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Home Media & Campaigns Campaigns Young Respect? activists meet Sir Al-Aysley Green

Young Respect? activists meet Sir Al-Aysley Green

Mohammed 19; Rachael 21; Kate 21 & Sophie 19 met the Children's Commissioner, Sir Al Aynsley-Green yesterday (Thursday, February 22, 2007) to secure his support for an ongoing campaign that tackles negative stereotypes of young people.

 

23 February 2007

The young activists are members of the Respect? Young People's Advisory Group; who alongside online charity YouthNet and the British Youth Council (BYC), aim to change the way young people feel they are portrayed.  

Launched last year with a study that exposed the shocking extent to which young people feel they are viewed; the Respect? campaign empowers it's young supporters to challenge the degree to which they feel they are misrepresented. 

Mohammed, 19 said: "Meeting Sir Al Aynsley Green was great. It's part of our promise to encourage decision makers to make more informed judgments on youth issues by listening to what we have to say. We need his help to convince the government and other policy people to take more time to engage young people in discussions. Journalists as well. We want to the media to include what we think in more articles. Their reporting on young people needs to be more balanced. And with Sir Al's support, all older people could start to appreciate the positive things that we do".

Sir Al Aynsley-Green, the Children's Commissioner for England, said: "As Children's Commissioner I have spoken out many times since I was appointed about the disproportionate number of negative media reports on children and young people. Frequent newspaper articles and television images portray them as a generation out of control or as people feared by adults. There is little effort made to gather children and young people's views about the reality of their own lives or to portray fairly their positive contributions to society.

"I enjoyed meeting the young people from Respect? Young People's Advisory Group and hearing about how they are challenging these negative stereotypes in the media. I fully support their work to develop a constructive working relationship between children and young people and journalists in order to encourage fair and accurate reporting."

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Members of the Young People's Advisory Group (aged 16 – 24) are available for interview along with representatives of YouthNet and the BYC.

For further information contact Lucja Wisniewska on tel: 020 7288 7309, 07930 929492 (out of hours) or lucja.wisniewska@youthnet.org.

Notes to editors

  • A copy of The voice behind the hood: young people's views on anti-social behaviour, the media and older people can be downloaded via www.youthnet.org or www.byc.org.uk
  • YouthNet is a online charity - founded by broadcaster Martyn Lewis in 1995 – which exists to create a socially inclusive environment where all young adults are engaged, informed and inspired to achieve their ambitions and dreams. We actively listen to young people, empower them to speak out and work with them to take action on the issues that they say affect them. We aim to inspire young people, earn their trust and respect and support them with empathy as they seek out their place in the world.
  • YouthNet achieves its vision through two websites; www.do-it.org.uk - volunteering is made easy; and www.TheSite.org - the first-stop-shop of advice and support for 16-24 year-olds.
  • The British Youth Council (BYC) is the national youth council for young people under the age of 26 in the UK.BYC brings young people together to agree on issues of common concern and encourages them to bring about change through collective action. BYC aims to: provide a voice for young people; promote equality for young people; help young people be more involved in decisions that affect their lives and advance young people's participation in society and civic life.