Young Citizens is delighted to announce that The Rt Hon Baroness D’Souza CMG, former Lord Speaker, has been appointed as our new President.
Baroness D’Souza has been a life peer since 2004 and was the Convenor of the Crossbench Peers from 2007 until 2011, when she was elected Lord Speaker – a position she held until 2016. She is a passionate advocate within and outside of Parliament on human rights issues, children, international affairs, and international aid and development. She also hosts regular talks, lectures and seminars relating to parliamentary work to help young people understand the importance of parliament. This relates directly to Young Citizens’ mission of helping children and young people become active, engaged citizens through increasing their knowledge, skills and confidence to take part in their communities.
Young Citizens Chair, Edge Watchorn, commented:
We are absolutely thrilled to welcome Baroness D’Souza as our new President. Frances brings a wealth of experience, passion and expertise across many of the issues close to Young Citizens’ heart, and we look forward to working with her to continue to inspire and empower young people to get involved and make a difference in their communities.
Baroness D’Souza said,
I pay tribute to Lord Phillips of Sudbury, the founder of Young Citizens for his leadership during the past decades and greatly look forward to continuing his stewardship.
This occasion marks the retirement of our first-ever President – and founder – Lord Andrew Phillips. At the charity’s 30th birthday celebration last summer, he was presented with an Award in recognition of his outstanding and dedicated contribution to our mission. You can read more about his role in establishing Young Citizens – then called the Citizenship Foundation – here.