Democratic Life is delighted to have been accepted as a partner in Parliament Week, an initiative to build greater awareness of, and engagement with parliamentary democracy in the UK.
Our supporting organisations have a range of events and resources to support learning about democracy and parliament and there is more on the Parliament Week website.
We hope this year even more pupils and teachers will use the opportunity of Parliament Week to get in touch with their MP, MEP or a member of the House of Lords and invite them into school to see citizenship education in action.
‘Digital Citizenship’ – Five Nations Network Conference
Digital Citizenship is the subject at this year’s Five Nations Network annual conference on 22-23 November 2012, supported by the Association for Citizenship Teaching and funded by the Gordon Cook Foundation. Participants will hear from guest speakers, Steve Beswick, Director of Education at Microsoft UK and Dr Shaku Banaji, Senior Lecturer at the London School of Economics on how technology can be harnessed in citizenship teaching and the effects of social media on young people’s political participation. Parliament’s Susan Vittery is running workshops on ‘Engaging Young People with Parliament in the virtual world’ using tools and games developed by the Parliamentary Education Service.
Hansard Society: Young People’s Question Time
Building on the success of last year, the Hansard Society is hosting a Young People’s Question Time at Portcullis House on 19 November 2012. Chaired by Channel 4 News presenter Krishnan Guru-Murthy, politicians from across the political spectrum will engage with young people on the questions that matter to them.
Citizenship Foundation: Chance to be Chancellor
Chance to be Chancellor, is launched by the Citizenship Foundation on Friday 23 November 2012 and runs until February 2013, provides the opportunity for 14-18 year olds to share their opinions on the UK’s Budget. Using an interactive online tool, participants choose and create their own policies and create a short video expressing their reasons for their policy choices.
In March, before the Chancellor’s Budget, the results are launched as the ‘Youth Budget’ which is presented to the Treasury, giving young people without a vote, a voice on the economy and the economic priorities they believe should be set.
Chance to be Chancellor is part of Paying for It, an economic awareness programme run by the Citizenship Foundation in partnership with Aviva. Paying for It also offers resources and training for teachers to help them increase young people’s awareness of the effect of the economy on society, and the big decisions of our time.
Amnesty International: The Power of Our Voices
‘The Power of Our Voices’ is a multimedia resource from Amnesty International that promotes young people’s active engagement in democracy, by exploring the power of Protest Songs to promote human rights and social change. Students explore case studies from around the world, from the US Civil Rights movement, to Egypt’s Tahrir Square, and Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, where songs have helped people organise for enfranchisement and human rights. Designed for secondary Citizenship, English, RE and Music, the resource includes an assembly and three lessons. In the final lesson students are given guidance from rap-poet Kate Tempest, in how to create their own protest lyrics. Students are invited to submit their work to Amnesty’s Protest Song Competition.
I Talk Out Loud is a film that tells the story of the extra-curricular Amnesty Youth Group at Eastlea School and their campaign to end stoning in Iran. It’s a great example of how ordinary young people can engage in democracy through campaigning and make a real difference in the world.
Why not show the DVD during Parliament Week and inspire your students to get campaigning for human rights?
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