Representing young people
They claim they speak for you, but do you know who they are?
Did you know there are bunch of organisations that represent young people's views and opinions on a local, national and international level? We've tracked down some of the larger ones and found out how you can be involved.
UK Youth Parliament
The UK Youth Parliament (UKYP) aims to give young people (aged 11 to 18) a voice at a local and national level. It consists of over 400 elected members, who each represent a particular part of the UK, much like a regular Member of Parliament.
The UK Youth Parliament run campaigns on issues such as concessionary public transport for all young people and abolishing university tuition fees. They meet once a year. In 2009 they will meet in the House of Commons, being the first group of non-MPs allowed to debate in the chamber.
Meryl Roberts tells us why she wants to become an MP.
Members are elected by other young people and elections are held every year. You can find out how to stand by contacting your local council youth participation worker, or the UK Youth Parliament Regional Co-ordinator for your area.
British Youth Council
The British Youth Council is a collective of lots of other youth groups, from local youth councils to big national groups. You can't be a member of BYC directly, but you'll probably find that one way or another you belong. And you can stand as a trustee of the organisation and help lead it.
BYC helps young people be heard on all sorts of issues, from how local services are provided through to changing the voting age or minimum wage.
Scottish Youth Parliament
The Scottish Youth Parliament exists to represent young people aged 14-25 in Scotland. Since 1999 they meet at least four times a year to discuss all sorts of issues - from transport problems through to devolution. They are elected to represent local areas or national voluntary organisations.
Elections are held every year and you can get involved by contacting a local support worker.
Being involved in a representative organisation is a great opportunity to make real change in your local area, or even at a national level.
Funky Dragon
Funky Dragon is the Welsh assembly of young people. It does everything from writing reports for the United Nations to delivering PSE lessons in schools. A Grand Council of 100 members decides policies and also meet with Welsh Assembly Ministers to discuss issues affecting young people.
Representatives come from local organisations, chosen by elections. You can also be co-opted onto the Grand Council if you can offer a different perspective.
Northern Ireland Youth Forum
The Northern Ireland Youth Forum (NIYF) is the representative organisation for young people aged 11-25 in Northern Ireland. Anyone in that age group can become a member, and once you have joined you can be elected to the Executive Committee. You can also be a member through another youth organisation such as a shadow youth council.
As well as representing young people to national politicians, NIYF organise events including hosting music gigs to highlight the need for young people to have safe spaces to socialise.
NUS
If you are at university or college you are probably a member of NUS (although not all student unions are affiliated to the NUS). The NUS represents students nationally, campaigning on issues directly affecting education and wider topics.
Your students' union will send a delegation to NUS conferences, and different student unions have different ways of selecting who can go. You can stand for regional or national positions in the NUS.
Why get involved?
Being involved in a representative organisation is a great opportunity to make real change in your local area, or even at a national level. You can affect all sorts of change where you live and it can be extremely rewarding if, for example, your council agrees to spend thousands of pounds on a town centre youth club, when you've shown to them this is what young people want.
It's also a brilliant way of developing a wide range of contacts that can help you in any future career - you will have opportunities to meet with government ministers and have the potential to get yourself in the media.
Although it can potentially be a very rewarding experience, it can be a lot of work. You don't get paid for it, but by running successful campaigns, you can build up an impressive CV that can help you show that you have that little bit extra over a standard applicant when you come to apply for a job or a university place.
