Monica Yianni in Year 12, was given a standing ovation in the House of Commons on Friday 13th November, after performing a poem written by her on the Magna Carta to the UK Youth Parliament.
The MYP for North Hertfordshire was selected out of hundreds of her fellow peers from the East of England, to speak at the annual national Youth Parliament debates in Parliament itself.
After a vote involving almost 7,000 young people, the issues at the top of the agenda for the talk in parliament were cyber bullying, young people’s rights, hate crime, LGBT+ issues, education and financial support for young people.
Monica however, sat in the opposition bench in the chamber, delivering a poem written by herself on the importance of the Magna Carta and how it is so relevant in modern society and the future.
The Magna Carta was 'drawn up' in 1215 about how the country would be run, deriving power to elected representatives and not the monarch. It's often referred to as one of the important documents in history. The idea that the law should still apply to the king or queen, that everyone should have a fair trial and that people should not be taxed too much, were all derived from the orginal Magna Carta from over 800 years ago!
Her speech was given a rapturous reception from everyone, including the Speaker of the House of Commons, John Bercow. It even gave Monica a little tear in her eye.
Later that evening, she went to twitter to emphasise her joy and happiness, tweeting that it was “The most amazing day.”
Monica, who feels more young people should get involved in politics, commonted on her experience being in the chamber. “I thought the group would be full of people who knew everything about politics and the names of all the politicians, but it’s really just a group of like-minded people who care about the same things.”
Councillor Richard Roberts, who is responsible for children’s services at Hertfordshire County Hall, said, “Monica is a credit to the youth parliament, her school and wider Hertfordshire community. I hope she had a great day in parliament, especially delivering her speech. The youth parliament is a great place for the voice of young people to be heard and to bring influence to bear.”