Lara Cowpe reports on the YCW National Council held in May 2011.

I joined YCW because I wanted the opportunity to meet people my own age who were Catholic; to have an outlet to discuss my faith. I set up a YCW group in my own parish in Dinas Powys, which worked well but diminished after a lot of the members went off to university. I joined the Cardiff YCW and over the past year have become more comfortable within the group and decided to accept the invitation to attend National Council.

Council was held in Birmingham on a Saturday afternoon. As I work full-time, I was grateful that the meeting was on a weekend day as it meant I was able to attend.

This was my first National Council meeting so for the benefit of those new to YCW I will offer explanations as well as descriptions of what happened during the meeting.

The meeting was lead by the National Executive Committee and people from YCW groups across the UK attended. The meeting was split into two halves: National Consultation and National Council.

The National Consultation allowed for discussion and debate on the following:
• Applications for the positions on the National Executive Committee: one for National President and one for National Secretary.
• Recommendations and resolutions for the coming year.
• Budget - explanation of expenditure and expected income over the next year.

National Council involved:
• A report from the National President,
• A report from the National Chaplain,
• The financial reports,
• The election of the Phil Callaghan to National President,
• The election of Anna Morris to National Secretary, and
• Voting over the recommendations and resolutions.

It may seem like there were a lot of reports, but it was actually very interesting to find out more about how the organisation is run and how much input we as members are encouraged to have.

As my YCW meetings in Cardiff are relatively informal, it was good to attend a formal meeting and to meet the NEC. It does make you realise that we all have a responsibility as members of the movement to support the NEC but also to call on them as needed. I enjoyed meeting members of other YCW groups from different regions and the meal afterwards was a great way to get to know each other better.

During council we were told that the UK YCW will be hosting International Council in 2012. I feel this will be a fantastic opportunity to meet YCW members from across the world and to be part of something really special so I am really looking forward to getting involved.

Lara Cowpe
YCW South Wales