There is a lot of talk about youth participation these days. Around the world there is a new emphasis on citizenship and citizenship education. Young people are being invited to play a fuller role in society in their own right. Cautiously, they are being invited into the corridors of power, into the decision-making process. To take advantage of these opportunities young people must represent themselves and their peers effectively.

But young people make their own identity, sometimes assertively. They get labelled. So we shall be looking at the influence the media has on the dialogue between youth and those who hold power. The way young people are portrayed colours the views that adults take of them and of what they say. It colours young people’s view of themselves. Images are not always quite so close to the reality.  

Many young people are not comfortable with the tried and tested routes for putting pressure on public policy. Their culture and their modes of expression that, in some eyes, cloud their message, contain powerful arguments, if only the authority generation could listen with more expertise.

This seminar examines a variety of mechanisms that have sprung up to give young people a voice. It explores the benefits, the problems and the means to stop messages being blocked.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS SEMINAR
Young people and those in government, the media, academe and NGOs who represent them.