INSIGHT
‘‘ Apprentices
Presenting at the Young Local Authority of the Year Award
T
HIS month, I applied to present at the Young Local Authority of the Year Award 2022, representing Kirklees
Council. I was successful in my application and worked alongside Luc (the other successful Kirklees Council candidate). I was so pleased to have been selected and really excited to get planning on our three presentations. We had Argument Paper, On the
Spot and Pride of Place presentations. For the Argument Paper we had six minutes to give a strong and well- detailed opinion on a subject of our choice. We chose meat rationing, our argument being that meat should be rationed to help reduce our carbon footprint and protect the environment. Myself and Luc worked hard to put together a paper and submit it to the judge within a week’s time. We then got started on the On the
Spot, for this we had two minutes to voice our opinion on another topic of our choice. We chose to argue that employees should be coming back to work and not continue working from home all the time. Coming back to the office, allows you to experience new opportunities and by communicating with others, you are looking after your mental wellbeing. For our On the Spot, we weren’t allowed to have any notes. This reminded me of how hard it can be to remember your lines from my drama days. To help me remember the paper, I recorded myself on my phone and listened to it over and over again. It is still stuck with me now! For our Pride of Place we weren’t allowed any notes either, so it was all from memory again! We chose to talk about Standedge Tunnel, the longest, deepest and highest canal tunnel in the whole country. And we didn’t just
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talk! We travelled over to Lancaster with our flat caps and blazers ready with our Yorkshire accents. I played Thomas Telford, the engineer of the tunnel and Luc played the part of a boatman passing by. And what would an act be without props? Of course, we transported a great big cardboard box to the hotel and made this into a boat and tunnel before we presented. First of all, we had a rehearsal for our Argument Paper and then presented our Pride of Place. We caused some big belly laughs, only expected a few sniggers but the participants and judges loved it! Everyone’s presentations were so interesting, learning about what each council is famous for. Did you know Staffordshire is famous for its oatcakes and they can be filled with absolutely anything?
After our lovely three course evening meal we had a well-deserved rest. The next day we all presented our other two papers. We then had a drinks reception, evening meal and then it was time for the awards ceremony. Buckinghamshire Council were
Hannah Armitage is an apprentice librarian at Kirklees Libraries
www.kirkleeslibraries.co.uk
Everyone’s presentations were so interesting, learning about what each council is famous for.
the well-deserved winners, with Southend-on-Sea City Council being the runners up. Warwickshire County Council were highly commended. Everyone did so very well and we won the Pride of Place presentation! In the YLAY (Young Local Authority of the Year) 2022 report we were mentioned as winners of Pride of Place – “The winner of this special award is the story, complete with flat caps and flatter vowels, of the building of the Standedge Tunnel, the longest, highest and deepest canal tunnel in the United Kingdom. A lively and hugely entertaining two-minute history lesson.”
We are so proud of the work we both did, and I had the most amazing time meeting so many different people. Everyone was so supportive and we’ve both met some great friends. It’s been a real eye opener being in such a different setting, I’d love to do something similar again!
Hannah and Luc at YLAY 2022.
From this experience we have also been able to talk about our Kirklees YEN (Young Employee Network) and promote how well this works in our council. Myself and Luc are going to facilitate a meeting with those we met at the conference to offer our support and share our experiences of being part of YEN. IP
April-May 2022
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