Here is the link to the event we will let people into the meeting 5 minutes before it starts;

After the lowering of the voting age to 16 in Wales, around 66,000 16- and 17-year-olds were allowed to cast a vote for the first time in this year’s Senedd election. How many young people took this opportunity and how did young people in Wales experience the election?

This event presents new original evidence from research with young people into their experiences of this year’s Senedd election. The results explain what works to mobilise 16- and 17-year-olds to vote in Wales and what needs improving in future elections to get young people, in particular those from underrepresented groups, to turn out to vote. The findings will be reflected in light of new evidence from Scotland on young people’s participation in recent Scottish elections.

This new evidence is the basis for a joint discussion on which lessons can be learnt from this first edition of Votes-at-16 in Wales for future Welsh elections.

The online event will be chaired by former Welsh Youth Parliament member Maisy Evans throughout the project and the Counsel General for Wales, Mick Antoniw MS, followed by a presentation of research findings and comments from young people as well as stakeholders at the Welsh Government Local Government Democracy Division, the Electoral Commission, the Electoral Reform Society. The event concludes with the opportunity for attendees to ask questions and discuss the findings of the research.

The webinar should appeal to politicians, political analysts, political parties, youth democratic representation and education organisations, civil society groups, and young people who seek to ensure the success of ‘Votes at 16’ in Wales in the future.

Timings

This online event will run from 13.00 to 14.45 GMT. It will be chaired by young people from the Welsh Youth Parliament and Dr Andy Mycock of the UK Voting Age Research Team.

13.00 - 13.15 - Introduction from Maisy Evans (former member of the Welsh Youth Parliament) from the Making Votes-at-16 Work in Wales steering committee and the Counsel General for Wales, Mick Antoniw MS

13:15 - 13:40 - Presentation of findings from research with young people in Wales

13:40 - 13:45 – Presentation of findings from research with young people in Scotland

13:45 - 14:15 – Comments on the research findings from

• Young people in Wales
• Peter McDonald, Deputy Director, Electoral Reform, Welsh Government
• Jessica Blair, Electoral Reform Society Cymru
• Ella Downing & Billie Dunne, Electoral Commission
• Carrie Deacon & Lena Baumgartner, UK Democracy Fund

14:15 - 14:45 – Discussion: Where to next for Votes-at-16 in Wales?

Further information

The event is hosted by the Welsh Government Local Government Democracy division and the 'Making Votes at 16 in Wales Work'-research team.

This event will be held on Microsoft Teams with simultaneous translation available for participation in Welsh or English.

Attendees can choose to join for the full session or parts of the session.

A recording of the webinar (excluding the discussion) will be made available on the UK Voting Age website.

If you are under 18, by signing up to this event, you agree that you have parental consent to take part.

Data Protection Statement

We will manage bookings for this event by using Eventbrite. We will use the information you provide to contact you about the event. We will only use your data for this purpose, and any data captured will be retained only for the period of up to 6 months before being permanently deleted.

Title picture by Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament via Flickr, Creative Commons BY 2.0.