Can youth team turn the PM into a listening man?
| They bombard you with promises but nothing ever happens. I hope this will be different. |
We've been seen and not heard for far too long. But it appears that Tony Blair may finally be realising that young people are important and that we should have a voice. The recently launched government Children and Young People's Unit (CYPU) has set up a brand new initiative which will hopefully put young people firmly into the political arena.
Its Youth Forum - the first of its kind - will consist of around 30 children aged between 10 and 17 from different ethnic and social backgrounds across England. Its aim is to advise the government on youth issues as well as suggesting possible improvements to existing schemes with affect young people.
Amongst those selected to sit on the forum are Annabel Mcleod (14) and Akosua Bonsu (15), two intelligent black girls from the youth news agency, Children's Express. The girls, both from London, are very excited to be chosen.
"It's a great opportunity" says Akosua. "I didn't actually think that I'd be selected." Annabel was just as shocked to be chosen, saying "It came as a complete surprise. I jumped for joy when I heard."
Adam Thompson, 11, from Stourbridge in the West Midlands said: "I'm really looking forward to meeting government officials. With so many pressing issues around like youth poverty its really good to help make youth policies. I'd like to make a difference. I really want my views to be heard."
60 children were invited to an initial meeting last month to discuss their hopes and fears for the forum. The children either belonged to youth organisations or other forums for young people.
The one thing that concerned many of them we spoke to at the launch of the project was if all this was just talk and very little action from the government.
Akosua continued: "It's okay to stage the event in a five star hotel with impressive food but we want results. The idea of involving young people in important government decisions is not a new one but in my opinion it has mostly in the past been patronising rubbish from people with a tokenistic attitude."
Many of the children who were chosen have been involved in similar schemes - at local and national level - in the past which have not worked. But they hope this one will be different.
'You go to these events and they bombard you with promises. But nothing ever happens. I hope this will be different,' Akosua continued.
"I feel it has taken far too long before the government has finally decided to listen to the voice of children," agreed Annabel.
The Youth Forum members we spoke to are eager to begin the important task of advising the government. And next week they'll get the chance to put their views to the Government's new youth minister, John Denham.
The Youth Forum will hopefully be in a position to influence those in power. Children's Express itself is no stranger to getting the voice of its young journalists heard by Mr Blair's government.
In 1999 we presented evidence to the Government's Social Exclusion Unit on life on estates for young people as well as teenage pregnancies. We're currently interviewing young runaways to help the government with its strategy on homeless teenagers. And in April we went to Downing Street to hear from the Prime Minister himself on his government's youth polices as part of a series of TV reports for Sky News.
Bharti Mepani one of the senior staff at the Children and Young People's Unit said the new forum is a vital part of the government's youth policy, but acknowledges the scheme has potential problems.
"It's clear that children and young people do want to be involved in influencing government and here's an opportunity. We're not going to get everything right. It's a massive risk to do something on a national scale where young peoples' voices will influence government. We're looking forward to it and hope it will work."
That opinion is echoed by all the children who are involved.
About the team
This article was produced by the Children's Express London Bureau. It was published as part of Teen Talk, the Children's Express page in New Nation.
