Citizenship Foundation Voices

Do you care about global issues like poverty, war and disease? Do you want to gain experience of using social media? Then we want to hear from you!

Act Global is a joint project between the Citizenship Foundation and Relief International. Our online network is a place for young people from around the world to think, talk, solve and act on global issues they care about.

We are looking for passionate, articulate and enthusiastic young people (aged 16 -19) to become Act Global Online Youth Ambassadors. You will need an interest in and awareness of global issues, some experience of using social media and strong written skills.

What would I need to do?

• Write blogs to encourage discussion on global issues
• Encourage others to use the site by commenting on photos, videos, blog posts and polls
• Welcome new members to the site and help them to get started

What do I get in return?

• An excellent opportunity to add to your CV
• Experience working on an international project
• An induction at Citizenship Foundation Offices in Central London
• Travel expenses covered
• An invitation to our Celebration Event at City Hall in October
• An award after writing 10 blogs

If you want to get involved email: leila.nicholas@citizenshipfoundation.org.uk for an application form.

The Parliament Education Service is offering free teacher training workshops around the UK, from September. These will cover how Parliament works and provide tips on how schools can get involved in the 2011 Schools Question Time Challenge

The CPD sessions are open to any teacher who would like to broaden their general knowledge about Parliament, and find out about how they can participate in the BBC Schools Question Time competition. The training is primarily aimed at teachers of students aged 11-18.

Find out more on their website.

In my very first week at Citizenship Foundation, I travelled to Bridgend in Wales with Ade, the Director of Youth Act. We were delivering Youth Act Training to staff from a young offenders unit at HMP and YOI Parc Prison. Youth Act is a training project for young people who want to achieve political or social change in their community. But this was a whole new setting and we were prepared to learn as much from the prison staff as they would hopefully get from us!

The day began with a very early start in order to make the long journey to Bridgend in Wales…coffee was definitely the first thought! I’m not sure what my expectations were having never been inside a prison before. But I certainly wasn’t prepared for the size of the prison - 1200 prisoners and 600 staff. A new block is currently being built, which will make HMP and YOI Parc one of the top three largest prisons in the UK. There are 64 boys aged between 15-18 in the young offenders unit of the prison. Once they reach 18, they are generally moved onto the adult ward. There are two youth wings, each with around 30 young people and 6 staff on duty at any one time.

On arriving at the prison, we had to leave in lockers most of what we had brought with us and after signing a couple of forms, a staff member escorted us through. It was interesting to note the feelings of powerlessness that take over when you have no control over your movement within a building. The guard took us through many locked doors and we found ourselves passively waiting for doors to be unlocked for us. We were taken to a small room we understood was the training room. The guard went off to collect the staff we would be training. However, twenty minutes passed and I found myself feeling increasingly uncomfortable. I became hyper-aware of my surroundings…the fact there were no windows in the room, the artificial lighting and especially the sounds. It’s what hits you the most, the silence, only broken by two sounds. The sound of keys rattling as guards move around the prison and the sound of doors slamming. I was very conscious of the fact that the two doors at either end of the corridor were locked and that we did not have our phones. Luckily, the mix up was quickly spotted and we were moved to the right room.

We spent the day training five staff members who all work in the young offenders wings. They were really interested in how the techniques and theory behind Youth Act could be applied in the prison setting. I left feeling that there really was an opportunity for the Youth Act training to make an impact, although there was recognition during the training of the challenges that make such a programme difficult and the need to think carefully about group dynamics and how to set up a team. We ran an example activity with the group of mapping the local area - in this case YOI Parc. The aim of this activity was to think about the problem areas and what solutions could be found. An activity like this could easily be run in such a setting, where everyone will be very familiar with such issues. When talking about incentives there was a strong feeling that if offered certificates or formal accreditation, the young people would engage quite quickly with the idea.

I’m really interested to learn what happens with the plans to form a Youth Act group at YOI Parc. There are plenty of challenges in this setting, which we were made aware of. However, the opportunities are great, especially if giving young people ownership over the space helps them to think about the consequences of different types of behaviour on the ward. We hope to keep in touch with the five staff members we met and to support them in putting into practice the ideas and plans they made during the training.

The 21st July was a big day. I am not of a nervous disposition, but to say my heart wasn’t beating at a hundred mile per hour would be a tad dishonest! You see, The Citizenship Foundation were holding a reception event at the House of Lords. (more…)

The Young Foundation and its team of Young Journalists have developed a survey for young people aged 13-25, and they would love for your help in filling it in and passing it along to other young people.

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