How white are they . When i say, how white are they, she will answer me, no, no, good range. [laughter] in that, i can tell you we have had every student we have had, they are now waiting or trying to figure out how they can find money so they can come back and work at women with a vision. We email. We talk. That makes me feel like we are doing something right, when students who could go off and make major money are trying to figure out how they can take care of themselves in this city so they can organize and do the work with us it says a lot. I think it is about transformation on both sides. It is about being willing and being open and understanding where you come from, what is your privilege, how it is that folks like you can use your privilege, and what it is you can use it for to move the effort forward. It is not without black people having no privilege. I understand that they do. Identify what that is. Black people know what white peoples privilege is. What people often dont know what black peoples privilege is. Having that conversation, which is a difficult conversation people often say they want to help what does that mean . You are coming in, writing in on the horse ive got the flag on and im going to straighten that isy out no, no, not how it works. People that have done this work deon ornnot speak for susan trust is a huge issue. You can come with all the money in the world, and you can set it right on the table, and you can lease. Do you understand what im saying . If you want to have a relationship with me, understand what it is you are living in. We are living in this together. How do we get past everything that we have been told, what i have been told, what you have been told, the myths, the misnomers, all of that . I actually am the americorps vista leader here at tulane at the center for public service. Vista, and a team of a lot of them are recent college grads. They finished in may or maybe a couple years before that or they might be grad students. We have a couple of folks outside of that range, like myself, the we are really a minority but we are a minority. Training, asking about race and gender or equality or inequality, one of the things, especially with the Trayvon Martin case that was mentioned before, one of the things that i think a lot of us conversation with people that we see everyday, people that we know, that we love and care about us, is that the experience of being an american if you are white is very different than the experience of being an american if you are not white. For me specifically, it is black, but i think that is also true for other people of color, for women in general, for the lgbt community. It really hit home for me because my boyfriend is white. Abouthad conversations Trayvon Martin. He was saying, it was just too dumb people who made mistakes. This idea, we dont know what trayvon was up to that night that was something that i heard on a local radio station. You know what i mean . They were saying, it wasnt verified that trayvon wasnt a criminal. One of the things that i was surprised to see come out was the conversation about the conversation that we as a community have to have with each and every one of our sons about how they are perceived when they are out on the street, no matter what they are doing, and how they should respond to that, that it is their responsibility to come home, that it is not the time for their pride, they need to take whatever abuse that is. The thing is, we have to have the same cons were conversation with our daughters. Say that it is just an issue with our sons. Our way of thinking as women of color, as black women, we need to sit down and think about how it is we have internalized this oppression. Being oppressed, not being able to speak in our own voice and to say what it is we need to say, the idea of the angry black woman, that is not who we are. We definitely need to consider our girls. We only think about our boys. Our girls are being swept under the rug. [applause] my point actually was going to be that i think that we do have a similar conversation with each and every one of our daughters, but that is a different conversation about perception. It tends to be the perception that they internalize about themselves. The story that i found myself telling over and over again to my boyfriend and on facebook and two other people that wanted to talk about this case was, my niece just turned four years old this year, but she was three at the time she told me that she didnt want to be brown anymore because she needed to be white so that she could be the princess and where the pretty pink dress. This is a conversation that i think black families know we are going to have with our daughters. We know we are going to have it with our young daughters. I didnt expect to have it with my threeyearold niece. I thought this is going to come at six or seven or eight. That is what i mean the experience about being an american is very different in colored skin. We have to look at our sons and say, perception does this for your life. We have to look at our daughters and say, perception does this for your life. Sort of guarded their minds and hearts and souls about it. My question is, how do we, in an integrated community, make that experience real for people who dont live it but will still have to make decisions about georgeour ground laws, zimmerman verdicts, Trayvon Martin, those everyday things that for us are so personal, but to them are another day in the life . I Wonder Within our own selves, have we had a conversation . Why arent we having the conversation amongst ourselves . Why do we want other folks to understand first . We dont even understand it. We dont have a conversation about i will tell you one thing i have seven children. My sister raised my two older daughters. My sister suggested to my second daughter that she marry an older man, because an older man had security, right . He would be able to offer her what she needed because he worked for some time and amassed the money. Our own perception do you understand what im saying . Our own perception within our own culture, i dont understand why my sister would tell my daughter this. Two very quick things. Youing a daughter, i feel on the princess thing, but i want to be careful about overly genedering it. The perceptions are not just about a feminine experience, but also the surveillance of the state on black women and poor itand latinas doesnt always look like stop and frisk. Sometimes it does, by the way. Sometimes it looks like something different. Veillance around anything your point about, if your child is in the free lunch program, then your whole family is under state surveillance, right . The second thing i want to say, lets be careful about the assumption that anything going on with us internally, psychologically is the cause of our inequality. One of the most important things you said an integrated community where do you live . Communities are not integrated. One of the things that black folks would realize if we spent itime with what people have lived in chicago, taught at princeton, i have seen a lot of white people it turns out a lot of people are deeply screwed up. A lot of white mothers are screwed up. A lot of what people feel bad about themselves. A lot of what people do drugs. A lot of white people rape other people. A lot of what people have all kinds of negative emotions and feelings. Some have had a bad life experiences. Many white people are not ethical or moral or have it together. They have all kinds of cash. I have resources, opportunity, privilege. I dont mean each and every white person, but as a group, the median white person is no more inherently together than the median person of color. But the median white house sold is shielded from the realities of humanity, the frailties, the fragilitys of loving the wrong person, marrying the wrong person, making bad decisions. They are not protected from it because they have worked out their angst about being descended from slaveholders. Doings not why they are better. They are doing better because they are not under state surveillance. The whole breaking bad series series, doing all these things, not going to jail, all because hes white. Im sorry, i just went on a whole thing. [applause] i need to say this. It is killing me. Please. [laughter] sheriffs comed into our neighborhoods, they walked out of the Police Station using the acronym f they come out of the door, holster down, strapped up, saying they are about to go have fun in our neighborhood. This one thingy quickly because i always tell aries. You tellrea them sometimes it is not the right time to be tried full. I had both my children by the time i was 16. Because i was struggling with my sexuality at the time and i really tried to like boys. It didnt work in that way. I have no problem saying that at this time in my life, but at 12th and 13 i was unclear about what that looked like. I knew one thing, when i had my son in the city of new orleans. My big fear was that he would either go to jail or end up dead. I did everything i could by age 18 or 19 to move us to a very white midcity. We were one of three black families. I was hired when i was 18 my employer saw something in me. She saw something. What is important about that is what i was exposed to or what i had access to as 18 mom in this city. Called gave me a book black mothers and their sons, how to raise them and not ka bedle. I taught my son to prideful. I told him to ask the officer why are you stopping me. Incarceratedbeen and never got to jail. I asked him how many times his mother argued with the police and said if you do not remove my son, because you have no legal right to hold him, it is going to be something. What is your badge number . Or every time he came home at age 12 saying