YOUTH VOICE Bitesize News: 03/02 – 17/02/25

⚡UPDATED  15/02/25

⚡NEW VOTES@16 Campaign OPPORTUNITY for those aged 16-20 UK, to join steering group ?  My Life My Say are recruiting young people to a new steering group. The creators of Give An X… are delighted to invite partners to nominate young people for their next national campaign to extend voting rights to 16-17 year olds and work with the government to introduce comprehensive civic education in schools. This is a paid opportunity. £13.15/hr for 3 meetings/ Launch. Deadline 21st Feb 2025.  More details on Role      Share this application form with yp

#VOTES@16WATCH

⚡Jan/25 RESEARTCH/Briefing Evidence and Good Practice on Lowering the Voting Age to 16 – A new Votes at 16 report by Dr Christine Huebner and Dr Jan Eichorn has been published to share international evidence and good practice on Lowering the voting age to 16. The report was commissioned by the UK Democracy Fund and shares a range of examples that may be of interest for partners working on Votes at 16

⚡Votes@16 Lords debate – highlights need for better citizenship education, critical thinking, media literacy to spot disinformation, to prepare young voters. ALSO highlights benefits to engagement and mental health. AND.. identifies stakeholders in the Lords Votes for under-16s ‘good for children’s mental health’, Parliament told | STV News 

⚡Votes@16 Northern Ireland – “Politics in Action supports a youth-led Votes at 16 campaign in Northern Ireland. On December 19th, members met with Hilary Benn MP, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who reaffirmed the Government’s commitment to legislating for Votes at 16. He commended the group’s efforts and emphasised the importance of securing legislation in Westminster ahead of the 2027 local and Assembly elections. The group is now reaching out to local party leaders and MPs to push this higher on the Government’s agenda” (In the Loop)

⚡Votes@16 Network (NEW) The Politics Project is hosting a network meeting for those interested in  Votes at 16 Third Wednesday of the Month @ 10am: 19th Feb, 19th March, 16th April, 21st May.  If you would like to join our Votes at 16 meetings then please email Wendy on wendy@thepoliticsproject.org.uk

⚡30/1/25 Votes at 16 Article supporting lowering the age to vote following Channel4 poll of youth disenchantment with democracy. Young people say they’d elect a ‘strong leader’. I say give more of them the vote | Polly Toynbee | The Guardian

⚡28/1/25 Votes at 16 voters poll Lord Ashcroft’s latest opinion poll of 5000 voters reveal 54% oppose the idea of Govt introducing votes at 16. Extract

#YOUTHVOICE@LOCAL

⚡NEW 15/2/25 Youthvoice Essex Youth Assembly published Beyond the Ballot report, when Essex young people delved deeper into the Essex Make Your Mark  (UKYouthParliament) results, identified key issues, and proposed solutions to tackle these challenges. The report highlights areas such as Health and Wellbeing, Jobs and the Economy, Crime and Safety, and Culture, Media and Sport. It underscores the importance of youth engagement in shaping policies and services that affect their lives.  [Worth submitting as evidence to the current Co-Produced Youth Strategy process at DCMS – Ed]

⚡Youth Councils numbers down?  YMCA new research ymca-youth-services-beyond-the-brink.pdf suggests that local authorities have fewer youth councils to ‘consult’ young people about the provision of local services preferring surveys. Based on FOI request responses only 41% now have a youth council, compared with 92% in 2012 (British Youth Council survey).  Our next feature will explore why – subscribe to get it by email.                      

⚡NEWs 30/1/25 Welsh Youth Parliament priority campaigns to be debated live on Senedd TVin the Welsh Assembly’s debating chamber 10.00 am on Saturday 22 February. Members, aged 11-17, of whom 40 elected by constituencies and 20 by organisations memberships for 2 years, in Dec 24, will choose three topics for the year ahead. Welsh Youth Parliament

OPPORTUNITIES 4YP 

 Opportunity/Hackathon, £50 –  Aged 14-20, UK?  and want to take part in our Vodafone Group Youth Hackathons? “Creating a Global Youth Charter for young people using smartphones; Rewriting the rules on safety, so they work for young people,; Problem-solving their Big Tech challenges. Come to three virtual workshops in February half term and share your thoughts! You’ll be given £50 to help Vodafone Group”  Vodafone Group Youth Hackathons

 Opportunity  16-25? Calling all young changemakers aged 16-25! Do you have experience with school exclusion, contact with the police or youth justice system? We’re growing our Youth Advisory Board, and would love to hear from you if you want to help prevent young people becoming involved in violence.  Commitment = 5 x hrs/month , Recognition up to £100.  Youth Advisory Board | Youth Endowment Fund

