Manchester welcomed a very special visitor on Friday 20th May 2011, as the Speaker of the House of Lords, Baroness Hayman, toured the city. We (Michelle and Shahina) were invited by Voluntary Sector North West (VSNW) to report on her visit to the Wai Yin Chinese Women’s Society event. We not only filmed and photographed the event but were also able to conduct a personal interview with the Baroness! She spoke about the work of the House of Lords and her role within it, as well as why she was touring Manchester.
Lady Hayman was very approachable and friendly, she gave us some great advice, seemed really enthusiastic about Community Reporting and when we asked her what advice she had for us as Community Reporters she said “I think you’re doing it very professionally at the moment so I’m most impressed” and “to remember that the House of Lords exists and if you’re interested in any of the subjects have a look on the House of Lords website”.
We thoroughly enjoyed the event and learnt a lot about the House of Lords and all the voluntary organisations involved in the event. I felt it was a great opportunity to meet a member of Parliament and practice my Community Reporting skills. I was nervous before-hand but feel as though I’ve gained a lot of confidence and learnt a lot.
The event was organised by Voluntary Sector North West and Parliament to bring together the House of Lords and North West based voluntary groups, to discuss how these groups can get involved with the work that the House of Lords does. The Baroness also visited Manchester Creative and Media Academy and went on to the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce to continue her visit.
Watch the film we produced http://communityreporter.co.uk/videos/our-meeting-baroness-hayman-speaker-house-lords