mom, what is my Social Security number . I wasnt poor enough so i didnt get any assistance. Police every time the saw me they said the next time i see you you better know it. A pridefulm to be black man. I needed him to know he had a right to speak up for himself. Every time they would do that we would go to the Police Integrity and i would demand an apology every time. Everyhis day when time you stop in the car, he will dial his mom and say theyre pulling me over, the kids are in the car. I do think you meant anything by it ist i wanted to say one thing when you talk about ego, but pride is something we have to teach. It kept him alive and not from most of the things that most of us fear, because he really wasnt in that environment. It kept him alive in dealing with the other fear, the other people that could have taken his life. That is very powerful when i think about when your kid gets old enough to not call you. Is 30. My partner and i are raising a sevenyearold. My partner says please help you, cops chase you. Im going to go back to my prison nation thing. Part of the prison nation is what captures our minds and our spirits. Disney does that to black girls. It is a to all girls, but to me, i think about trying to build a world where we are not involved in corporate driven capitalist consumption that leads black girls to one long blonde hair aat can get them out of a tower, rapunzel. I want to have a world where that is not the standard of beauty. If that captures your mind the same way that a cop chases you down im not sure and say theyre the same thing because they are materially very different experiences, that the possibility of building a different kind of world says that there is beauty in all shapes and colors and sizes and genders. Marriage equality is important not because we can get married but because people respect to we love and respect our family, right . It reframes things in a certain way. Pride is always important in that project. It always says who i am, what i do, how are live, what i love, what i live through is as anyone else. We will me, is when start to decrease their use of the state to enforce certain standards of normative video. Ity. One of the things i want to commend you all for, i know for a view. You are all my heroes. The thing is about this whole event is that it has been a long time coming. When you talk about incarceration, we think about males only. Having been on that side of the fence, i always wondered about implications and complications of females have. For females going to the same age, i go to jail at 35, she was more than i lose. I can moderate 60 and can still be someone who procreate who can procreate. For female she cant do that. Every time we talk about it we envision what happens in angola and not what is going on in one horse towns were females are being incarcerated. 800ears ago there were females incarcerated in his state. It would so many now be considered alarming. I really encourage you to get one of ourth partners. Tulane has been good with the service. Folks are coming in and helping in the community. I remember bill clinton saying one time, and down out of the peanut gallery, get out of the ring, roll up your sleeves and do some work. Exactly. [applause] cant imagine a more fitting way in the city of new orleans to and any panel on incarceration than to have noris stand up and tell us to roll up our sleeves and do work. I also appreciated in part because there is this way in which we talk about men and women during our first assumption is husbands and wives or romantic partners. We forget the partnership is great, my husband is but that is not what were going for. Here is about the ability to Work Together as peers. When i appreciate is that these sheroic. I appreciate noris representing that. I do want to thank tulane for bringing the folks in tonight and for putting this together. I want to thank the community at tulane for engaging in the Difficult Conversations that are part of reading michele alexanders book together and the differences of opinion but that will undoubtedly bring up. I want to thank each and because the work you do is thankless work or thanked by only a few. I will say right now that i appreciate that you kept bringing us back to this idea of. Ision if we cant imagine a world that is different my daughter parker is in sixth grade. She spent this week having to memorize the second paragraph of the declaration of independence. That said, she was very irritated by having to learn this and kept expressing her irritation as being that it wasnt true, that racism and , all theselavery words were just words and they were true. Fan of the declaration of independence. It doesnt matter fully that they were true in that moment in 1776, they constituted a vision of what was possible. The notion of a matching a world where all people are created where they are endowed to something beyond the state in these fundamental rights and yet the state exists and is legitimate only to the extent that it protects those rights and protects them for all persons and for selfevidently quality. I appreciate you for reminding us that we have to keep asioning, even if we live in world where empirical realities are different thing. We have to keep imagining a world where the men arent missing front communities, where that our racial differences make us inherently children are are coconspirators in a crimes. I appreciate it because it is a new sort of declaration of independence. [applause] [captions Copyright National cable satellite corp. 2013] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] on we, weve been bringing you one corner presentations of q and a in primetime. Emeritus richard baker, coauthor of a historical narrative titled the american senate, and insiders guide. Heres an inside look at our conversation. Today, the u. S. Senate continues as the most powerful upper house of any legislative body in the world. What does that mean yea . Many have upper houses that are just a legislative stamp. The house of lords. Canada. Quick the lower house passes the substantive legislation and goes to the upper house. Maybe they dont like it. They say, we respect your opinion but we will pass it again and that it becomes law of the land. They have absolute veto over the body. Fundamental difference in those that can vote. They can be a little impetuous and their decisions. Body and tooling slow down. And to ask as one senator said, the senate is the place of sober Second Thought and that is what the framers of the constitution had in mind. Coming up in tonights year in review, a look at events that led to the 16day shutdown. House debate to my congressional briefings, and insight from reporters who covered the story tonight at 8 00 p. M. Eastern. At 9 00 tom a first ladies jacqueline kennedy, her childhood, images, international fame, the tragedy of a grieving widow. A special twohour encore tonight at 9 00 p. M. Eastern on cspan. We now have secular norms instead of theological lawns t govern our except dense that govern our acceptance. First, branch davidian. Koresh saying he has special insight in the bible. They understand that they are and that the and times by itself does not appear to be a problem. When it leads to other elements that trigger both law could discern as well as the popular press is concerned, then suddenly this god of someone listening to and having his followers do something aberrant to norms is dangerous and it needs to be policed and controlled. Professorn religion arguing that religious persecution in america has prevalence since the mid1800s. Sunday night at 9 00 on doc awards on book tv this weekend on cspan 2. Had waited until the last moment. Het is when he realized decided to go. He told james the night of november 17 that he had time to write about half the speech. He wrote the speech late. He invited people to go, he took care and attention overheads over his words. The president s plan and approach for the speech. Sunday at 11 00 a. M. Eastern part of American History tv on cspan 3. The event is seeking to draw National Awareness of elementary and itcy in the uk includes combating youth unemployment, gaining quality workexperience, and experience for teenagers. The speaker of the house provided over the session which includes remarks from other members of parliament. Now the third motion of the day relates to combating youth unemployment as print on the order papers. I call and ask you to welcome from the northwest of england mr. Steven atkins. [applause] thank you, mr. Speaker. There are 965,000 young people currently unemployed in our country. It is enough to fill the Olympic Stadium 12 times over, or to put it into perspective, if i spoke for one second, only one second, for every young person that was unemployed, i would be standing here for over 11 days. Now, dont worry, mr. Speaker, i will not be that long, but that would be good, right . Every figure represents a young person by being given no hope for the future, and there is a story that once had potential. Generation jobless are meant to be the citizens of today, creating a Brighter Future for tomorrow, but how can we fulfill our place in society when all that is being offered to us is despair and hopelessness . For every year passing unemployed, they feel awful. Anger, depression, frustration, boredom, insecurity, worthlessness. Mr. Speaker, this is not just an economic issue or a young people issue. This is a major issue for our country and must be addressed now. A survey of local authorities found that 94 of respondents recognized youth unemployment as an issue, and 91 said it had gotten worse in the past five years. Now, if a doctor was 94 sure that you had a problem and said that your condition had worsen by 91 , you would ask that doctor for a