v: Robot enters House of Commons to show MPs what young people care about

Monday, 12 October 2009 12:00 AM

As MPs go back to work at Parliament today, a new study has shown that just 10% of young people believe politicians are best able to change the country. But the results also show that young people do care about the world they live in and the charity v has come up with an innovative way to make MPs sit up and take notice. A new addition to the House of Commons today will be an interactive robot.

At a time when only 3% of young people have ever contacted their MP, the robot - nicknamed Voicebot - is a very modern twist on writing a letter to your MP. Until Thursday, young people can visit a website, put in what they care about and the robot will write it out, stroke by stroke, word by word, directly to the politicians.

The study, carried out by v, The National Young Volunteers Service, showed that over 70% of young people thought they did not live in a fair society and that 60% thought the world was becoming a worse place. Young people, though, did not see the political system as the answer, with less than half of all young people saying they were interested in politics.

Terry Ryall, Chief Executive of v, The National Young Volunteers Service, commented: "We work with 100,000s of young people and we know that they want to make the world a better place. The challenge for politicians everywhere is to take risks with new ways to engage young people. We are hopeful that Westminster based politicians, in the wake of massive loss of trust from the public, will see this as a modern and relevant way to connect with young people."

The study and robot come at a time when respect among the public for the political classes is at an all time low. A study published earlier this year by Hansard Society indicates that currently only 24% of 18 to 24 year olds are certain to vote in the next general election - the lowest of all groups by a long way. And, contrary to some images, young people are the least likely of all age groups to be politically active - just 4%.

Before entering Parliament, Voicebot has been collecting comments from 1000s of young people, including:

"Why do politicians get longer holidays than primary school kids?"

"Young people are generally seen as people who like to cause trouble but really I think it is because their opinions are ignored"

"Young people are interested in politics and the world around them but do not want to get involved in it and get entangled in its dirty game"

"Young peoples' voices never get heard.the government should listen to the people"

"All politicians are corrupt"

"Politics is the debate over power, not over needs"

"MPs! Hear my plea...listen to us and work with us...together we can make a difference"

"I care about my family. I care that I can't get a job. I care that politicians...have expenses when I can't get bread"

Voicebot is part of v's proactive research campaign called Voicebox, with over 5,000 people having taken part so far. The project is live and constantly evolving. Over the coming months, Voicebox will continue to collect and share data about lifestyles, attitudes and behaviours of young Britons. In an age when young people are using social media more and more, Voicebox uses new and interactive social media to engage young people.

The full results of the research will eventually be fed into even more detailed work with the think tank Demos, which will be shared with government & policy makers.

Voicebox results so far have shown that the top five issues that young people care about are Education, Young People, Jobs, Family and the World.

v's calls on all the political parties to involve young people in a meaningful way, on their own terms, in the development of their political manifestos.

For further information, case studies and interviews with spokespeople please contact:

Pippa Bruce or David Slade at Shine: pippa.bruce@shinecom.com 020 7841 7065 / 020 7841 7077 or Paul Werb at v: paul.werb@vinspired.com 020 7960 7011

v is holding a Parlimentary Reception on 12 October, from 4 to 6pm, which journalists are welcome to attend. Please contact Paul Werb for invite.

Notes to Editors

v, The National Young Volunteers Service aims to inspire a new generation of volunteers (aged 16-25) in England. It does this by funding voluntary organisations all over England to create inspiring, diverse opportunities and by helping to overcome barriers that stop people from taking action to improve lives, communities and the planet. v's aim is to create a culture where volunteering comes naturally and where the benefits of volunteering are understood and celebrated.

v is an independent charity launched in May 2006 as a result of the Russell Commission report, A National Framework for Youth Action and Engagement.

Visit: www.vinspired.com for more information on what we do and how we do it.

The robot, Voicebot, will be in the House of Commons from 12 October to 15 October. Young volunteers will also be on hand to talk with MPs.

The robot is part of v's Voicebox, an innovative online youth insight project. Using interactive online surveys, data visualisation techniques and an open approach, the project aims to engage young people and get them to share their views on a variety of social issues from crime to the community. To begin each theme and find the initial results, v has taken the views of a representative sample of 1,000 young people in the UK. (The research was carried out by Dubit.) However, the online project is live and the data is constantly evolving as more young people participate on a daily basis. The aim with Voicebox is to engage as many young people as possible, to better understand their views, so v can deliver programmes more suited to their needs and influence government & policy makers. Visit: http://voicebox.vinspired.com for your voice to be heard.

Voicebox Respondents and other results:

A sample of over 1,000 16 - 25 year olds took part in the online poll conducted by Dubit on behalf of v in May 2009.

The data was weighted according to age, gender, and region to be representative of all British youth. Other results included:

· 85% of young people said that they or their friends don't carry knives

· 86% of respondents had never shoplifted goods worth more than a fiver

· 69% did not agree that drugs were ok for recreational use

· 61% believed it was irresponsible to be a teenage mum.

· 56% of respondents agreed it was not normal to have sex before the age of 16.

· 75% of young people are happy with the relationship they have with their family

· 68% of respondents are happy living at home

· 78% of 16-25 year olds respect their elders (only 1% said that they don't respect their elders)

The political voting study referred to in the release was the Audit of Political Engagement 6 (2009) by Hansard Society & Ipsos MORI

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