Youth Parliament was founded in 1985 by a group of advisers who were striving to give Bermuda’s youth a voice. Twenty-six years later, Youth Parliament has come a long way. The organisation has grown so much with about 40 registered members. Now, with the new premier and president elected, who knows what else Youth Parliament has in store?LaShanda Seaman and Ryan Robinson Perinchief are the president and premier respectively of the current Youth Parliament. LaShanda is in IB2 at Bermuda High School for Girls and Ryan is in S2 at Berkeley Institute. LaShanda has a desire to go into politics, as she stated, “I just applied to university, to study law and politics in the UK.” She hopes to practice as a lawyer and then eventually go into politics.Ryan, on the other hand, is planning to go into business and then ultimately, politics. Clearly they both have a strong interest in Youth Parliament. The way they choose the president and premier for Youth Parliament is by voting by secret ballot. This prevents peer pressure being involved in the process.Youth Parliament is a mirror of the House of Assembly. Youth parliament is a way to allow the youth of Bermuda to voice their opinion, about what they feel needs to be addressed, in a more formal fashion. Members talk about different problems that they feel are important and try to come to some sort of agreement on how to solve them. They meet every Wednesday from four o’clock to six o’clock, and they hold 25 sessions throughout the school year. They meet on 21 Parliament Street at the House of Assembly. In total they have 40 registered students, and from different high schools. They have three adult advisers and 15 officers elected by the Youth Parliament.There is an aspect of Youth Parliament that is really fun. Student members get to go on trips; usually they go to London in March and to Granada, which is in the Caribbean. They send two representatives to each country. When they choose these representatives they are usually older. This is not just because of their age, it’s because they have built trust. Also the seniors usually have a different level of maturity.One thing that is really important is that if you strive to finish what you start. The official mission for Youth Parliament is “The Youth Parliament of Bermuda strives to provide education on parliamentary procedures, create awareness of current events and issues on a local and global scale, while fostering relationships between our youth and political figures in our society.” So if you want to be a part of youth parliament join.Some of you may be wondering how you can be a part of Youth Parliament. Well, you don’t have to get invited; it’s an open invitation. All you have to do is get a registration form from one of your teachers that represent your school in Youth Parliament. You have to be between the ages of 14 and 24. Every public and private school is represented in Bermuda’s Youth Parliament. Once you get the form you take it home fill it out and have your parents sign it. If you don’t know who your Youth Parliament representative is, you can go on their Facebook page www.facebook.com/YouthParliamentbermuda. They also have a website www.youthparliamentbermuda.com.So come join Youth Parliament. Let your voice be heard. Do something to help your community. Youth Parliament members have a saying on the back of their shirts that states ‘Youth Today………Leaders Tomorrow.’ Bermuda’s teens are encouraged to be a leader of tomorrow, allow the politicians in you to shine.