Lord Puttnam invites teens to pitch new laws at Parliament
Released by Mango Marketing 16.04.2010
With the election currently at the forefront of the media, it is now time for young people to have their say. Inspired by the online campaigning success of Barack Obama, six groups of high flying teen campaigners have been invited to the Houses of Parliament to present their ideal laws to an expert panel of judges, including Lord David Puttnam, on Thursday 22 April 2010.
The project, run by Radiowaves, the safe social media network for schools, and Parliament’s Education Service has seen secondary school students from Bristol and London create videos and web campaigns for the law they would most like to see introduced. Thousands of young people from across the UK have been watching the videos and joining the debate online.
The ‘Lights, Camera, Parliament’ project, aims to engage young people in democracy and help refresh their view of parliament. It has inspired thousands of students across England to be proactive and become involved in campaigning and law making.
Film producer and Member of Parliament, Lord Puttnam comments: “A better understanding of democracy and the way Parliament’s decisions affect our lives has never been more important. Here is a brilliant new initiative designed to have exactly this effect.”
The project has revealed that young people’s concerns relate to a range of surprising issues, with proposed laws including a three day weekend, finding homes for the homeless and a curfew for under 18s. The finalists attend the following schools, Bristol Metropolitan Academy, Thoams Hardye High School, Gaynes School and Language College, Hackney Free and Parochial School, Knowle West Media Centre, Fairfield High School.
Radiowaves’ communications director, Cliff Manning comments: “It is often assumed that young people are not interested in politics, when in reality they care a great deal but the problem lies in the fact that the medium used to reach them is not usually relevant. With social networking, blogging and podcasting young people can take part in democracy in a way that’s meaningful for them. Radiowaves has over 30,000 young people registered and with safety checks in place they can use it in school with the added benefit of assured child security.”
Anna Wredenfors, learning leader for media from Fairfield High School, Bristol, reveals: “We live in a highly technology-dominated society; young people are increasingly demanding of web and social capabilities. Providing young people with a safe and user-friendly social networking platform is truly empowering and encourages them to become involved in important and key issues such as politics. Through the Radiowaves project, we have seen our students gain the confidence to form mature and well-considered opinions about complex topics.”
E: Vikki.bulbeck@mangomarketing.com T: 01932 829077
