Media release
18 May 2016
Shadow EU Referendum for North East Youngsters
Notes
On June 16 2016, exactly one week before the public vote on the EU Referendum, young people aged 16-25-years-old will be taking part in an online vote to gauge their views on the EU Referendum.
Youth Focus: North East, a regional youth work charity based in Gateshead, has been working with the My Manifesto young person’s steering group and a local digital developer to create the online voting system that will utilise social media. The online app is designed to capture the views of 16-25-year-olds who are living in the region giving information on how they as a group would vote, testing the waters for engaging young people in politics using digital tools.
The online app will be unveiled at two hustings events held simultaneously in Gateshead and the Tees Valley area on May 18. During these events, young people will be able to hear from spokespeople from the Remain and Leave camps as well as have the opportunity to ask questions directly about issues affecting young people in the region.
This is fundamentally one of the most important decisionsever entrusted to the British public yet young people, who are going to inherit the fallout regardless of the decision on June 23, are not being included in the debates and the voting age of 16 as seen in the Scottish Independence Referendum has been scrapped in favour of 18+.
The fact of the matter is that there aremyriad issues that being a member of the EU affectsranging from freedom of movement, employment, education (universities rely on 16% of their funding coming from Europe), other EU members seeking their own withdrawal, Scotland seeking another independence referendum, and many other matters that may not immediately come to mind when thinking about the decision.
That such a decision would impact on the lives of children and young people, it seems strange to us that the vote was not extended to 16-17-year-olds – especially after the Scottish Referendum during which 80% of eligible 16-17 year olds registered to vote. Away from Scotland, the Labour leadership election seemed toignite a political passion in young peopleyet there seems to be a reluctance to include young people in politics in England.
We have been delivering political engagement drop-in sessions throughout the North East region with varied groups of young people asking them what politics means to them. Amongst the more obvious answers such as ‘laws’, ‘David Cameron’ and ‘voting’ there have been some very interesting reactions. Privacy, health, the quality of schools, mental health support, racism, islamophobia, disability discrimination, and media bias/representation all emerged as themes throughout discussions.
What this tells us is that young people are aware of political issues. It tells us young people are capable of understanding ramifications and cause and effect. Finally, it tells us that young people 16-17 should absolutely be involved in the debate, and their vote should be considered. After all, regardless of the outcome, they are the ones inheriting the fall out.
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Media enquiries:
Contact:Jamie Mercer, Regional Development Officer, 0191 477 9966
Youth Focus: North East, Suite 6, New Century House, West Street, Gateshead, NE8 1HR. Tel: (0191) 477 9966. Find us at: Twitter.com/YouthFocusNE or facebook.com/YouthFocusNE
Notes to editors:
About Youth Focus: North East
Established in 1989, Youth Focus: North East (formerly Regional Youth Work Unit – North East) is a regional hub connecting young people and the organisations and professionals who support them.
Progressive and dynamic, our award-winning organisation is rooted in the values of youth work. We support a network of over 1500 organisations and individuals concerned with improving the lives of young people. Supporting the development of quality services – we want young people to have the best from the organisations they access and the professionals who work with them.
We see the potential, not the problems, in young people. We develop responses and demonstration projects that attempt to address big issues in young people’s lives. We also create space for young people to explore different issues and ideas; working alongside them to formulate responses.
Youth Focus: North East amplifies the voice of young people so they can be heard and we open up doors to new opportunities for both young people and professionals across the North East.
About My Manifesto
At Youth Focus: North East we are currently running a political engagement and awareness project called My Manifesto, funded by the Ballinger Charitable Trust. The aim of the project is to put politics in plain English for young people and to encourage all under-25s to take part in the political debate. When people talk about politics thoughts tend to meander towards ‘Big P’ politics when in fact politics actually impacts the majority of everyday interactions.