solution. Why should be any different here . The survey also found that 91 of respondents believe that they could contribute to tackling the youth unemployment crisis. Mr. Speaker, it is time we played our part. With bill going through our limit, this is our time, our moment, our chance to sustain the argument and make the change that is needed and necessary to improve the lives of so many young people, the young people that we are there to protect, the young people that need our help. Youth unemployment affects us all, and impact all of our communities, and while the young people who are struggling to find a job our work is not done. While there are young people who cannot find the support they need, our job continues. We need to rise together. And while there may be some stories of success, the truth is there needs to be 965,000 more. Despite the figures, despite the dismal, saddening story that can be heard all over our country, from young people that we represent, despite the wider economic problems, things can improve. We can do this. We can crack this crisis. We just need a big, bold campaign, bring together business of, decisionmakers, and the voices of young people. Together, we can make a difference in the lives of so many young people, not just in our local communities or our regions, but all over our great country. Mr. Speaker, young people meet a solution to this crisis. Young people need a solution to this crisis now. Thank you. [applause] steven, thank you very much indeed. To oppose, i call mr. Jawaad ashraf. [applause] thank you, mr. Speaker. Today, we need to look at the roles and who we represent, and today, our role is to select a one Double Campaign for tomorrow and the year after. Now, youth unemployment, yes, the numbers are high, but so is the task of combating youth unemployment. This motion only focuses on young people aged 16 and above. Now, i am above the age of 16, so i am good. This issue supports me. But i am not selfish. [laughter] [applause] and i know none of you are too. Lets pick an issue that affects all of us regardless of how old we are, lets take an issue that affects all of the 11yearolds to 18yearolds that we represent not just some of them. We need to look at why youth unemployment in such a big problem. Employers value Work Experience more than anything. Many young people spend all of their lives and education, all of their lives being looked after, and then we get into the real world we do not know what to do. The director of a very well known jobs website has said that the reality is as a country we have not been very good at creating graduates who are meeting the needs and demands of employers. So the most important issue is making sure that all young people get the skills and experience needed for the workplace, our schools, the government, young people are all engaging together to improve career choices locally and nationally. It is about apprenticeship, training, engaging with young people, engaging with wills, providing better experience is, better career advice. Now, i have grown up an area where issues such as unemployment, violence, and other negative issues are common, and where im from, mr. Speaker, some people, not all, but some people care more about their reputation on the street more than they care about their careers. We ask ourselves why. It is because we have not been taught the value of careers. We have not been taught what it is to pursue our passion. The problem with this motion is that everybody on the floor side of the survey says that to get through each person, where everybody is stating problem since it is a somewhat youth unemployment in such a big problem, but that is all i am hearing. Im not hearing any solutions. So here is my little piece of the puzzle if 100 of young people are the future, then 100 of us need and partial career advice, we need impartial work is turned to back us up, we needed to guide us and advise all of the young people to have a better career in their future life. Now, if we voted on this other National Campaign, we will be voting on issues only affect a proportion of us. We would be voting an issue that the government is already working on and we will be choosing an issue that is not really winnable within one year. I am not saying that youth unemployment is not a problem because obviously it is. What i am saying is that the best and brightest that britain has to offer, they scratch their heads, they scratch their bums, they even invested a billion pounds and have not solved very much. Unless we come up with a grand plan in 30 minutes, this is not a oneyear winnable campaign. [cheers and applause] lets pick an issue that affects us all, regardless of how old we are. Lets pick a more realistic issue that we can win within one year, and lets bring all of the young people that we represent proud. Thank you. [cheers and applause] jawaad, thank you for a much for that. Now lets hear from Northern Ireland. Yes, indeed. Sorry if you cannot understand my accent. There is a great youth unemployment, is one of us would love a job just to give our Parents Money their suffering. But it goes far beyond that. It is not just a sign on. Having a job i work in a coffee shop, and i have noticed since i started working, i am more confident. That can feed into job interviews, the university interviews. Most universities these days require interviews, and we need to confident that we need to be able to go in there and have the communication skills to succeed. But where are we going to get these from . Having a job, to start off with, and talking to a customer today, it may not seem like much, but it will help. So i strongly support this, and i think we should vote this is our National Campaign, and you should, too. [applause] yorkshire and humber yes, the gentleman there, thank you. I am a member of Youth Parliament brussels. It is great having a campaign, it is great having a policy that is able to combat youth unemployment, but is it actually possible to do it . It is my opinion that i do not think it is. I think that the only way we can increase the opportunity is to offer better career advice into offer better working for its, which i will not ramble on too much as i know it be covered later, but it is my belief and that of my constituents that we have better career advice and larger amounts of Youth Opportunities will become available but not without it, not with a thing will policy, thank you, mr. Speaker. [applause] how about scotland . You there. I think if you stop the focus on because it [inaudible] and paid internships. Thank you. [applause] what about the southwest . The gent with the curly hair. Youth unemployment is a problem but i do not think this is something we can possibly solve. The issue has only complement it roots. Problems which lie in thousands of employers and with central and local government among other things. The issue is a problem and i believe so i believe it could lead to a wasted year. For this reason, i will ask you to things. I devote with me for something else, or if you choose his issue, i beg you, prove me wrong. What about wales . What about the second woman along for me . My name is Katherine Davis and im from wales. Looking to the topic that we are debating today, something is key in all of them, and that is education. We need to have life skills that well get job opportunities, that we can do it, that we can dress smartly, and this is why i think we should go with a different topic such as a curriculum to prepare us for life because we all know that we need a successful education. So that when we do get the opportunity to have jobs, so that we can get improved to the older generations that we are worthy and we can be a good future generation. Thank you. [applause] who have we got wanting to speak from london . Yes, the chap with the green tie. Youth unemployment it is almost reached one million people. We are the future. Myself, you guys, the people we represent. We are supposed to be having the jobs, we are supposed to be earning the money, we are supposed to be out there earning a livelihood. But we are the lost generation. How do we find ourselves again . How can we become the unlost generation . I think the way to solve this is three better curriculum to prepare us for life because we are not all prepared for the jobs up there. We are not all equipped. So if we support a better curriculum for life, for a second year, and finish the job we started, we can ensure we have the right skills and the best skills possible to make this a better people for those jobs that are out there. Please support a better curriculum to prepare us for life, to reduce youth unemployment and to improve working different out there. Thank you. Thank you very much. What about the northwest of england . Yes, the woman with the gray top. Thank you. Hi, i am from olden. I am looking to be from northwest because we have already got a youth unemployment commission. Everyone across our region is working really hard. It is education, and education is what can solve youth unemployment. That is what we should look at. Thank you. [applause] thank you. That is extremely succinct, but it is a very good model of succinctness. East of england. Who have we got from england . First his right hand then his left. My main policy was a combat youth unemployment, and i think the young people voted for me because this is one of the biggest issues facing young people at present, youve heard it all said youve heard the facts and the figures, so i will not bore you with them again, but i believe this is the main problem because youth unemployment set to increase of becoming months and years, so that means it is a problem that will affect all of us, not just 16 to 18yearolds but every single one of us in this room and young people