THE NATIONAL YOUTH AGENCY: Young people priority of Local DemocracyWeek

Young people have delivered a report to the Prime Minister setting out ways to engage them in the political process. The report, published by the Youth Voting Network - a coalition of more than 30 youth and democracy organisations including The National Youth Agency - highlights changes that need to be made to reconnect young people with politics. Four young people joined Louise King, senior policy officer at the Children's Rights Alliance of England (right), to present the report, A young person's agenda for democracy, at Number 10 Downing Street during Local Democracy Week - which took as its theme "Listening to Tomorrow's Voters today".

The report makes recommendations for politicians, Government, The Electoral Commission and the media. These include giving young people direct access to MPs at local youth events as well as visiting schools and youth groups between election campaign periods and encouraging the selection of younger candidates to better represent the diversity of young people.

The full report and executive summary can be downloaded from the website: www.electoralcommission.gov.uk

Also during Local Democracy Week, The National Youth Agency, in partnership with the Local Government Association, launched a revised and updated version of Hear by Right, its standards framework for organisations to assess and improve practice and policy on the active involvement of children and young people. The document, which comes with a CD and poster, enables organisations to measure themselves against seven standards - shared values, strategy, structures, systems, staff, skills and styles of leadership - assess whether they are at emerging, established or advanced level and how to continue to develop.

"This provides a template for change," said Harry Wade, Hear by Right project manager at The NYA. "Not just the change of organisational culture but real out there, on the ground, visible change. It should also prove useful in responding to Transforming Youth Work, Ofsted, the recent Green Paper on children and other Government initiatives."

Hear by Right is available, priced 8.99, from The NYA sales team. Tel: 0116 285 3709. Email: sales@nya.org.uk. This price includes a poster and CD. A package of materials to include the above and three further booklets on young people's participation, is available for 10 - contact sales for details.

- The National Youth Agency also chose Local Democracy Week to submit its response to the Electoral Commission consultation 'How old is old enough?' which is looking into the minimum age of voting and candidacy in UK elections.

The NYA fully supports lowering the voting age to 16 and the age of candidacy in all UK elections to 18. "We believe from our experience of working with young people in local and national political affairs that the relevant question is not 'How old is old enough?' but 'How young is young enough?'", said NYA development officer Bill Badham.

A copy of the response is available on The Agency's website at www.nya.org.uk.