Many of them will be giving their views on the BBC Wales news website, TV and radio ahead of the assembly elections on 3 May.

They responded to an appeal from BBC Wales asking people to make their opinions heard on everything from hospitals and schools to waste bins and global warming.

Here, you can meet members of the group from the mid and west Wales electoral region. Click on the links in the map above for more on the others in the rest of Wales.

John Abel Jones

AGE: 53

LIVES: Lampeter

WORKS: Livestock marketing

ISSUES: Health, education and jobs. He is particularly concerned that Lampeter is a dying area, and would like to see measures taken to combat this. He has mixed feelings about the assembly and the success of devolution.

Gbubemi Amas Amanoritsewor

AGE: 51

LIVES: Cross Hands

WORKS: Art consultant

ISSUES: Alarmed by the gap between rich and poor and visible social poverty in Swansea. He would like to see greater emphasis on equal opportunities for black people in Wales during the bicentenary year of the abolition of slavery.

Paul Fagg

AGE: 76

LIVES: Pwllheli

WORKS: Retired teacher and teacher trainer

ISSUES: He has never been canvassed by any political candidate since he moved to Pwllheli. He has begun to feel what happens in Cardiff Bay is "totally detached" from life on the Llyn peninsula.

Julie Farrington

AGE: 46

LIVES: Aberystwyth

WORKS: Stained glass artist

ISSUES: Levels of tourism, and government tourism policy in Wales as her business depends on it. She is critical of Welsh language policy and feels that the situation with NHS dentists is abysmal.

Louise Hughes

AGE: 44

LIVES: Llanegryn

WORKS: Full-time mother

ISSUES: Top priority where she lives is a lack of job opportunities, leading to deprivation. The nearby town of Tywyn is suffering because of a lack of investment. The local school is threatened with closure, and she is also worried about post office and hospital closures. Rising house prices in rural areas are also a problem.

Susan Hunt

AGE: 58

LIVES: Llanfyllin

WORKS: Secondary school teacher

ISSUES: Education, health provision and care of the elderly. She would like to pay for her prescriptions - so that others could benefit from the extra funding. She also feels strongly about the environment and issues relating to global warming.

Claire Lewis

AGE: 20

LIVES: Rhayader/Aberystwyth

WORKS: History student

ISSUES: Education policies in general and in further education, as she will be doing her PGCE teacher training qualification soon. She also wants to see what the parties have got to offer in terms of housing policy as she hopes to settle down in the near future.

Geraint Lloyd

AGE: 31

LIVES: Llanelli

WORKS: Software engineer

ISSUES: More should be done for the Welsh language, small schools, public transport and the NHS. He is particularly concerned with current provision with childcare costs.

Ian Moore

AGE: 60

LIVES: Llechfaen, Brecon

WORKS: Runs laundry business

ISSUES: Although sceptical on whether a Welsh assembly would work, he has arrived at the conclusion that it is important for people in Wales to have a direct involvement in how the country is run.

Owain Phillips

AGE: 19

LIVES: Aberystwyth

WORKS: Student

ISSUES: The effect of student fees and the Government of Wales Act. He is cautiously in favour of the assembly's new powers but feels that Westminster will still have too much influence in Welsh politics.

Andy Rinvolucri

AGE: 24

LIVES: Lampeter

WORKS: Personal carer for disabled people

ISSUES: Equality and rights for disabled people, in particular for politicians to be more aware of those with combined disabilities, including mental health problems. He would also like to see more equal opportunities for gay people.

Margaret Teare

AGE: 58

LIVES: Llanbrynmair

WORKS: Retired market gardener

ISSUES: Concerned about a number of issues, including the Welsh Language Board, care for the elderly, support for Welsh-speaking communities, out-of-hours GPs, the Welsh Ambulance Service... and she says she could go on!