To have been afforded the opportunity to attend the 11th Commonwealth Youth Parliament (CYP) was a ‘life-changing’ experience Luke Ennett, the Isle of Man representative, has said. 

Luke, 18, a former Castle Rushen High School student and recipient of the Outstanding Participant award in the July 2022 sitting of Junior Tynwald, was among 52 young people aged between 18 and 29 from 33 Commonwealth jurisdictions selected to take part in a three-day mock parliament organised by the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) and hosted by the Parliament of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago from 21 to 24 November. 

The CPA’s flagship youth programme, the CYP aims to introduce young people of the Commonwealth to the role and purpose of parliaments as democratic institutions and providers of good governance. 

The 11th CYP, the first since 2019 to have been hosted in person due to Covid-related travel restrictions, saw participants acting as Members of the Parliament of Kairi and Chaconia, a fictional island nation of one million citizens, debating a mock Bill on remote working and flexible working conditions. 

Members of Parliament from the British Virgin Islands, Saint Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago mentored the delegates throughout the week.

Luke, who has been invited to speak to Tynwald Members about his experience, said: ‘It was truly wonderful and self-fulfilling to be able to represent the Isle of Man at the Commonwealth Youth Parliament and it has made me realise that the Isle of Man is part of a much larger community than I had originally thought.

‘Listening to the insights from so many Members of various Caribbean nations and being able to engage in a mock parliament with my peers has been invaluable for me and has made me consider possibly pursuing a career in politics in some capacity in the future.

‘Having only recently turned 18, I was the youngest participant but at no point did I feel discouraged or excluded by my new-found friends and I thank the Isle of Man branch of the CPA for giving me this life-changing opportunity.’

Chairman of the Isle of Man branch of the CPA and Speaker of the House of Keys, the Hon Juan Watterson SHK, said: ‘Youth engagement of one of the key pillars of the CPA. The CYP is a powerful force for promoting the values of the CPA and alerting the next generation of young leaders to the importance of parliamentary democracy. I am pleased that Luke found taking part in the 11th CYP so inspiring.’

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Joann Corkish
Deputy Clerk of Tynwald
Legislative Buildings
Douglas
IM1 3PW
Tel: 01624 685511
j.corkish@tynwald.org.im