This page gives further details about the British Youth Council and the project funded by us.
The British Youth Council (BYC) is led by young people, for young people aged 25 and under across the UK. BYC connects with a community of member organisations and a network of Local Youth Councils to empower all young people. BYC provide training and volunteering which incorporate powerful campaigns, to inspire young people to have a positive impact and make their voices count.
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visit the BYC website at www.byc.org.uk.
Inform and Influence project
The project was aimed at young people not in formal education and young people belonging to youth organisations. The project was delivered in London, Edinburgh, Cardiff and Belfast enabling beneficiaries to participate in the democratic process.
BYC worked in partnership with organisations in the devolved areas including Funky Dragon in Wales, the Northern Ireland Youth Forum, and Scottish Youth Parliament to assist in hosting events and recruiting young people. The project provided four annual two-day training courses in each region, each with 25 participants. The training covered local and national devolved democracy, and UK wide and European democratic processes.
In addition the project provided an annual Your Democracy event where young people visited democratic institutions in each region and met with elected representatives to discuss how they could engage with that institution. An interactive website, E-bulletin updates and paper based resources were also developed as part of this project. Our grant funded staffing costs, training materials, young peoples travel, publications, surveys, and associated project costs.
Project outcomes
- increase young people’s confidence so they will take part in all aspects of political decision making
- increase young people’s awareness of how local, national and European democracy is organised and how decisions are made
- increase the number of young people who register to vote and the likelihood that they will vote
- increase young people’s opportunities to work with people who make decisions
- increase young people’s feeling that the political system is relevant to their lives
- increase the likelihood of young people becoming involved in other forms of political activism
Outcomes achieved
As part of the Inform and Influence project, BYC delivered 36 Your Democracy Training workshops across the UK reaching 245 young people and improving their awareness and understanding of democratic processes and political decision making. As a result of the project’s voter registration events,1,563 young people said they were more likely to vote. Elected representatives attended these events and liaised with the young people, listening to their ideas and concerns regarding their local communities and the environment.
Case study
Ben was 19 years old when he attended an Inform and Influence event in Westminster. He was also serving a sentence in a Young Offenders’ institution. He had dropped out of school without qualifications and in his own words ‘got involved with a bad crowd’. He had never taken part in citizenship education and had little understanding of what happens in the Houses of Parliament of what a MP does. This lack of understanding led to an indifference towards politics.
At the event, Ben took a tour of parliament and participated in a workshop about the role of a MP which included a talk from a local MP. Ben stated after the workshop that the MP had made him feel like an ‘equal’ and had listened to his views and concerns. The MP also followed up the conversation with a letter which illustrated the actions she was taking to rectify Ben’s concerns.
Ben said ‘I never really thought about how things that happen in Westminster affect me, but now I know that it does affect my life. When I get out of the institution, I will definitely vote’.
