Mayor launches new website for young Londoners
| Young Londoners can find out what's going on and how to get around. |
Young Londoners are being encouraged to take a greater role in the life of the capital with the help of a specially designed website aimed specifically at them.
The Mayor of London, Ken Livingstone, described himself and fellow politicians as “old wrinkly people” and warned that the decisions they made now would impact on young people in years to come.
He was speaking at the launch of ‘Young London’ a new GLA website which aims to get young Londoners more involved in what’s happening in their city and to give them a chance to air their views.
Sixteen-year-old Toni Ann, who helped to put the website together, said: “It’s a great idea. Young Londoners can find out what’s going on and how to get around.”
She added that she and her friends would be using the website in the future.
The website is part of the GLA’s strategy to target problems facing young people and is divided into sections targeted at younger children, teenagers and youth workers.
Young people who have been involved in designing and writing for the website, said they felt it was important that it focused on issues like drugs, bullying, and healthy eating because they were things that affected many young Londoners on a daily basis.
Kingsley, 13, said he thought this type of information would appealto young people but he added that many would not know about the website and would need to be encouraged to visit it.
Information on the website will be sent to all schools in London and it is planned that the web address will feature on the oyster-style cards guaranteeing free travel for 14 and 15 year olds from September.
The GLA are eager for the Young London website to be seen as key source of information and guidance across age groups but as Kingsley rightly points out, its success will be determined by the number of young Londoners who actually know about it.
About the team
This story was produced by Mojda Hashermyan 15, Rachel Schon 17 and Fikir Assefa 17. It was published by BBC London website.
