament including a breakdown of the topic into three or more elements or themes
A rationale for the event explaining how it will meet the four aims of the AEHT Youth Parliament, with justification for the choice of topic and elements/themes to be debated
Timetabling of the event including dates, times and location of all the activities including any excursions
Budgeting for the event including the cost of accommodation

7.2Day One: Theme 1

9:00 – 10:00

Welcome
Health and safety
The aims of the parliament
Schedule of events
Rules and behaviour

10:00 – 10:30

Presenting the topic element or theme to be debated
Quiz or game based on the theme

10:30 – 11:00 Tea break

11:00 – 12:30

Organise into five groups with five students per group
Elect a spokesperson for each group
Each group is required to debate for or against a point of view related to the theme
One group acts as judges and votes to decide which group wins the debate
Groups change roles for further debates

12:30 – 13:30 Lunch

13:30 – 15:00

Groups carry out research and prepare notes in preparation for Day 2 Optional visit to a local place of interest

7.3 Day Two: Theme 2