across england and scotland and Northern Ireland. I think we should support this motion do everything we can to combat youth unemployment because thats before the problem becomes a crisis. Thank you. [applause] thank you. The northeast of england. Thank you. This is of course an important issue because young people needed a job, or people who just have one around and serving him because of it i have a job, they cannot have money, they need the money for the rest of their lives. Or it can go home and live with this really hard conscience that they cannot aim for themselves, they have to rely on other people. It is well ok if you can just go to a place and then they can say thank you for coming to us, we can help you find a job. But then why do we need to do that if you can just give them knowledge and the education to help them to learn what they need to do in order to get a job . It is ok, as i said before, just to help them, but there will not always be a person there. There will always be knowledge to help you find a job that you really want or progress in your life to go further and what you want to do. All you need to do is to know where to find the knowledge, and the knowledge and education is to be provided. Thank you. Thank you. Who have we got from east midlands . The gentleman springing out of his seat with a sort of gymnastic enthusiasm. In my home town, everybody complains about in nottingham, but that is starting a whole new campaign is not going to certainly abolish the issue of youth unemployment. Instead what we should do is work with what is already there, see why is that not working, what is wrong with our current system, how can we better that instead of starting a brandnew campaign from scratch when it is much easier to support a system that already exists. Over the past two years, i have heard my friend say the common phrase to me the struggle is real. Ive always wondered to myself what is real but the struggle . What struggle are they talking about . The struggle is most definitely real. Thank you. The West Midlands. I have heard your cry. [cheers and applause] he is in a fit of uncontrollable excitement. Thank you, mr. Speaker. My name is vikram patel. I represent the glory of the second city of birmingham. I like to reiterate the fact that the u. K. Parliaments are represented of regardless of age, and this motion does not clearly support someone who is 11 years old. How does it clearly directly affect them . I would like to put my hand on my heart and completely, with what jawaad said, we are not economic masterminds, we cannot sit here and debate and lets think of a plan. It is not our job is youth representatives to think of a plan government has to. At a click of a finger, we cannot think of the plan. Lets create jobs. I want to target the root of the problem why does youth unemployment exist in the first place . That is you wake up every morning, im sure that every single young person has aspirations whether they want to be a hairdresser or doctor. They did not wake up one morning and want to aspire to be unemployed. They do not want to. The root of the problem is our career advice and are working for it is not sufficient enough. We have a nonexistent Career Advice Service that is well stuck in the 20th century but now has been abolished. We need to target this root of the problem. Help people reach aspirations. You might be academically not as good as someone else, but reach aspirations and reach jobs that have not been created or have been created. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you. The one remaining region for which we have not heard if the southeast of england. Yes, the woman with the red dress. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I am rosie lord, and im from buckingham, sir. We are 100 of the future. We need to let the current decisionmakers know that in order to prevent us from becoming disillusioned and its engaged with politics, they must start providing us with what we need the most jobs. This does not mean only for those with a certain amount of qualifications, this means jobs that are for able and willing young people, regardless of background or access to education. I also feel that we should focus our attention to encouraging women in the world of work. Encouraging women to break the Glass Ceiling and access the highest quality jobs. This has to begin with diminishing discrimination in the workplace in general, and i feel this is very closely intertwined with this National Campaign. The rates of youth unemployment, and together we can fight, regardless of our gender, regardless of our education, the most importantly, regardless of our age. [applause] thank you. Im just going to try to squeeze in a couple of further speakers if they can be very pithy. We need somebody from london. Have we got a londoner . Yes, you, thank you. Jasmine botchey, youth representative for harrow. We have a u. K. Youth parliament. We need to stop being so pessimistic. What is wrong with all of you cheer up. They need to become more employable, we need to create a generation of people that inspire and young people at one jobs. Thank you. [applause] how about a speaker from the West Midlands . What about the gentleman, the tallish gentleman in the back there . Thank you, mr. Speaker. My name is david penson, and i am from warwickshire. Last quarter, we had the highest rate in 15 years, and the coming quarter will give the most promising forecast for 18. More and more opportunities are available from cash for young people. The problem is were not having the young people to fill the skills. We need a curriculum for life, we need to improve the skills of young people in this generation and the generation to come. Lets not vote to attack unemployment, lets go for a curriculum for life so we can achieve the bright, young generations that can take these opportunities. Thank you. Yorkshire, the woman who leapt up with the gray jacket and the pinky dress. I am esi stanley, and i just want to make sure, how do we justify a government by the jobs we do when still so many adults are unemployed . [applause] what about the southeast . Who have we got from the southeast . Yes. The chap smiling at me animatedly. I am michael oatway, and i feel personally quite passionate about this. As my local campaign in my constituency is in fact to promote the awareness and the prestige of apprenticeship. Sadly, that was one of the issues that was not put through to you today, however i feel apprenticeship can be combined with combating youth unemployment. I recently had a meeting in my constituency with local business leaders, and they all said to me how they would love to take on more apprentices. It is dependent upon the communication between those who want an apprentice ship and those who are willing to give it, and that is what we should really be focusing on. Certainly at the grassroots level. This is the sort of thing we can help and use in order to help youth on employment in our constituencies. [applause] the quite large presentation from the southwest, so i would like to hear another speaker from a southwest. The woman gesticulating at me. I am sanya rajpal, and i would like to point out when looking at this motion, it says education with the right tools. The way we can do this as repeated several times through education. The problem is education and a lack of education, but also the apathy and the lack of motivation and our generation. It has unfortunate encounter a lack of engagement with politics. I would really urge you to consider voting for bill 16 as well as a curriculum for life so young people are able to have the skills that are motivated enough to do like us and want to create a chain for themselves and have a positive and back on society and change the hearts of themselves and others. [applause] thank you. If possible, i would like to hear from a man from Northern Ireland. Please. I am Matthew Carson from ireland. We are all in agreement of the problem, but i think the problem really lies in this motion, especially with a strategy for this problem, that is extremely nonspecific. That does not mean anything. And if we want that to the government, they would say what you mean, we already have a strategy, even if we know it is not working. Theres already a strategy in place. What we should do is focus on other issues and possibly come back next year with a more defined idea of what we are looking to achieve and then bring that forward. [applause] thank you. Ok, i am sorry not to be able to accommodate everybody. That is true in every debate, really. Every time. I have done my best to get a fair representation. To conclude the debate before we break for lunch, i call from scotland laurie donaldson. [cheers and applause] thank you, mr. Speaker. I want to begin by thanking everyone who has raise their voice in this matter because we need voices raised. Hopeless people stay quiet, and nearly a million unemployed young people are in that state of hopelessness. Our voices need to be raised louder and more often. We have heard that resources could be better used elsewhere, that this issue is not a big enough priority for the Youth Parliament campaign as it only represents 45 of our young people. I mean, maybe we do need to consider that our government has already injected a significant amount of research into improving this issue, and that for us to take part would be too unrealistic. We have been confronted with the statistical stent of the problem, including the Economic Impact of the unemployed becoming unemployable, and the longterm impact of todays youth unemployment on the next generation of british life. Earlier in the debate, my fellow teammates from scotland said what is the point of having a curriculum that does not gear for life . I tell you this if there are no jobs to go into, then what really is the point . The issue is not on how prepared we are for the job the issue is if we actually have a job at the end of that preparation. My dear nyps, we can all clearly see that there is presently an epidemic, an epidemic of jobless young people who are losing hope for the future. Our government is not helping. Our government is not helping. [laughter] [cheers and applause] 14 months ago, they issued the youth contract, and part of this is giving 2000 phones to any business that employed young people. They pledged to give out 160,000 of these contracts. 