#YOUTHVOICE@POLITICS WATCH

⚡28/1/25 POLL: Channel 4 commissioned poll of 13-27 yr olds highlights disenchantment with democracy & underlines case for political education. Gen Z: Trends, Truth and Trust: Most Gen Z wants UK to become a dictatorship, survey finds | The Independent

⚡NEWS: Youth Strategy MINISTER Updates House of Commons: DCMS Sec State Lisa Nandy MP confirms youth advisory committee and expert group recruitment is underway in HoC answer. Reaffirming commitment to youthvoice leading the process. Interim report expected in Spring with launch in Summer. Link for Hansard text here – National Youth Strategy – Hansard – UK Parliament   Young Advisors to meet this week (3-7 Feb)

⚡UK Youth Parliament will debate and vote on five specific topics in House of Commons on 28th February.  These are expected to include Votes at 16 plus more political education, equal minimum wage, free public transport for young people, and free accessible period products. The debate will also include a slot for reps from British Overseas Territories to debate their priority issues otsmymreport2024.pdf More info to come…

#YOUTHVOICE Resource/Guidance 16/2/25

⚡Guiding principles – Youthled Social Action, by Youth Access (national membership body for advice and counselling services] has just published Guiding principles for youth-led social action | Youth Access Created in collaboration with young people in social action roles at Kent Refugee Action Network (KRAN), The Traveller Movement, Gendered Intelligence, Young Persons Advisory Service Liverpool and 42nd Street Manchester. In addition to the staff members in the organisations supporting them, as well as The Young Changemakers Programme (The Diana Award), Children in Need’s We Move Fund, No5 Young People and Free to Be You. |   More resources are archived at YoungVoicesHeard/News website in the Resources menu.

#RECOGNITION Health Best Practice call. “We are looking for fantastic examples of children, young people & family engagement in improving child health services 20 will be selected to create posters for the RCPCH Conference #RCPCH25 Deadline 20 Feb at 10am Complete your entry here” https://forms.office.com/e/Qtr9sz9Yvh  

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⚡PREVIOUSLY

⚡OPPORTUNITY – 16-30 UK ? Invitation from charity My Life My Say  young CEO Dan Lawes … “We’re looking for 16 young people to steer our next national campaign. Yes, it’s a huge one. We can’t tell you much… but we can tell you that it’s about building a democracy that includes young voices. [No prizes for guessing what if is !!Editor] Critically, you don’t have to work in the political space to get involved. We’re keen to hear from arts organisations, sports groups and youth centres that work with young people between the ages of 16-30 ready to step up. To make sure that you’re on the list of partners receiving the email with more details, ping me a message at dan@mlms.org.uk. If you’re a young person reading this – get your organisation, school, youth centre to email me!!  

⚡RESEARCH ARTICLE Dec 24 – Interesting article for champions and architects of youth participation and the expectations we set. Titled “Participating in the impasse? The cruel optimism of the youth participatory democratic project fantasy” the first para starts… “Participatory research often claims to inspire and empower young people to change their lives and communities but what if the problems are entrenched, and the world remains intransigent?”   Participating in the impasse – D3.pdf

⚡OPPORTUNITY – HAVE YOUR SAY on care experiences with CoramVoice – Children in care/Careleavers 4-25 “We are delighted to announce that. Voices 2025 is now open for entries We can’t wait to read your poems, raps, stories and more!” Entries close: 23/03/2025 – Find out more http://coramvoice.org.uk/voices

✅RESOURCE – launched by The Centre for Youth Voice, Dec24. The “Observatory” aims to illuminate meaningful examples of youth voice activity occurring across the UK, to support us all to expand our knowledge or strengthen our own approaches in youth voice practice. Whether you’re looking for evidence to support your work, examples of tested methods to embed in your organisation, or simply curious about how others are engaging young people Browse here 👉 https://bit.ly/3VbcdUY  More resources are archived in the Resources menu on YoungVoicesHeard/News website.

⚡ FEATURE /Blog) YOUTH STRATEGY Co-Production Head appointed. DCMS appoints Kayleigh Wainwright as Head of Youth Strategy Engagement, on secondment from charity UK Youth. She will “ensure the the new National Youth Strategy is co-produced with young people and the youth sector”  More info on her role/Reaction in our  FEATURE  Sec of State Lisa Nany announced this cooperative approach in Nov 2024 New National Youth Strategy to break down barriers to opportunity for young people – GOV.UK