Posts Tagged ‘V’
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Our Year, Our Voice
On the 18th December 2009, The United Nations General Assembly proclaimed that the following year beginning the 12th August 2010 (that’s TODAY!) was to be known as The International Year of Youth: Dialogue and Mutual Understanding. This exciting development means that The General Assembly has spent the last month calling on governments, communities and individuals worldwide to support youth-focused activities on a local, national and international scale.
The United Nations have put specific focus on enhancing ‘Dialogue and Mutual Understanding’- the objective being to encourage communication and acceptance across generations and cultures; to promote the ideals of peace, respect for human rights, freedom, and solidarity.
So what does this mean to me?
It would appear that authorities everywhere now understand the importance of acknowledging the voice of youth in regards to social debate. Governments feel it is imperative that young people are engaged in a significant and sustainable manner and they are now turning to young people everywhere in an attempt to improve relationships, enhance understanding and solidify respect between generations, cultures and societies.
“The International Year is about advancing the full and effective participation of youth in all aspects of society,” UN Focal Point on Youth Nicola Shepherd said. “We encourage all sectors of society to work in partnership with youth and youth organizations to better understand their needs and concerns and to recognize the contributions that they can make to society.”
Young people are a major human resource for community development, technological innovation and positive social change. Governments are now trying to harness the energy, imagination and initiative of the world’s youth in an effort to overcome the challenges facing each and every one of us; from enhancing peace to improving the current economic condition.
As a youth-focused organisation, everyone at v is very excited about taking advantage of this occasion and developing ideas to ensure this year is a successful and empowering occasion for young people everywhere. This is an amazing opportunity for youth from all around the world to demonstrate their commitment to fruitful dialogue, contributing and sharing ideas, and advancing mutual understanding.
So what next?
Now that The General Assembly has acknowledged the potential of young people everywhere, there’s never been a better time to try your hand at something new. This is the perfect opportunity to enhance your presence in your local community, get your voice heard and try to make a difference.
Please visit: http://social.un.org/youthyear/ for more information on The International Year of Youth.
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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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The Goodie Hoodie - young people fight back about negative stereotypes of youth
The negative stereotypes of today’s youth as ‘violent’, ‘disrespectful’ or ‘apathetic’ were challenged head on today by the results of our innovative youth insight project Voicebox. At an early hour this morning, Terry Ryall, v’s Chief Executive, appeared on BBC Radio 4 Today Programme challenging the general public and politicians to re-consider their views of today 16 – 25 year olds.
The results show that while 82% of young people who participated in the research might own a ‘hoodie’ this does not equate to anti-social behaviour. Voicebox shows 85% of young people or their friends don’t carry a knife, 86% have never shoplifted, and 69% did not agree drugs were ok for recreational use.
The messages young people are submitting to the Voicebox robot demonstrate their frustration about the widely held negative perceptions of young people today. The emerging results from Voicebox blow apart the idea that the young generation are disengaged.
Results from the online polls support this showing that 78% of young people do, in fact, respect their elders, 75% are happy with the relationship they have with their family, and 68% are content living at home.
Voicebox will continue to collect, use, and share data about life styles, attitudes, and behaviours of young Britain’s. In a modern day twist on writing a letter to your MP, the Voicebox Robot will be appearing in the Houses of Parliament from 12 – 16 October. The robot will directly articulate the care of a generation directly to politicians. We want as many young people to have their voices heard. All they need to do is visit Voicebox to write what they care about and it will be written out by the robot.
For further information on the Voicebox results, download the press release or visit the Voicebox website.
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Spotlight: The Good Gym
Be good, get fit. Thats the tag being used by the creators behind a new project bringing together volunteering and exercise. By linking runners and isolated less-mobile people, the Good Gym aims to overcome the loneliness experienced by some older people. Runners will jog to their house, deliver something nice, have have a brief chat and be on their way again.
Like v’s work to define volunteering for a new generation by providing a range of opportunities to fit young peoples lives (we value whatever time they can give), the Good Gym is an interesting example of what they term, the ‘fine-grain’ approach to volunteering, where participation is based on frequent low impact activities that are integrated usefully into the participant’s life.
Over the Summer and Autumn of 2009 the Good Gym will test the working and processes of the project in Tower Hamlets. If you live or work in the area then join the good gym pilot project.
As the people at the Good Gym say, it will help you get fit by provding a good reason to go for a run and it will help the person being visited by providing them with some friendly human contact.
Join the pilot. Get running.
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Strong foundations for homeless young volunteers
This week Crisis released a report on engaging young homeless people in volunteering. The report captures good practice from Crisis experience of running a one year v funded programme providing volunteering opportunities for homeless young people. The report is an excellent example of the type of information we need to be widely available to enable us to get better at involving disadvantaged young people in volunteering.
As Angela Ellis Paine, Director for the Institute of Volunteering Research, spells out in her introduction to the report ‘rather than providing (more) ‘good’ practice advice and guidance in the traditional sense … the report tells it as it was or at least how it was for one organisation … in an honest and engaging way’.
As part of v’s 2009/10 research programme we will be looking at engaging disadvantage young people in volunteering with the aim of providing practical information to support organisations. A literature review will be a key part of this work, if you have relevant reports or documents please get in touch.
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Podcast available from v/Demos roundtable on volunteering - compelling or compulsory?
On 2nd June Demos hosted a roundtable, with v, looking at new MORI research into young people’s attitudes to volunteering. Is it a good idea to compel young people to perform a kind of national civic service? Or should volunteering be something young people choose to do? Peter Bradwell speaks with Terry Ryall, Chief Executive of V, Noreesh Farooq and Marie Keplay from V20, Paul Oginsky, Youth Policy Advisor to David Cameron, and Alex Mitchell from the Institute of Directors.
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The Beyond Sport Summit 2009
Beyond Sport is an initiative that aims to celebrate inspirational sports projects from across the world. The list of finalists for this year’s Beyond Sport Awards has just been announced. Each finalist has earned themselves an invitation to attend the invite-only Beyond Sport Summit from July 7-9 in London, where the winners of a £10,000 cash prize and a support package will be announced. Virgin Atlantic, the summit’s key partner, will be flying in representatives of all the shortlisted projects from all over the globe - including countries like Ghana, India, Kenya, Tanzania and Venezuela.
One of the nominated projects is the Co-Operative Street Games Young Volunteers. They have been nominated in the category of Best Corporate Responsibility in Sport and are supported by v.
A full list of the nominated projects can be found here.
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Does volunteering have an image problem?
This Guardian article from September 2008 speaks about how the very word ‘volunteering’ and the images associated with it turn people away from contributing their time for a cause. An excerpt:
New research by youth volunteering funding body called “V” suggests the word “volunteer” is part of the problem. Of the 2,000 young people V and One Poll surveyed in July, 66% thought the term was off-putting. Some 21% said volunteering had a boring image, while 24% thought it was “geeky”.
What has your experience been? Six months down the line, do you think this still holds true? How do you think this situation can be changed? Do let us know in the comments section.
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V’s involvement is good news for youth volunteering in the UK
An independent evaluation of v’s efforts to improve the state of youth volunteering in the UK has yielded good news - v’s involvement has led to an increase in the provision of youth volunteering opportunities in the country, and the take-up as well. There isn’t really much I can say that can add value, so I’ll just point you in the direction of the results of the report: here.
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Nice piece, yourself.
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