Posts Tagged ‘participation’
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v’s robot warmly welcomed into Parliament
Well, we did it. We put a robot in Parliament. Not just any robot I have to say, a robot that writes out, word for word, what young people care most about - delivering those messages directly to the politicians. At a time when only 3% of young people have ever contacted their MP, the robot - nicknamed Voicebot - is a very modern twist on writing a letter to your MP.
Voicebot in Parliament
The Voicebot is part of v’s proactive research campaign called Voicebox.
At a reception hosted by Tim Loughton MP, shadow minister for children and young people, to launch the robot’s week-long stay in parliament, lots of MP’s got to hear about the project and meet with the robot itself.
Tim Loughton MP, shadow minister for children and young people talking with v volunteers
Speaking at the launch Tim Loughton MP said, ‘Voicebox puts young people right at the heart of democracy. This is a great initiative bringing politicians and young people together’.
Other MP’s visiting the robot, reading young peoples’ cares and talking to the v volunteers included Angela Smith MP, Minister for the Third Sector, who commented, ‘Young people are our future and it is vital that we listen and understand their needs and concerns. Voicebox is an excellent two-way communication tool. It has the potential to give us real insight, helping us to take action that is truly effective where it most counts’.
Angela Smith MP, Minister for the Third Sector reading young peoples cares
Terry Ryall, chief executive of v reminded those at the launch that ’hundreds of thousands of young people want to make the world a better place. The challenge for politicians everywhere is to take risks with new ways to engage young people ‘.
The full results of the research underpinning the robot is being fed into v’s project with the think tank Demos, A New Anatomy of Youth.
More pics of the launch available here.
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Robot enters House of Commons to Show MPs what Young People Care About
As MPs go back to work at Parliament today, v’s new research has shown that just 10% of young people believe politicians are best able to change the country. The data collected through Voicebox shows that young people are caring, considerate, articulate and passionate. We hope our interactive robot in the Houses of Commons is an innovative way to make MPs sit up and take notice.
At a time when only 3% of young people have ever contacted their MP, the robot – nicknamed Voicebot - is a very modern twist on writing a letter to your MP. Until Thursday, young people can visit a website, put in what they care about and the robot will write it out, stroke by stroke, word by word, directly to the politicians.
Voicebot has been collecting comments from 1000s of young people.
The study and robot come at a time when respect among the public for the political classes is at an all time low. A study published earlier this year by Hansard Society indicates that currently only 24% of 18 to 24 year olds are certain to vote in the next general election - the lowest of all groups by a long way. And, contrary to some images, young people are the least likely of all age groups to be politically active - just 4%.
The full results of the Voicebox are also being fed into even more detailed work with the think tank Demos, looking at young people and their relationship with power and politics. This project, titled An Anatomy of Youth will review: young people’s portrayal in media, their presence in recent policy debates and existing information on young people’s behaviours and their attitudes.
Voicebot is part of v’s proactive research campaign called Voicebox, with over 5,000 people having taken part so far. The project is live and constantly evolving. The more young people that participate the more accurate picture we’ll create of young Britons today. Over the coming months, Voicebox will continue to collect and share data about lifestyles, attitudes and behaviours of young Britons. In an age when young people are using social media more and more, Voicebox uses new and interactive social media to engage young people.
Want to find out more about the data we’re collecting? Have a look at the results here.
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Robot gives young people a voice in Westminster
Throughout October, as part of Voicebox, v’s youth insight and empowerment project, a writing robot will be installed in the Houses of Parliament. Its role is to take the views of individual young people from all over England right to the heart of the UK’s political system; voicing young people’s concerns, in their own words, in the corridors of power.
v, the National Young Volunteers’ Service, and Sidekick Studios have created The Voicebot, an industrial web-enabled writing robot arm which writes out the messages sent via the internet. We pose the question, ‘what do you care about?’ and their answer is written out and recorded for all to see. In October, The Voicebot and the messages it has recorded will be displayed in a unique installation within the very walls of Houses of Parliament, literally getting the views held by young people under the noses of MPs.
v aims to tell the government what people really care about (in less than 160 characters). Its like updating your Facebook status, but its a direct conversation with the government. Like this example, from the Wired blog (see also their top 5 bizarre Twitter replacements).
