MORE than 10,000 young people in 40 schools are going to the polls this week to elect their peers to a youth council.
The election for Derwentside Young People's Forum takes place tomorrow. The inaugural ballot, held in 2002, saw more than 9,000 students vote for the forum's first members, from a list of 59 candidates.
This year, voters will choose from 121 hopefuls, covering all the electoral wards of Derwentside District Council.
The forum is supported by the council's Special Project to Implement Children's Elections, or Spice project, which earlier this year won the Public Management Leadership Award from the Office for Public Management.
The forum aims to offer young people a voice in the authority's decision making process.
It has its own budget, and has headed several successful projects, including building skate parks in Stanley and Consett and organising a Battle of the Bands contest.
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