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Fri, 01 May 2015 14:21:00 BST
Politics students and staff from the University of Huddersfield recently hosted a regional workshop with members of the Kirklees Youth Council to discuss levels of political engagement among young people, in the council chamber of Huddersfield Town Hall. Working in small groups, the students and young councillors discussed their experiences of youth engagement with Parliament, identifying the benefits and limitations of greater digital democracy. They also brainstormed ideas for using technology to enhance this engagement, providing a number of innovative suggestions for new ways to communicate with politicians and other young citizens.
Academics at the University of Huddersfield have been at the forefront of national and local initiatives to politically engage young people and encourage democratic participation. For example, Dr Andy Mycock, Researcher in the Centre for Research in the Social Sciences and Reader in Politics recently led a UK-wide initiative, Beyond the Youth Citizenship Commission, to encourage political parties to adopt youth-centric policies that increase political literacy and activism. He also worked with Kirklees Council on the project ‘My Country, My Vote’, that encourages young people in local schools to work on campaigning projects and sign on the electoral register.
A persistent feature of British politics over the past decade or so has been growing anxieties amongst politicians, academics and commentators about rising levels of political disengagement, particularly amongst young people. Research has highlighted that young people are less engaged in traditional forms of politics, with only 44% of 18-24 year-olds voting in 2010. Moreover young people are increasingly reluctant to join political parties, do not trust politicians or understand the language they use and feel excluded from politics.
All of the groups involved in the workshop were keen to enhance the connectivity of young people with politicians and policy-makers, ensuring not only that their views were heard but that those ‘in power’ responded promptly and in a language they understood. The winning idea was the creation of a new ‘app’ for mobile phones and other platforms called ‘Parlichat’ which would allow individuals and groups of young people to connect with MPs, local councillors, journalists and others involved in policy-making that affected them by social media. Politicians would be expected to host regular ‘video’ constituency meetings with local schools at set times and young people would also be able to discuss and vote on policy issues in a dedicated ‘chatroom’.
Dr Mycock commented “the workshop was a great success and once again emphasised the strong commitment of the University of Huddersfield and Kirklees Council to developing youth citizenship”. The winning group then presented their idea to other students, academics and parliamentarians at a Parliament Week event in Westminster in November 2014.