“I care about my Mum with Alzheimer’s, I take care of her every day but she doesn’t even know who I am. Can you help us?”
The aim is to demonstrate that people, and young people in particular, do have views and opinions on politics, they just might not want to communicate via the traditional channels provided to them. Not many people can be bothered to write a letter to their MP, but if it was a bit easier maybe they would…
Another real prompt for action is the fact messing around with a writing robot is just kind of cool. Political agenda aside, visitors to the site want to see if it really works and this is a compelling motivation to send a message.
v are aiming this activity at 16-25 year olds but anyone of any age can send a message via The Voicebot. Messages sent by over 25s have their own digital image created and are logged in a digital gallery on Flickr. People aged 16-25 get emailed a photo of their message in the flesh - check out what they’re talking about on the results page.
We have one month to get as many people as possible to send their message and ensure we have a big impact on the Houses of Parliament. Spread the word - and try it out for yourself here.
The Voicebot from sidekick studios on Vimeo.
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Promoting a Creative Generation
Today marks the start of Promoting a Creative Generation, a two-day conference in Göteborg looking at the role of children and young people in the new culture and media landscape.
Taking place within the context of the European Year of Creativity and Innovation and hosted under the Swedish Presidency of the European Union, 350 experts and participants will discuss the creativity and cultural habits of children and young people.
Gunnar Seijbold/ Regeringskansliet.
Swedish Minister for Culture Lena Adelsohn Liljeroth says, “this conference is to learn more about both the possibilities and problems of the new culture and media landscape that our children and young people encounter. The digital cultural platforms create new and often difficult issues that, despite their different starting points, are clearly related. And it is almost always young people who are affected”.Keynote speakers include Renad Qubbaj from the Tamer Institute for Community Education in Ramallah and Professor Bamford, Director of Cultural Programmes for Creativity, Culture and Education (CCE), London.
The conference programme focuses on different aspects of daily life for children and young people, recognising that, today, children and young people are to a great extent not only consumers but also producers in the new media landscape. Sessions will look at how to strengthen children and young people’s right to culture, how traditional cultural institutions can find ways to remain attractive and accessible for the new generation, promote the exchange of experience and knowledge on how public investments can help to ensure that children and young people’s right to culture in all forms is guaranteed and will also include participants trying out the younger generation’s world of digital communication.
The opening and closing sessions can be watched via webcast
In the UK, very similar questions are being raised by The New Deal of the Mind coalition, chaired by the journalist and former political editor of the New Statesman, Martin Bright. The New Deal of the Mind is a grouping of like-minded individuals who believe we must not let the recession crush creativity and innovation. Learning the lessons of Franklin D. Roosevelt’s 1930s New Deal, the coalition believes the creative and digital industries can help provide a route through the recession for young people and others. Check out their latest report, ‘Do It Yourself: Cultural and Creative Self-Employed in Hard Times’, exploring self employment options in the cultural and creative sector.
Of course this blog celebrates how creativity and innovation are changing youth volunteering, but revolutionising how young people can share their time and talents with others is becoming of much broader concern, across many sectors.
Any thoughts on these issues?
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Resource Document: Innovations in International Volunteering
I was interested to find out about Innovations for Civic Participation, an organisation that promotes the creation of opportunities for young people to engage with their communities. Based in the US, it encourages the creation of a network of organisations that are active and committed to the case of youth participation in civic activities. The ICP is involved in a range of programmes, details of which may be an interesting read for people involved in youth volunteering.
In 2008, V commissioned the ICP to conduct a study of 22 innovative youth volunteering programmes from around the world - the resulting document is a good read for anyone working in the sector.
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Nice piece, yourself.
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