14 months on, they have given out only 4,690, a mere 3 . This just shows the pathetic attempt our government has made on combating this issue. There is a common stereotype among Youth Parliaments that we highlight the issues but not the solutions. It has been pointed out that this campaign might not have a direct effect because we do not have a solution. Scotland has that solution. [laughter] we recognize that this is such a serious problem that we now have a permanent minister for youth employment, angela constance, who i had the pleasure of meeting last week. There used to be a minister for youth engagement, but what a surprise, our government scrapped it. There is your master plan, jawaad we need a minister for youth employment. We need to raise the profile of the support that is already offered. This is especially important since the last election, you on of women has increased by 24 . Even at the election the economy was worse then and not now. Is this too big a job for the Youth Parliament campaign . Possibly. But our playing small does not serve the world. We have been told the old story work hard in school, get a degree, and you will get a job. You have shown that the story is a fairy tale. We are the best educated generation in history and yet somehow we are fearing an unemployment black hole. Young people are often told that we are the society of the future, forgetting that we are the society of now we are alive now, we are skilled now, and we are unemployed now members of the Youth Parliament, we must do something now. Thank you. [cheers and applause] laurie, thank you very much indeed. That concludes the morning session of our sitting. The Youth Parliament will now adjourn. Thank you. Welcome back. I hope you enjoyed your lunch, obviously it had to be rather brief. Order, order. The Youth Parliament will consider the fourth motion of the day relating to better Work Experience and careers advice as printed on the order papers. To move the motion, i call from Northern Ireland, mr. Ruairi kennedy. [cheers and applause] thank you, mr. Speaker. Fellow members of the u. K. Youth parliament, we do not know what we wanted to do until we gained a little bit of Work Experience. We learn people across the u. K. Are entitled to one or two ways of Work Experience. This is no longer compulsory. Do you agree with me that it should be . We all know young people in our local areas whose work placement in the past have involved making play, photocopying, and shadowing rather than the high quality working sprinkler they deserve. Highquality work insurance and guidance is about as aspirational, as proactive, and comes rather than the it is focused upon. It benefits and inspires. The ukyp represent 11yearolds to 18yearolds, and voting in favor is more inclusive than those we represent and does not just represent the smaller such as voting for 16 and 17year olds. Youth unemployment is a huge issue, better fellow members, dont you agree quality careers advice, Work Experience. A report finds that young people who take part in Work Experience are 40 less likely to be unemployed. Members of ukyp, we need to work with our local governments, we need to work with the National Educational department in making sure that the young people receive a Higher Quality advice and Work Experience. Those stuck in the middle, those who do not know what theyre going to do, they need high quality careers advice and Work Experience. There is more and more careers advice going on now. Personally, this is a problem, and i would also now, members, you know that is a good job, but what you are not aware of is i am allergic to cats, dogs, and horses. So it is not possible. [laughter] as the United Kingdom Youth Parliament, we should listen to the voices of the 47,620 young people that have voted in favor of this motion and many more young people all over our country that are affected by this issue. I ask you today to vote in favor of this motion. Thank you. [cheers and applause] thank you very much, indeed, for that opening speech to oppose the motion. I shall call from the northeast of england, mr. Matthew otubu. [cheers and applause] wow. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Thousands of young people took Work Experience as the most important issue, so we know is that big deal for young people across the country. It was voted second in this years make your mark, second in my home region of the northeast, and first in my own city. I know i have an accent, but we will talk about that much later. [laughter] so although i speak against this motion today, rest assure that i understand the importance of Work Experience and careers advice. But listen to this without compulsory work in school, the English Department of education reported pontification rates of up to 95 . Surely the real problem is not access but the quality of the work and career advice the young people are given. Government describes meaningful work is purposeful, substantial, challenging, and relevant to the young study program. But many of us, including those who are in favor of this motion, must concede that once or twice we have been on the receiving end of miserably inadequate careers advice. I believe that the young people spoke out this year. They are fed up and want to see real change. Solutions to deep rooted problems that contain to not even begin to address. What about the 11yearold girl and 12yearold boy in your constituencies . One replacement, one week, five days, making tea and coffee for a boss for whom he does not care . [cheers and applause] instead, we need a campaign worthy of taxes and the books of history or a page on wikipedia. [laughter] imagine a Youth Parliament that is the driving force behind one of the biggest changes to democracy in three generations, one that campaigns for votes at 16 or calls for the overhaul of a curriculum that has repeatedly failed to prepare us for life. One that stands up against the acts of bullying in our schools or speaks up for those in the seemingly indestructible war of youth employment. Or do we want a Youth Parliament that campaigns for young people to undertake substantive career advice sessions that leave them insecure and out of their ability . Now, that is the honest question before us today. I hope your answer, and our hope our joint answer, will be no. Fellow members of the United Kingdom Youth Parliament, we must remember that we do not sit on these green benches in the Hallowed Chamber to caress our egos, dignify ourselves, make our bums comfortable [laughter] or update our facebook pictures. [cheers and applause] no, no, no, that is not why we are here. [applause] rather, we are here to speak for over 5. 8 million young people of this country. Dear friends, think of them when we work for our campaign today. Achievable, attainable, and accomplishable campaign. We can no longer stall with unwinnable projects. Also think of the efforts i have made today. I had to put my best suit and my best bow tie on. [laughter] thank you. [cheers and applause] ok i think we will take the young gentleman here who wanted to speak. My name is liam islam. I believe that better Work Experience is needed for our young people. In my school based in southeast london, we have a career coordinator who guides all the young people. I agree that we as members can have better worries for it, better career advice, you can have a better career in the future. I do apologize, i am slightly nervous today. But i think having better Work Experience would be a good thing for young people. We need to work with other organizations to support the young people. Thank you. [cheers and applause] thank you very much indeed, and i think you wish to contribute, please do. I am holly girven, and i knew then that that was the career path i want to go down. To me, the fact that the 11 yearolds or 12yearolds just now wanted to see this is outrageous. I loved it. Why should everybody else get to experience it even if theyre younger than me. And career advice is great. You can get such valuable advice and advice on qualifications that you need to go into a job that are so valuable. So everyone should be able to do Work Experience and get valuable careers advice no matter how old they are. Thank you. [applause] thank you. What about the northwest of england . How about the woman at the end in the red jacket . Thank you, i am lydia wolstenholme. I would first like to say the program seems to be quite popular already with what we have been talking about is that young people are not happy enough with the jobs that they are going to in the future. Nobody has got the right education nobody knows what theyre going to do when they are older. I am doing my Work Experience next year, and i have no idea what i want to be. And the fact that young people are being pressured into Work Experience placement that will do nothing that is beneficial to them is quite bad. I think the careers advice should come with what actual Work Experience means and why we should be doing. It is very general, and not go to something that you know, weve only got we need to focus on these smaller things and build the idea to create a fantastic curriculum which helps all the people no matter what age or where they are from. [applause] what about yorkshire and humber . The woman with the black jacket and yellow pad. