ABOUT

Tell us who you are!

My name is Samayya Afzal, I'm 30 years old and I am a Policy and Public Affairs Coordinator at the British Youth Council.

So what do you actually do?

The British Youth Council is a charity that empowers young people to get their voices heard, and works to promote their interests.

Within the organisation, I look after policy and democracy related things. BYC has hundreds of member organisations which work with young people from age 11 - 25. There are also 13 elected trustees under the age of 25, who run BYC, supported by a team of staff members. Every year member organisations and trustees get together and decide what should go into the BYC Manifesto.

It's my job to coordinate this policy process, and then know the manifesto inside out to ensure that youth voices are platformed. I do this in many ways, but firstly through Parliamentary engagement. BYC is the secretariat for two All Party Parliamentary Groups, we share the APPG for Youth Affairs with another youth organisation, and run the APPG for Votes at 16. MPs join the APPG if it's something they're passionate about, and we as the secretariat coordinate events and meetings with them on the topic.

In these meetings, I ensure that young people attend, and are prepared to share their experiences and make recommendations to MPs based on their views on the chosen topic. Another aspect of my job is keeping up to date with what's happening in Parliament. I will normally check the calendar to see if there's any debates or questions coming up about youth-related issues, or issues that need youth perspectives.

I will then collate information from our manifesto and programmes into a briefing, and send it to MPs, who can then use it to increase their knowledge on issues, or use it in speeches.

Another part of my job is helping the UK Youth Parliament with their campaigns. Each year there is a survey of young people called "Make Your Mark", where young people all over the UK decide on their priority issues. Members of Youth Parliament, who are also elected by young people, select their top 5 campaigns, and work on these throughout their term. There are 202 Members of Youth Parliament, and my job is to provide opportunities for them to campaign. For example, this year the priorities have been climate change and plastic pollution, young people's mental health, and free education.

Other aspects of my job include working with external organisations and committees to (and you can see the theme here) champion youth voices1

What has your career path been?

My career path wasn't direct!

I studied Biomedical Science at university, and my plan was to work in a lab. At some point, I got involved in politics and never looked back. It can feel overwhelming to change direction but it has been the best experience.

Most of my early political work was voluntary, so I spent time building up skills and experience.

What is the best part of your job?

The best part of my job is how different each day can be, and the sheer number of incredible young people who are involved in BYC.

Why do you do your job?

What motivates me about my job is that I get to work on something I'm really passionate about - empowering young people and making sure that our elected politicians don't treat young people as indispensable.

One piece of advice for someone starting in your role?

These kinds of roles depend on your ability to maintain relationships with people and organisations, and work in an ever-changing fast-paced environment, so focus on developing experience in those two things.

Any parting words?

Ask lots of questions and push past your comfort zone. It's taken me a long time to learn how to ask for help, but asking people from similar backgrounds how they've navigated challenges has been super helpful.

Check out Samayya’s socials below!

DAY IN THE LIFE

There is no "typical" day in my job, but usually I will start my day by scanning the news, checking the Parliamentary agenda (if it is a sitting day between Mon - Thurs), checking through my email inbox and anything on my to-do list from the previous day that I missed out.

Once all this admin is done, I focus on events coming up in the week ahead and what meetings I need to prepare for. If I have an event, I will be ringing speakers and ensuring they are briefed, holding prep sessions with trustees and programme members to talk through their views, and working with other staff members to make sure we get as many young people attending as possible.

Sometimes, I will be drafting letters to Ministers, or having meetings with MPs. Other times, I'll be formulating campaign actions for our young members.