Why should we care?

Those who regularly read my blog will know that for the past few months I have been working with a organisation called Shout Out UK. There purpose is to give give young people a voice who are otherwise ignored by traditional media. 

I have also been working on the 'Why Should We Care?' event (ran by shout out uk) which aims to get politics onto the national curriculum and to show people that it is more then just arguing in parliament, it is about them.

This Saturday (20th april) I got to finally see the launch of the campaign and see a lot of hard work start to pay off. Of course the work has only just started, and this event will be the first of many. I wrote about the event on the Shout Out UK website, which can be viewed here.

The event started off with a simple networking session for everyone to get to know each other, then everyone took there place in the chambers and after a short film were welcomed by Marsha Thompson. The debate then started. Everything about the debate is in the article so I don't need to go into details here, but the main talking points were, the rise in tuition fees, the loss of the EMA, the relationship between media and politics, the cost of travel for young people and the role of the UKYP.

It was clear that everyone was passionate about the days issues, but there was also a great deal of respect between different parties, Of course there were times that I forgot that I was reporting on the debate and I had to join in, but before you give me that look, I did manage to plug Shout Out's twitter.

The debate lasted almost two hours before it brought to a close, and it was clear that we all could have talked all the way into next week.

I got involved with this campaign because I know that the young people of this country are fantastic, and they have the ability to change the world and make it a much better place, they just need a little nudge and the right tools. This campaign will give them those tools to get involved with politics and change the world.

One of the most stupid things that you can say is, 'I don't care' or 'I don't find it interesting  because it will not make you immune to the governments. Politics is not like football or a soap opera, you can't just ignore it. You should know how your country is run, and what the people running it are doing, that way you can hold them to account when they step out of line.

This bit is the blogging equivalent of a YouTube end screen. The bit that is in the background while you choose the next video.

If you want more information about the why should we care campaign you can go to shoutoutuk.org

You can follow Shoutout on twiiter or facebook

If you want to get involved with ShoutoutUK or want to help spread news on issue which affect or interest you, or if you want to launch your own campaign, send a email to editor@shoutoutuk.org 

You can also follow me on twitter