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The next HeadsUp forum is on Sex Education and will take place from 1-19 March. HeadsUp is for 11-18 year olds that want to discuss the political issues that matter to them, with the people that make the decisions that affect them.
Decision-makers involved so far include:
- Annette Brooke MP
- Mike Hancock MP
- Jenny Anderson AM
- Janet Ryder AM
- Bethan Jenkins AM
- Anna Martinez - Sex Education Forum
There is lots of information about sexual issues and sex education on the forum so that the young people involved can have a well informed debate.
Visit the student BackUp infomation here. There are also comprehensive Teachers' Notes to introduce your class to the topics and some activities to get you started online and offline. Visit the Teachers' notes here.
If you or someone you know want to take part go to www.headsup.org.uk to register.
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From 28 September - 16 October HeadsUp ran its first forum of the
academic year, with support from the Department of
Energy and Climate Change (DECC), looking at the issue of climate change in the run up to the
UN Summit in Copenhagen on December 7.
The forum was the most successful one
to date with over 1,000 posts and involvement from a number of key
decision-makers, including Joan Ruddock MP (Minister of State, DECC)
and Caroline Lucas MEP (Leader of the Green Party). Download the HeadsUp Climate Change Report here.
Climate Change Question Time with Gordon Brown, Ed Milliband and Baroness Kinnock
A group of young people from schools who partcipated in the HeadsUp forum on climate change attended an exclusive Question Time debate
in advance of the critical United Nations Copenhagen climate change
summit due to start on 7 December. For more information about what was
said by Gordon Brown, Ed Milliband and Baroness Kinnock visit the Channel 4 News website for some clips of the event.
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With the general election less than six months away a group of young people from around London have been interviewing politicians in Parliament to quiz them about issues that affect them. The group are aged 13 to 19, meaning some of them will be voting for the first time in the forthcoming election. The collaborative project has been organised by the Hansard Society's citizenship education programme and Headliners - a journalism programme for young people aged 8 to 19.
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HeadsUp will be hosting an online forum on the Economy between Monday 23 November and Friday 11 December. The collapse of the banking system and the subsequent recession affects young people even more than other groups as they are often the worst affected and will have to live with the implications of decisions taken. Consequently it is important that young people engage with the key issues and are able to have their views fed into policy decisions.
Mark Todd MP and Sally Keeble MP, who are members of the Treasury Select Committee which holds the government to account over its handling of the economy, will be listening and participating in the debate. Their involvement in the forum ensures that the views of young people will be fed into policy debate and decisions. To see all the decision-makers getting involved click here.
The forum will be split into four threads that will look at different aspects of the economic downturn:
Youth Unemployment – what do you think the government should do to tackle rising youth unemployment?
Spending Cuts – what public services do you think should be cut or saved?
The End of Capitalism – what would a world without money look like, would it be better or worse than now?
Economic Literacy – do you think it is important to be taught how to manage your money?
The forum can be viewed by anyone without registration and includes lots of useful information about the economy and the issues being discussed. The economy forum is the perfect tool for Citizenship, PSHE, Economics and Business Studies teachers to bring this topic to life. Click here to register as a teacher, youth worker or student.
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On Friday 30th of October over 300 hundred members of the UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) made history as they held their annual debate in the House of Commons. It was the first time that anyone other than a sitting MP had been allowed to sit on the green benches of the debating chamber. The UKYP have 600 elected members aged between 11-18. More than 50% of members of the Youth Parliament are female, 22% from ethnic minorities and 3% with disabilities. In the last two years over one million young people have participated in elections.
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www.mockelections.co.uk
The Hansard Society is proud to launch our new look Y Vote Mock Election website! The new look Web 2.0 site is easier to navigate and is an essential tool for teachers wishing to run a mock election in their school.
Click here to read about new features and resources or go to www.mockelections.co.uk and take a look.
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HeadsUp is hosting an online debate for young people on climate change in advance of the UN summit taking place in Copenhagen in December. They will discuss the issues with a range of decision-makers and policy-makers who will feed their views into discussions at the global summit.
The debate will take place from 28 September - 16 October and is supported by the Department for Energy and Climate Change who will be sending a delegation to the talks.
Joan Ruddock MP, Minister of State for the Department of Energy and Climate Change, will be taking part in the forum and ensuring that the young people’s views are fed into the government’s strategy for the Copenhagen summit. Ms Ruddock MP said about the forum:
“This is an excellent initiative and it gives me great pleasure to be involved with the Hansard Society. They provide a hugely valuable service in engaging young people with the political system in the UK, and this debate on climate change promises to be both exciting and important…I have always been a strong supporter of young people’s involvement in political processes, and your enthusiasm, energy and ideas are a vibrant and welcome influence in international decision-making, particularly decisions as critical as climate change."
For more information about the other decision-makers getting involved visit the who's listening? section....
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At just 27 years old Chloe Smith (Conservative) has become the House of Commons' youngest MP by winning the Norwich North seat vacated by Labour's Ian Gibson. Chloe beat the Labour candidate Chris Ostrowski by 13,591 votes to 6,243 - a swing of 16.5%.
She is the Conservative's youngest MP in 30 years - and their youngest ever female MP. The previous 'baby of the House' was Jo Swinson (Liberal Democrat) who is now 29 years old, but was only 25 when first elected in 2005.
On her website Chloe commented, "I'm certainly younger than the average MP, but I think that's a good thing at the moment – we need some fresh blood in parliament, and people with drive and energy … As far as I'm concerned: if you're good enough, you're old enough."
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HeadsUp the Hansard Society's innovative online forum, where under 18's can discuss politicial issues with MPs, has had it's most successful year since it started in 2003! Registrations have doubled since September and we've had two of the busiest forums - Youth Citizenship Commission...are young people allergic to politics? and Crime in Britain :: How big is the problem? - ever! So to all those that took part thanks very much for your input it really makes the project what it is.
The forums topics and dates for next year will be:
Climate Change *special debate with the Department for Energy and Climate Change to inform the UN conference in Copenhagen* – 28 September – 16 October
The Economy – 23 November – 11 December
Sex Education – 1 March – 19 March
The General Election (subject to change) – 26 April – 14 May
Politics and Politicians – 21 June – 9 July
If you'd like to find out more about how to get involved in the HeadsUp project please contact Beccy Allen - r.allen@hansard.lse.ac.uk
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Independents and ‘others’ attract under-18s / Conservatives are largest party / Greens do particularly well with young people
Young people taking part in the Hansard Society Y Vote Mock Elections for the European Parliament returned fewer MEPs for the main political parties than their adult counterparts in the real Euro elections. All major parties saw a drop in support; the Conservative Party was the largest party with 17 seats and the Green Party was the only one that performed better in the mock elections. However, independents and parties created by pupils themselves were the big winners.