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I am pegah moulana, on behalf of the yorkshire and humber side. Basically, we have found out that Work Experience and careers are in the top three. Actually, they pressure us to do well for our future, but there is one simple question i want all of you to think about, and that is how do they expect us to act like adults, when the opportunities for us to prove even to ourselves that we can do it . If there is no Work Experience, and any way for us to actually know what our skills are, how can we know that what we want for our future, and how can we be a good citizen for our own society . Also, i wanted to say that careers are really a key skills for our generation because, first of all, i have to say that a lot of people out there do not know what they want to do, so the only thing they can think of is maybe committing a crime, or they dont know anything better to do. Our role as a member of Youth Parliament is to prevent that, and if we have people to be more productive for the area. I want to thank again, guys. I have seen people out there really need you, and they need our boys to get better Work Experience. Thank you very much. [applause] thank you. The southeast, the chap here with his hand up. I am gregory makarchuk. Schools cannot teach the skills necessary for life in the worlds business. Interpersonal skills are key to eradicating with Business Partners and colleagues. In this day and age, globalization is a very costly prospect, and young people must be prepared for this. According to a Goldman Sachs report on the brits nation, we will be committee came with and working with business in these countries, so we need to be prepared for this business. We are first the real world. Ladies and gentlemen, this is the real world. [applause] what about the east of england . Thank you. I am george nodwell. [inaudible] [laughter] i actually believe young people deserve to have their say and Work Experience is very valuable. Employers nowadays are actually looking to what experience you actually have. The experience is really crucial. I was not actually sure what i wanted to be and now i do. It is really crucial that you as young people, as young people, are given the chance to explore what we want to be. Careers advice is also really important. We can come back if we could do this one motion. It is really important. If we can pass this motion, we can complete and make the u. K. A much better place for young people. Thank you. [applause] thank you. What about the West Midlands . Gosh, this is an avalanche of people. I am going to choose the woman who is jumping up and down as if she is skipping. Indeed. [laughter] ok, a person that i know a few months ago didnt get Work Experience. He did the exact opposite of what he wanted. That is not fair. He has enough quality and experience in his life to get him the job that he wants. If you want to be a photographer, you could do what you wanted to do in that limited time of Work Experience. I dont think that is fair. If we get that motion, we should extend the time of Work Experience and let people have a say in what goes on and it. [applause] southwest . Yes, you have been very patient. Red hair. [laughter] [applause] i am natasha. I live in a rural area. It can be pretty, but it can be pretty boring. Your opportunities are pretty limited, too. The young people in my school are lucky enough to do Work Experience. What they are limited by is their aspirations. Sometimes they want to do things in london or go abroad and study and do things that people in our town do not do. They are not being given the opportunity to do this. People are hindering and limiting their aspirations right from their Work Experience. People are saying you cannot do this, that is too far away. To be frank, quite often these young people do not even think about this. Their parents work in this town and have always worked in this town. They are going to end up living in this town. That is the mentality. I do not think we should be limiting aspirations. Work experience that targets young people to embellish their aspirations and make sure they find things that they want to do, not just going to the local shops to take Work Experience. We need to make sure Work Experience is targeted for young people in areas that they want to do. Therefore, i wish the Youth Parliaments 2014 campaign should be better Work Experience and careers advice. [applause] who have we got from scotland . Just here. Me. I am from scotland. I believe Work Experience is really beneficial, for a number of reasons. It sometimes leads to parttime employment. My school offers Work Experience, but they are withdrawing it soon. I am hoping this will be our National Campaign. Work experience allows employers to see what young people are capable of and allows young people to see what employment is like. It gives young people a mission and aspirations. Those are great qualities we offer young people. I hope that you will choose Work Experience as your National Campaign. [applause] ok. I think we have a bit of time. We will get back to london. Who have we got from london . All right, you are beside yourself with excitement. I am dani. Although i agree that Work Experience is beneficial on careers advice helps you, i think this debate will come to a conclusion that the solution lies within education and the curriculum. I would encourage you to vote for a Better National curriculum, whether that is providing careers advice or advising you on the process of applying to Work Experience. I think the curriculum and education is where it starts. Thank you. [applause] what about the northeast of england . Ben from middlesboro. I believe that we need to have better Work Experience, it is a great idea. But i agree with matthew, i do not fancy making tea and coffee my whole week. I think we have made a mistake and that we have said we want Work Experience and careers advice to be accessible for all. But we have not said what we want to happen within a careers advice or with the Work Experience. Actually, what we are saying is yes, send everybody away for a week of Work Experience of making tea and coffee. We have not thought it through. That is a real danger. When we have got policies and issues such as youth unemployment, which is really the root of all this. We are talking about how people we are setting them up for employers to turn around and say this guy has got more experience than you in the real world. What are we setting them up for . We have not specified what we want to achieve through this policy. That is quite a big danger. We should vote for something that actually is really affecting young people, and i can think of Nothing Better than unemployment. [applause] thank you. That was a very large, spirited delegation from the West Midlands. [laughter] yes. [laughter] all sorts of words spring to mind. The woman in the pink jacket. Thank you, mr. Speaker. Yes, i think we should have better Work Experience. It should not be made compulsory. Work experience needs to retain its value. Students need to pull their socks up and walk out and get this opportunities for themselves. [applause] we cannot give young people things on a platter. Something else [laughter] i am sorry. We should not give them Work Experience on a platter. At the end of the day, it is just another thing that we need to do to get into university and get a job. Then are we going to need something else. We should not vote for the National Campaign, we should vote for something that is going to affect us. Thank you. [applause] what about the east midlands . From the east midlands, we will go for the gentleman there. You, sir. [laughter] i did [laughter] oh. My name is alastair, i am from lincolnshire. I did two weeks of Work Experience a while ago, a year or two ago. I worked with an i. T. Technician and a school. I found out to be very beneficial. The next week was at another company which i did not find as helpful. I think Work Experience was very good. Everyone should have the opportunity to do Work Experience. That is a good thing to put on their c. V. To have some experience. I also think people should take other opportunities. I did the National Citizen service in the summer. I think that is good. That involves giving charity work. Volunteering. Social action. Skills that i think are very good. They show a positive image for you. I think doing stuff like that is a good thing if you want youth unemployment to go down, make yourself stand out. [applause] what about Northern Ireland . Who have we got from Northern Ireland . The woman at the end. Are you Northern Ireland . Hi. I am from Northern Ireland. Everybody is talking about Work Experience and has good points. I did Work Experience for a week at a primary school. For the days that i was there i did not make tea and coffee. I worked with the children. I was able to help them. Work experience brings a different side in every single child. Some people say 11 and 12year olds cannot be expected to know what they want to do. That is what Work Experience and careers advice is for. If it is there it should be used accordingly. People do not see the point in Work Experience or careers advice. That is telling me that they cannot pick a career. I think people should vote for the resolution because it will help children and give them a place to go to understand what they want to do with their life. [applause] thank you, that is very clear. What about wales . The gentleman third along. I am simon from wales. The underlying theme has been empowering young people. We have to empower young people to find opportunities like Work Experience. We