Tynwald has contributed two Manx students to the first virtual Commonwealth Youth Parliament (CYP), held via Zoom.

Tynwald intern Kieran Skehan and law student Hannah Cowin were among 59 delegates aged between 18 and 29 from across the Commonwealth nominated to participate in the week-long event.

It also saw Speaker of the House of Keys and chairman of the island branch of the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA), Juan Watterson SHK, deliver the ceremonial speech during the opening proceedings.

Organised by the CPA, the Commonwealth Youth Parliament ’offers young people the opportunity to experience parliamentary democracy, meet other young leaders and discuss a range of global issues.’

The event’s virtual format allowed delegates representing 32 different parliaments from all nine CPA regions to connect across 17 time zones.

Youth delegates acted as members of parliament for the fictional jurisdiction of ’Commonwealthland’, where they were split into two political parties, with a third group of independent members.

The central issue of the week was a mock Bill proposing a new Covid-19 youth relief fund and a statistical bureau for youth unemployment.

Sessions were designed to replicate real parliamentary processes and included intra-party meetings, prime minister’s questions, committee hearings, a debate on the Bill and a mock press conference.

Kieran said: ’Despite the challenges that a virtual event of this kind presented, it was really good to be able to talk about such issues with young people around the world.

’It became clear that there is a lot that unites us and that there are plenty of young people interested in politics and bringing about positive change.’

Mr Watterson, who attended the first Commonwealth Youth Parliament as a delegate 20 years ago, said: ’The Commonwealth Youth Parliament demonstrates how the CPA is a powerful force for giving young people a voice, advancing youth engagement in parliamentary democracy and fostering future leaders.

He added: ’Tynwald is highly experienced in harnessing virtual technology to ensure the continuity of parliamentary proceedings and I congratulate the organisers on the success of this first virtual parliament.’