What Does It Mean To Be European?

Evolution NOW asks young journalists what it means to them to be European!

Twist and Pulse Vs Politics

Evolution NOW had the chance to talk to Britain's Got Talent Finalists Twist And Pulse and find out what they know about politics!

Structured Dialogue: Political Evolution?

The Tree of Change?

‘Structured Dialogue’: initially, it’s all to easy to balk at the very mention of these two words and recoil in sheer confusion or simply gawp at them quizzically as if you had just been asked to recite pi to the 30th digit.

But upon further analysis, the literal meaning, dialogue that is structured – or even conversation – makes more sense.

Bizarre title aside, Structured Dialogue is something that is set to change the world of politics for the better.

BREAKING IT DOWN

The breakdown of SD is as follows:

The European Union (EU) has set a youth strategy, and Structured Dialogue (SD) is a big part of it. The SD helps the EU to look back on, put into action and follow up on the EU’s co-operation in the youth field.


Structured Dialogue: multiple branches

Since it involves all 27 EU Member States (and a few more countries besides), the SD is done in 18-month blocks. These blocks have three countries take charge per ‘term’: these countries are then known as the ‘presidents’ for that particular ‘term’.

Each ‘presidency’ is then given a subject area to concentrate on, known as a ‘thematic priority’. This is then divided into three key areas. Once each ‘president’ has been given an area, that country then invites its youth to come and discuss it and decide how they would like for it to be implemented.

Each president country has a set time to do this (6 months) with whomever is last wrapping up the process for that 18-month period, known as a ‘work cycle’.

The president country has a group of people know as a ‘National Working Group’ (NWGs) to pick the young people to get involved in the discussions.

The EU also has a group to communicate with the NWGs and gather the responses. This group is known as the European Steering Committee, made up of loads of representatives from several other groups – including one from the Youth In Action Programme.

THE WHEELS OF PROGRESS

So let’s use a car as a metaphor: the EU is the manufacturer, each Member State is a constructor and the youth is the customer buying this car.

The EU wants to build this car, bit by bit, taking the customers’ opinions into account included.

The EU starts with the front of the car and says to three of the constructors: “One of you design a bonnet, the other design the front wheels and the front doors.”

Each constructor then goes to their country and asks the customers what they’d like to see in a bonnet/front wheel/front door design.

Six months later, they return to the manufacturers with their suggestions and then, based on a Structured Dialogue, make changes to the car’s design.

This creates a vehicle of change for the customer, partially built by the customer.

So for the first cycle, it was the trio-presidential collective of Spain-Belgium-Hungary, discussing Youth Employment.

During the next work cycle, it is the turn of Poland-Denmark-Cyprus, set to discuss ‘youth participation’. Poland will focus on ‘youth and the world’, Denmark on ‘creativity and innovation’ with Cyprus focussed on ‘participation and social inclusion’.

With these thought-provoking topics up for debate, we in the UK wait with anticipation to see who we will share our presidency with, and what topics we choose…

Lem Leon

UK AND EUROPE: A STUDY ON HIGHER EDUCATION AND JOB AVAILABILITY

As inhabitants of an island that sometimes seems slightly removed from Europe, it can be hard for young people in the UK to remember that we are not alone, and that some of the very same hardships and tough decisions regarding our future are often the very same in the rest of Europe.

Some of those issues – unemployment and access to higher education, for example – are the topic of debate by youngsters from all over Europe at European Youth Week, where policy recommendations that could make a real difference to British and European youth are hammered out with young people themselves.

A recent study carried out by the EU was designed to take a look at how easy it is to move around Europe when it comes to the two biggest growing issues surrounding young people today (and focuses of European Youth Week) – higher education and job availability. This survey was conducted by The Gallup Organization, Hungary, upon the request of European Commission’s Directorate General of Education and Culture, in January 2011.

THE APPEAL OF HIGHER EDUCATION
The flash barometer covered a range of subjects including the appeal of higher education, the longevity of working abroad, and perceptions of difficulty in finding a job.

When asked about the attractiveness of vocational training in the UK, 82% of people believed it was a beneficial and realistic prospect, placing it in the top 20.


European Youth Week debates the issues

When asked about the appeal of higher education, surprisingly, 75% were in favour of higher education. This figure is surprising given the huge backlash in recent months after the coalition Government raised university tuition fees, allowing some universities to charge up to £9,000 per year. That said, UK are placed quite further down the table in comparison to our immediate neighbours, Ireland with 86% looking to enter higher education.

