Young people tell us the laws they want, with the help of social networking site Radiowaves
Bristol Metropolitan Academy students’ proposed law, ‘Young children copy – ban smoking in public places’, has been selected as the winner of a new social media project aimed at inspiring young people to become involved in campaigning and law making in the UK.
With electoral reform a hot topic, and politicians considering lowering the voting age to 16, junior lawmakers convened yesterday to give a taste of the controversial legislation that might result, as part of the Lights, Camera, Parliament project.
Lord Puttnam announced the winner of the project, organised by the Parliament’s Education Service and the free, safe social networking site, Radiowaves, at the Houses of Parliament on Thursday 22 April 2010. Secondary students from London and Bristol had been asked to create videos and web campaigns on laws they would like to see passed through parliament, and thousands of other students across the UK joined the debate by watching these videos on the Radiowaves social network.
As a member of the House of Lords and an Oscar winning film producer, Lord Puttnam recognises what makes a good law and innovative film clip, commenting: “It’s a fantastic competition and has allowed us to access schools and encourage them to become engaged in the notion of citizenship. Our job here is to pass laws and the laws we’ve seen today have been imaginative. It really surprised me that kids would want to push the smoking ban that much further. Not only was it a good law, and well explained, but the students’ film was also very imaginative.”
Ian Garforth, maths teacher from Bristol Metropolitan Academy reveals: “It was great to see the motivation and proactive involvement throughout this project. The students have thrived on using social media site, Radiowaves, to actively become involved in law making; it has provided them with a voice.”
The judging panel comprised:
• Lord Puttnam (Chair) (Film producer and member of the House of Lords)
• Baroness Morris of Bolton (Shadow Minister for Women, Work and Pensions spokesperson)
• Tom O’Leary (Head of Parliament’s Education Service:)
• Leigh Thomas (CEO of First Light Films)
• Tom Robbins (Young battlefront campaigner:)
To find out about other Radiowaves projects and how your school can become involved in the Radiowaves community please visit: www.radiowaves.co.uk
