GOOD CITIZENS

Do we have a say in making the rules that
we live by today?

Citizens over 18 are each entitled to vote in both local and national elections to elect the people (Member of Parliament and Councillors) who will represent and speak for their whole community in the councils and parliaments that make laws. What can young people do when they are too young to vote?

Two projects here on Kids on the Net illustrate how young people can think and act about the rules that we live by. Children from St Augustine's Primary School created a Manifesto for a new Millennium, based on Manifesto 2000 in the International Year of Peace.

"The new millennium gives us the chance for a new beginning,
an opportunity to transform, all together,
the culture of war and violence to a culture of peace and non-violence"

Even children are often able to make their voices heard, in school councils, and in local projects like the Experian Primary Parliament in Nottingham.

All Nottingham primary schools are invited to take part in the parliament. After several months of debate and preparation each school choses a delegation of 8-11-year-olds to attend the Primary Parliament day at the Council House in Nottingham. There is a focus on topical debates between schools, which will hopefully find new solutions to old problems, possibly leading on to policy decisions by the Council.

Links to other projects that give children a say in their community

Hammersmith & Fulham Children's Parliament on the Environment 2002

The International Youth Parliament

European Youth Parliament

Can you tell us about any other interesting sites where children have their say?

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