P-05-787 Save the Future Generation of Wales – Correspondence from the Petitioner to the Committee, 24.11.17

Please let me introduce myself briefly. My name is Ken Ebihara, the principle petitioner for the petition ‘Save the Future Generation of Wales’. I genuinely appreciate that a precious opportunity is now offered and the petition is being considered by the Petitions Committee.

There are two points I would like to mention in this regard. Firstly, the vast majority of the people who have signed the petition lived in Wales when they signed and have both British citizenship and rights to vote in the United Kingdom, including for the National Assembly for Wales. Although I am an international student myself, who does not have the right to vote in the UK, the content of the petition is valid and citizens in Wales are truly concerned about it.

Secondly, as indicated, the letter to the committee written by Eluned Morgan AC/AM, the Minister for Welsh Language and Lifelong Learning, the issue had already been identified in one of the reports released by the Children, Young people and Education Committee in 2016, last year. This fact underlines that the members of this committee as well as relevant professionals acknowledge the existence of the issue addressed by my petition.

I fully understand that the Petitions Committee is formed of members from different political parties and might have different views and opinions towards the issue individually. Even so, for the reasons aforementioned, I would like the committee members to conduct a serious and thorough consideration of my petition and take appropriate process regarding the issue for the benefits of those who have supported the petition and for the future generation of Wales.