should empower them to speak out against the bullies and find opportunities. [laughter] i basically this comes into the curriculum for life. Great opportunities for young people and making them feel the confidence to speak out when things are not going the way they want. That is what i think. [applause] what about the east of england . Who have we got from the east of england . The woman there. Thank you, mr. Speaker. I am from the east of england. I wanted to mention the point that my honorable friend mentioned when he opposed the motion. He said Work Experience can comprise making tea or coffee. Yes, it can. Sometimes Work Experience is bad and not tailored for young people. This motion does not oppose careers advice being used to make sure that these placements are good for these young people. This motion does not oppose improving Work Experience. Therefore, i really believe that if we want young people to experience good Work Experience, we must vote for this issue and improve Work Experience by working with young people and tailoring their Work Experience for them. [applause] thank you. The northwest of england, who have we got . What about the chap here. Northwest. There is a massive gap in this country between the world of education and the world of work. It seems bizarre that the duty for schools to provide Work Experience has been removed at the very time we have a high youth unemployment. No schools in my constituency offer Work Experience anymore. Surely this bridge between the classroom and the workplace is even more crucial at a time when people are not only concerned about the choice of job but the availability of work. [applause] ok. Londons turn again. A woman from london, here. Millie, camden. Something i want to bring up is that currently i did Work Experience for the summer. I was lucky to get a great placement in a great organization. That was because of my contacts, i have done a lot with Youth Parliament. You get great Work Experience if you have great contacts. A lot of young people, different grades or different backgrounds, do not have those contacts. That does not mean they do not care. It is the same thing the government is saying about people who do not get jobs, there are reasons. People have a lack in confidence or there are other reasons. We cannot just allow some people to get great Work Experience and to have great career pass because of the people they know. We have to make sure that careers advice and Work Experience goes through a general base so that everyone can get equal opportunities to great Work Experience. Thank you. [applause] southeast of england. You have been in a state of uncontrollable excitement for the last couple of hours. [applause] thank you so much, mr. Speaker. I am so proud. Quite recently we had a conference about Work Experience and careers advice. The general consensus was, over 200 people said that they were not getting enough Work Experience or careers advice. It is so important that this happens. Work experience build up confidence. It means they have the skills to face the world of work. It goes into the curriculum for life campaign, because they are getting the skills to go out and be better people in society. I urge you to vote for this issue, please. [applause] thank you. Time is always against us. One more debate to follow. I encourage everybody who has not been called to have another go in the next debate. I must call upon our friend and representative from yorkshire and humber. [applause] mr. Speaker. Better Work Experience and careers advice has two sides to the tale. Practical and theoretical. Both are reaching the same endpoint while taking paths that support each other like a married couple. Lets take a step back. Will this really affect us significantly . Society likes debating numbers. A levels or how many facebook friends they have. Our world has grown to judge people on what they have achieved instead of looking at the potential to grow as a person. Friends describe their Work Experience to me. A tea pouring, paper pushing ordeal. That seems to be a recurring situation to those who want that extra step in life. I ask myself growth . How so . The vital push i needed to bridge the gap between education and life is fundamentally crucial in a Young Persons journey into adulthood. Lets face it, we can be ignorant, ignorant to reality that fuels our dreams through our teenage years. I hear you call for an answer and guidance. How can we develop as people if my own mind is diluted with dreams of me walking down a catwalk with Victoria Beckham . [laughter] it is time to face the truth. [laughter] we kind of need help. The irony we have the help. 95 of us have Work Experience. But the majority of it is poorly structured, not helped by the fact that stereotypes are constantly fulfilled, a waste of time. Why focus the strength of a voice of a minority when the majority can utilize a voice of power . Researching my topic broaden my eyes to reality, something which you all need to understand. Work experience is begged for by employees. The quality of the experience comes under question. Yet employers increasingly focus on education. All of Civilized Society should be educated in the basics of life math, english, and science. It is academic education alongside the growth of the individual that will deliver a better society. Myps, i ask you this question today. Should we be fueling more money into an everdeclining system . Or should we be investing in the future of our society . From the wisdom of my parents, my name translates as the leader of people. [laughter] mr. Speaker, you look at me today for an answer to a complex tale of pros and cons. But i can help you no further. It is your time to decide. [applause] thank you very much indeed for that windup. The Youth Parliament will consider the fifth and last motion of the day relating to the votes for 16yearolds and 17yearolds in all public elections, as printed on the order paper. To move the motion, i call from the east midlands, mr. Hajar. [applause] thank you, mr. Speaker. Votes at 16, what a topic. The conversation comes up in uk myp, rightly so. It is one of the most relevant topics. 49,945 voted in the National Campaign, making it the most popular topic of the agenda today. For too long this issue has lingered. Now it is finally time to give it attention. Myps, i stand before you as a 17yearold, with responsibilities but without the rights. For example, i have the right to have a wife and children. Obviously, i do not have either. [laughter] but at 17, the government says i can take the responsibility of having a partner and children, but i cannot influence the society one behalf of my kids with the right to vote. I am denied these rights not because of my knowledge or political awareness, but because i am a year younger than the required age. This one year has cost me my representation, my political participation, and my voice. Myps, we are being robbed. Common arguments is that they do not know enough to vote. This is not sufficient. Every age range has people who may not have enough political knowledge to vote. We do not stop certain people voting based on their political awareness. Even if turnout is low, we have empowered young people. We are finally being represented in council, european parliament, and general elections. The government has to listen. You may be interested to know the same arguments were used against the votes for 18year olds and the womens suffrage movement, which empowered women to vote. In the past, the u. K. Has led the world and reforms. But now, we are trailing. Something like giving women the vote was a huge step towards a fair and equal democracy. I assure you, myps, votes at 16 is the next step. This is a winnable campaign. Vote 16 could not be a more relevant topic. The policy continues, and the labour party has reiterated its support for extending the franchise. Also, scotland has given the vote to 16yearolds to 17year olds in the upcoming referendum. Something conservatives show support of by backing the idea. This progress finally causes us to draw a line in the sand in 2014. This is our call to action. I implore you to vote on a National Campaign that would change the lives of young people for centuries to come and help bring this topic to a final conclusion. Myps, the wars of this prestigious room have time for one more voting reform. Lets enfranchise young people. [applause] thank you for getting us off to a strapping start with that speech. To oppose the motion, i called mr. Matthew walker from wales. [applause] thank you, mr. Speaker. How do i follow that . I will tell you how. To vote or not to vote at 16. That is the question with a more complicated answer than some of you may think. Education may not prepare us to vote. A friend of mine said you are going to need statistics to back this up. I realize one thing, the evidence is inconsistent. A report by the Electoral Commission involved over 7500 responses and recommended that the voting age remain 18. In the same year, the children and young Peoples Assembly of wales had a document that said the opposite. 