Earlier this year, OnTheWight began a series of features focused on the great things young people on the Isle of Wight are doing.
So far we’ve featured Luke Chandler, Blake Nash, Ethan Drummond-Harris and Beth Pitts.
Step forward Cameron Palin
Up next in our series is 16-year-old Cameron Palin from East Cowes.
A GCSE student at Cowes Enterprise College, during the last three years Cameron has become more and more active in community causes such as Ryde arena, the Cowes floating bridge and Isle of Wight Pride.
Palin: “You have to take action”
Cameron tell us that this was due to realising how much these things meant to Island residents.
He said,
“When campaigning for these causes I’ve become increasingly aware of more and more causes.
“I realised the root of these issues were very politically motivated and you have to take action yourself if you want something to get done.”
Joining the Green Party has led to opportunities
Cameron went on to say,
“I took the initiative and made the decision to join the Green Party, for me this has lead to many new opportunities nationally and locally.”
Cameron has really thrown himself in local democracy, choosing to become Youth and Student Officer for the local Green Party. This has led to opportunities to meet people like Caroline Lucas MP, Keith Taylor MEP and Siân Berry, London Assembly Member (Green Party Co-leader).
He said that all these opportunities led from helping and being active on a local cause.
Fighting to save Ryde Arena
Heavily involved in the campaign to save the ice rink in Ryde, Cameron, along with others has managed to get the council to start a legal process helping the Ryde Arena Community Action Group (RACAG) “take the arena back for the community, not a private investment company”.
Latest movement
Cameron adds,
“The most recent movement I’ve been part of is Islanders for Europe, it gave me the chance to speak to the public and engage with them about how they feel everything is going and what the government should do next on the Brexit front.”
Top tips for other young people
We asked Cameron for his top three tips to young people wanting to get out there and do something positive with their lives. He said:
- Fight for what you believe in
- Don’t let negativity put you off
- Hold the people in power to account
Get in touch
If you know of a young person who has achieved positive things in their life and deserve some recognition, get in touch with us.
