10. Inclusion

A Young Person's Agenda for Democracy: One Year On 

The Youth Voting Network is made up of a large number of UK organisations working in the field of democracy and participation, particularly among young people.

This report presents the findings and recommendations of the 2003 monitoring programme of the Youth Voting Network, which focused on the activities of politicians, Government, The Electoral Commission and the media aimed at reconnecting young people with politics; the report provides recommendations for each of these.

Connecting the UK: The Digital Strategy 

A joint report by the DTI and Strategy Unit, March 2005. Outlines a seven point programme to tackle digital exclusion.

Enabling a Digitally Enabled United Kingdom: A Framework for Action

In early 2004, the Government established a Digital Inclusion Panel (DIP) by bringing together stakeholders from the public, private and voluntary sectors to:
• identify groups most at risk of digital exclusion;
• identify future actions that might encourage digital take-up; and
• make recommendations about how industry, government and the voluntary sector can work together to drive a digitally United Kingdom.
This report sets out their findings and recommendations.

Learning to Listen: Core Principles for the Involvement of Children and Young People

Core Principles for the involvement of Children and Young People is designed to give all government departments a solid framework on which to base their plans to increase the involvement of children and young people in policy and service design and delivery. Embedding this approach right across government will not be achieved overnight, but this document prepared by the Children and Young People’s Unit makes suggestions for how the process might begin.

Logged Off? How can ICT Connect Young People and Politics? 

Logged Off? is a circa 58 page paper from the thinktank Demos, which finds that some features of new technologies can encourage greater participation if they are used in a way that engages and empowers young people. Although the overall picture is positive, there are still significant barriers to this agenda being taken forward.

The National Evaluation of the Children's Fund: Early Messages from Developing Practices  

This interim report from the National Evaluation of the Children’s Fund has been written at the request of the Children and Young People’s Unit in order to provide practitioners with some rapid feedback on aspects of practice being developed by Children’s Fund partnerships.

The report is based on evidence from research undertaken over the summer of 2003. The interim report describes the common challenges and early lessons for the development of preventative services by Children’s Fund partnerships. The first Annual Report, to be published in early 2004, will include more detailed analyses.

Young People and Politics 

Young people and politics is a report on the YVote?/YNot? project by the Children and Young People’s Unit, which sought to identify what young people think are the reasons behind the increasing evidence of voter disengagement, what needs to be done to tackle it and by whom. The report describes the research undertaken and its findings, makes recommendations for change, and sets out messages for politicians, the government and electoral commission, and the media.

Young People's Attitudes to Politics  

The Nestlé Family Monitor is a series of research studies into family life in Britain undertaken on behalf of Nestlé UK by MORI. Young People's Attitudes to Politics, a July 2003 publication, sets out over 58 pages findings and analysis of young people's involvement in participation in their local communities, their attitudes towards politics and voting, and their knowledge of the political process and parties.

Young People and e-Democracy 

Bristol City Council is pleased to have commissioned this report as part of its lead role in the evaluation of the Local e-Democracy National Project. But why did we commission a report on the views of young people in the first place? As we started our research into e-democracy, two messages quickly emerged.

Firstly, it was pointed out to us that over the past decade, government has voiced a growing concern that young people have become apathetic and disengaged from politics. The unprecedented low turnout figures for young people in the 2001 general election is seen to have further strengthened this perception.

Secondly, it was pointed out that over this same period, young people have become the users and in many ways, the drivers of emerging communication technology. According to a MORI survey, almost all 11 to 21 year olds have access to a mobile phone. The UK Children Go Online project suggests that 98% of 9 to19 year olds have used the Internet. When combined, these two messages result in a belief that young people are a prime target for e-democracy.

50+ Website Project Report 

To provide another medium for older people to contribute to local decision making by giving their views on issues that affect them. The 50+ Network already sets out to do this although it operates more as an information provider whereas the website’s primary objective is to gain information and encourage engagement. The purpose of the website was not only to provide an alternative method but for this alternative to harness the power of the web, for a group that traditionally has not been viewed as a natural group for electronic government.