80 said yes, give us the vote at 16. We are ready. Although this is from welsh, not u. K. Wide research, it shows a wide range of opinions. This is the top issue for our young people. Just under 20 of those votes came from one city in the east midlands of the east of england. This is not a fairer presentation. We all want jobs and a better education. We want bullying to be prevented in schools. You all represent young people and our nation is divided. We should find out what people want. On the 26th of october, the voting age reduction bill had a second reading in the house of lords. Ed miliband supported the vote for 16. Lets leave this to the politicians who are already getting this the attention it deserves. Thank you. [applause] what about hearing from someone from the northwest of england . That woman is in a state of great agitation. Indeed. [laughter] we support voting at 16. We had a presentation at our full council meeting. It is one of the first places in the u. K. To publicly announce their support for vote 16. Councils do care about their young people and have trust in them. Isnt it time we did this nationally . [applause] what about london, who have we got from london . There is a huge delegation. The woman in the back. Thank you, mr. Speaker. From richmond. Our generation has been called lazy. We have been called a lost and hopeless generation. That is why vote for 16 and 17 should show the government does have trust and faith in the use. We must bridge the gap between the social divide of the young people and adults that is helped by introducing the vote for 16 and 17yearolds. A perfect example, the new referendum in scotland allowing 16yearolds and 17yearolds to vote. Let me finish with a quote. Trust people and they will trust you, show them greatness and they will show themselves to be great. Thank you. [applause] what about the West Midlands . I think that gentleman there. No, no. You, you, you. You looked as though you had suffered you had suffered a bereavement when i did not call you. Me . Thank you so much. [applause] thank you, mr. Speaker. I have been waiting for this moment all day. [applause] i am from the West Midlands. I am representing my constituency in birmingham. Let me start with a point. The fact that we are here today shows that we are willing to be involved in this democratic process. We need to address this democratic deficit by getting involved at 16. This is a cause i have championed for many years now. When i was a 15yearold and we were discussing Work Experience earlier, i was at my Work Experience. I was saying, you need to do this and sign my petition. This position is going to the national government, and this is something we need to consider. Now, we talk about how young people do not vote how do we know that they will not vote if we do not give them the opportunity to do so . I am sorry, i am losing my point. I am going to make my argument very clear. [laughter] we need the vote. I am ready to vote, i was ready at the age of 15. I know which party i would be voting for. A party that champions young peoples causes and a party that supports the introduction of votes at 16. Now, you are all here for a purpose, to represent the views and opinions of young people. Let me tell you this now. Sorry i imagine all of you are very supportive of the system we are in. We need to get this vote. I know some of you have said you would not vote at 16. The reason as was alluded to earlier, young people are often the hardest hit by government policy. We do not have a say to stop such policy. Governments tend not to [applause] old people they will not attack us if we turn up and vote and we will not be the victims of this government. [applause] thank you. Why do you think i love chairing these debates . It is the passion, the enthusiasm, the commitment. This is a proud day for our parliament. You are showing why we are so proud. Lets have someone from the southwest. We will have the woman who stood up you all stood up the woman with the black outfit and the pink ribbon. You, indeed. [laughter] i think something that we all need to realize is that democracy in this country focuses very much on the short term. The government which governs us is depending on a fouryear term. What we offer is a perspective that is a longterm perspective. This is why i feel that vote for 16 is important. To tackle longterm issues like unemployment for young people and a curriculum for life and bullying. These are all very longterm and complicated issues. The only way that young people can have a say and the only way that these can be tackled long term is if we have the ability to look at 16. To vote at 16. I urge you to vote for this issue. [applause] who have we got from scotland . This man here was virtually assaulted. I use the word virtually for good reason. [applause] thank you, mr. Speaker. Myp for scotland. Going off the member who spoke in favor of the motion. On september 18 next year, 16 yearolds and 17yearolds will be able to vote on the referendum on scottish independence. Young people are engaging deeply in debates and more young people are engaging with politics. Lowering the voting age for all elections will ensure that more young people do not feel disconnected from politicians. Sorry. Instead, they will be having a direct impact on the people who make decisions on their behalf. 16yearolds and 17yearolds are contributors to society. They should be rewarded by being allowed to vote. [applause] ok. I think it is time that we heard from the east of england. Ok. Who have we got from the east of england . You in the blue. Thank you. I am nathan. Can i take a moment to reflect on something . Earlier, we were talking about combating youth unemployment. We said before that we would be only focusing on a minority of our Youth Parliament. Now, i am not saying that i would not love to be part of and influence across my country. I am part of Youth Parliament, that is what i want. I am simply stating that already we have heard today the lib dems, conservatives, and the labour party have said they are backing it. There is a high chance that in scotland it will happen. Everything and everyone has already said we like the idea. Why give it more attention . We should be backing something that we can help progress for everybody. After all, that is why we are here. [applause] if we were to continue for vote at 16, which i highly believe will happen and should happen, we will only be contradicting ourselves with something we already said. That is something i do not like. Think about it logically. If we cannot do one motion because of a minority we are already including, why not think otherwise . If it were going to happen, it has a high chance. Go for something else. Thank you. [applause] what about Northern Ireland . This chap here. Timothy from from Northern Ireland. The first thing i would like to address votes at 16 what is that going to do for the 16 yearold on the street who is unemployed . [applause] today, we have put a lot of focus on the future of young people across the u. K. Yes, we need better Work Experience. Yes, we need life skills. And, yes, we need employment. But we cannot do these things individually. We need to put our eyes and our efforts to something higher. We need to look at full educational reform. I know i am taking a deviation. This is very important. In Northern Ireland, we are blessed with government education. Our Assembly Government is attempting to undermine that. In england, you lost your grammar education decades ago and you have seen your quality of education reduced. We need to bring back grammar education. This is something we need to look at. We need to bring back grammar education to give everyone the chance to achieve what they can. We are one people, one nation, one education. [applause] what about yorkshire and humber . Who have we got . This gentleman here. [applause] thank you. At 16, you can have children. Joshua from humber, from wakefield. [laughter] at 16, you can have children and make lifechanging decisions. 12,900 people voted. Does this not prove that 16 yearolds are capable of making lifechanging decisions . Why should the general election be any different . [applause] who have we got, we have not heard from anyone from the southeast . Ok. This woman. We will hear from you. Kate from the south southeast. I cannot possibly understand why you would vote for any other issue except this. This is going to affect all of us, even if you are 12 or 18. You will be voting, it could be someone in this room one day. I would like to say that this campaign is backing with the government believes. This is a campaign that we can work with the government to achieve together. It is not like the scottish referendum, so we can get lots of information from them. [applause] we have not yet heard in this debate from the northeast. You have we got . This is difficult. Yes, go. You can even share a speech. I better not encourage that. [laughter] beth from newcastle, northeast. I would like to dispute the idea of neglect for 11yearolds. They will grow up to be 16 and get the vote. When we make this decision, it is not just for one year, it is for the future. You are going to be 16 and youre going to vote. It is not going to be only the 16yearolds of 2018 who get to vote. That is what i mean. It is not selfish of us to think of the future. It is not selfish of us it is not selfish of us as a Youth Parliament to dispute Everything Else and focus on this because the government is backing it. It is not selfish of us to want to have a successful campaign. That is something we have not had yet, and i believe we can if we vote for 16. [applause] we had an opening speaker from the east midlands, but we have not had a backbencher. Yes, thank you. Thank you. I am honored to represent. I represent my area i am not going to lie, i was on the fence. From what i gathered in the debates, we were very much pro vote 16. I turned 16 a month ago. I am coming out of the vote 16 closet. I am coming out, guys. [applause] i have heard again and again how we are not mature enough. We are here because we are mature. Other countries, argentina, they have the vote. [applause] we are ready for this. The time is coming. Argentina is not having the apocalypse, brazil is not falling under. This could be a successful campaign. Democracy is a beautiful thing. So, please, vote for 16. [applause] so ere was one person unadulter ated if i didnt call him. So lets hear from you, sir