BYC: Empower young people and strengthen democracy

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Tuesday, 12, Feb 2008 12:00

Last week the Democracy Coalition for Children and Young People (DCCYP) hosted a meeting on what the Government could do to engage more young people in politics.

Bridget Prentice, MP for Lewisham East and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Ministry of Justice, met young representatives from the British Youth Council (BYC) and the English Secondary Students’ Association (ESSA) in the House of Commons on 5th February to discuss the Governments strategy so far and what was needed for the future.

Democracy Minister Bridget Prentice said: "The youth of today are the decision makers of tomorrow. It is vital to ignite their interest in democracy, for their voices to be heard and for them to have a stake in the political process.

“It is a myth that young people are not interested in politics. I know from my visits that they are passionately interested in issues as diverse as reducing the voting age to 16, climate change, crime and local transport. However we have to make formal politics more relevant to capitalise on this interest."

Within the debate calls were made to strengthen the opportunities for young people to get involved in politics at a local level; for example within school or youth councils or as young majors.

BYC Chair, Emily Beardsmore stressed in her speech to the Minister how “Young people feeling that someone is listening to them and their point of view, will go a long way to renew their belief in politics.

“If young people were able to vote at 16, participate in a local youth council in every local authority in the UK, and had the opportunity to engage their elected representatives then we might see more engagement of young people”.[1]

Commenting after the event Jack Lewars, National Student Support Officer at ESSA said "It was an interesting and stimulating discussion. It is important for organisations that represent young people to work closely on issues of crucial importance to young people, and also to see the Government actively listening to the views of our organisations".

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Notes to Editors:

For further information please contact:

Helen Deakin

Policy Officer

British Youth Council

0207 7022 1974

Helen.Deakin@byc.org.uk

www.byc.org.uk

The Democracy Coalition for Children and Young People (DCCYP) is an alliance of non-governmental, voluntary and statutory organisations, who work together to increase children and young people’s participation in our democracy. See http://www.democracycoalition.org.uk for more information on their members and work. The DCCYP is supported in its work by the Ministry of Justice.

BYC is the national youth council and voice for young people under 26 living in the UK. We represent and involve a unique coalition of young people through their involvement as individuals or through national, regional or local youth organisations. For more information see http://www.byc.org.uk or email Helen.Deakin@byc.org.uk

The English Secondary Students’ Association (ESSA) works to support young people to have a voice on issues which affect their lives at school or college. ESSA is run by students, for students aged 11 to 19 years old. See http://www.studentvoice.co.uk for more information on their work.