Active citizenship>Where to have your say - United Kingdom
- Big Listen
- How do you go about 'having your say', especially if you’re not confident about speaking out? Maybe you think adults won’t listen to you anyway? From this page you can download a guide to lobbying politicians and other influential folk, and a practical guide explaining how you can express yourself at home, at school and in your community.
- http://www.biglisten.co.uk/publications.html [EN]
- British Youth Council
- The council provides a voice for young people aged under 26 and living in the UK. Find out more about the council's current campaigns, and learn how you can get involved.
- http://www.byc.org.uk [EN]
- Carnegie Young People Initiative
- If you’re aged 10-25 and want to take part in public decision making, this is the site for you. Getting involved in decision making can boost your self-esteem, skills and responsibility. Find out more here.
- http://www.carnegie-youth.org.uk [EN]
- Citizen Power
- A guide to being an active citizen, covering topics such as how government works, animal rights, global issues and human rights. Includes information on how you can make your voice heard. There are polls where you can vote and opportunities for having your say on a range of topics. Uses Flash.
- http://www.channel4.com/learning/microsites/C/citizenpower/index2.htm [EN]
- Directgov - Have your say on your rights
- The United Nations Convention on the Rights of a Child gives you a number of important rights and makes sure you can get your voice heard. The government must follow these rights when they make any decisions that affect you or your life.
So, make your opinion heard!
- http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/YoungPeople/DG_064462 [EN]
- Headliners
- Online newspaper written by young people and designed for everyone. Current affairs and news commentary, plus articles on children's rights, sport, arts and more. If you're aged 8-18, find out about writing articles for the site.
- http://www.headliners.org/ [EN]
- Headsup
- Is it really true that young people are more interested in Big Brother than they are in politics?
If you disagree, and are aged 18 or under, then you can use this site to air your views on all things political. Or you can just laugh at the graphics of politicians with big heads. You can link to the site for Scotland here as well.
- http://www.headsup.org.uk/ [EN]
- Our World, Our Say
- Enables people to have their say on important global issues, such as war. Reconnects ordinary citizens with politicians so that their views and voices can be heard. You can register to take part in a virtual lobby.
- http://www.ourworldoursay.org/ [EN]
- School Councils UK
- You have to be there day in, day out until you're at least 16, so you might as well have some influence over what happens there. School councils are designed to help you get your opinions across and make a contribution to improving the environment of your school and surrounding community.
- http://www.schoolcouncils.org [EN]
- Speak Out!
- From the Institute for Citizenship. Want to talk about European citizenship issues? Don't know what it's all about and want to learn more? Then try the discussion forums, which are open to everyone. There are also a number of debates that take place across the country on specific dates.
- http://www.citizen.org.uk/speakout/index.php4 [EN]
- The Newspaper
- Online newspaper for young people. Read up on topics such as art, sport, science and health, as well as topical news stories from the UK and around the world. You can also write in with your own views on particular issues.
- http://www.thenewspaper.org.uk [EN]
- UK Youth Parliament
- The parliament gives people aged 11 to 18 a platform for their views. It aims to get politicians and agencies to listen to what young people think. You can take part in the voting, or stand for election as a member of the youth parliament (MYP).
- http://www.ukyouthparliament.org.uk/index2.html [EN]
- YouGov.com
- This company provides research on what the British public thinks. You can vote online on a range of diverse issues, from football corruption to whether Harry Potter is any good or not. You can also vote on the same issues as Parliament. The results are emailed to MPs before they vote and the final results are posted back to citizens.
- http://www.yougov.com [EN]
- Young National Children's Bureau
- Encourages young people to speak out, vote, debate and argue on topics that you find interesting or important. There is a section with information on politics and voting, making schools work and child poverty.
- http://www.youngncb.org.uk [EN]
- England: Local Government Association
- Many local councils in England have a youth cabinet, where young people living in local areas can meet and air their views on matters that affect them. You can find your local authority here, and contact it to see if it has a youth cabinet or not.
- http://www.lga.gov.uk [EN]
- Northern Ireland: Children and Young People's Unit
- The Unit was established to ensure that the rights and needs of children and young people living in Northern Ireland are given a high priority. Browse the website for more information on the legislation that affects children and young people.
- http://www.allchildrenni.gov.uk/ [EN]
- Northern Ireland: Northern Ireland Youth Forum
- Got a burning desire to get your opinions across? Want to meet other like-minded souls and make a change to your school, home, community, government and maybe even planet? If you’re aged 14-25 and based in Northern Ireland, the Forum can help you do just that.
- http://www.niyf.org [EN]
- Scotland: Highland Youth Voice
- An elected parliament of young people, based in the Highland region. It tries to ensure that all youth in the area have a chance to be heard, and it campaigns on issues that members feel are o important. You can read up on the latest news or take part in debates.
- http://www.highlandyouthvoice.org [EN]
- Scotland: Scottish Youth Parliament
- The parliament is made up of elected members aged 14 to 25. On this site you can take part in the public discussions, vote in the polls and find out how you can be part of the parliament. There are documents on various topics that you can download. You can also find out about the latest events.
- http://www.scottishyouthparliament.org.uk [EN]
- Scotland: Young Scot
- Get your point of view across on the discussion boards, or find out more about politics and getting active in your community. You can use the resources in this section, or try the local pages for information on what's available in your local area.
- http://www.youngscot.org/channels/haveyoursay [EN]
- Wales: Funky Dragon
- Young people can use this site to get their views across to politicians in the Welsh Assembly, and swap opinions with each other in the discussion forums. Vote online on a range of current political issues. You need Flash to view the site.
- http://www.funkydragon.org [EN][CY]
Last update: 24/05/2012 @ 14:11:17
Youth Programme