Prime Minister David Cameron has often defended the rises, offering the opinion that the UK has one of the best education systems in the world. The figures appear to reflect this as over 90% of UK residents would not go abroad to study. It will be interesting to see if in two years time, this figure would change.

BENEFITS OF STUDYING ABROAD
Looking at the benefits of studying abroad, out of the 31 participating countries, 57% responded that it greatly improved their ability to communicate in a foreign language, whilst 40% cited that it greatly improved their awareness of a foreign culture. This result only differed when it came to Ireland, where the main reason given was better academic knowledge, 34%.

In contrast to this, 37% of all participants stated they were not interested in going abroad at all to work or further their education. 33% of the respondents said not having access to funding or finding it too expensive, prevented them from going abroad, with Cyprus, Greece and Poland having a majority of more than 50%.

LIFE AFTER GRADUATION
Looking to the future, young Europeans were asked what their biggest concern was regarding searching for a job upon completion of their studies. 53% of them were concerned about job availability within their city or region, and 42% were concerned about the salary not being adequate for a reasonable standard of living.

With London, being one of the most expensive places to live in Europe and with an ongoing campaign to introduce the London Living Wage, this figure is concerning in comparison to the figures from the last question.

When asked if they would be willing to work in another European country, only 23% of UK youth consider this a permanent option. With only four other countries having a percentage lower than this, are we viewed by our international neighbours as resistant to change?

In any case, 40% of young people wishing to set up a business in the UK is a respectable figure, with only a 1% difference between each country.

Maybe, there is a light at the end of the tunnel.

By Lem Leon

Evolution NOW At European Youth Week!

Mr Lem Leon offers his opinion on European Youth Week For European Parliament's official website!

Facts About The Workshops

We've asked 109 students so far in year 9 questions about politics and their experience throughout the workshops that was carried out in their schools .Below we have highlighted the three main questions that created the biggest response   

Did you you feel positive about politics before the workshop?

98 out of the 109 students didn’t see politics in a positive light before the workshops. Many described politics before as “Boring”, “long” and even “Dead”.

Do you think you have learnt more about politics after the workshop?

101 students felt that they have learnt more about politics after the workshop. This is in stark contrast to the large amount of students that didn’t see politics in a positive light before the workshops.

One student stated “I have learnt more about politics because I was taught in a fun way whilst learning at the same time.”

After the workshop do you think you are more likely to vote?

97 of students asked said that they are more likely to vote when they are of age, due to the workshop. This is very rewarding as it shows that we have made a difference and proved that politics can be fun.

(Results correct at time of print: 17/05/11)

Nathaniel Hinds

Evolution NOW: Flashback Four!

Here are some videos showing the humble begins of Evolution NOW - April 2010!









Never forget where you came from...

Evolution Now Voting

An important day for British Politics saw Evo NOW head for the polling staion - watch what happened next...!

Evolution NOW: The Workshops So Far...

Evo NOW Takes A Break!

During the month of April, we've been presenting our workshops in The Holy Family Technology College. This went down extremely well and we got terrific feedback from all participants involved.

Throughout the course of the workshops, we mentioned that the first person to comment on our Facebook page would receive an Evolution NOW T-shirt absolutely FREE.

Congratulations to our first winner - Fabio Gomes, who liked and commented on our page. You'll be receiving your exclusive Evolution Now T-shirt shortly.

Keep your eyes peeled for exciting new content including a video round-up of the workshops soon!!

Evolution NOW : Who Are They?

Here's a video for you to learn some more about the men behind the Evolution...NOW!

Evolution NOW Talks To Bob Sullivan

Former local councillor for Waltham Forest, Bob Sullivan gives 3 tips on how YOU can create REAL change where you live...

Evolution NOW Asks :What Do You Know About AV?

Evolution NOW took to the streets and asked the general public what they knew about the A/V system!

The Big March Against Big Society

Here's a feature article from one of the great writers, Siana Bangura, over at our sister site, YHworld.co.uk.

She gives an unapologetic and definitely un-apathetic view on the results of the big march which happened 26/3/11 and was not just about student fees. Read more and add your views!

We marched together, We marched for justice.

The Budget 2011 - What It Means For Young Britain

Shadow Chancellor George Osborne:
"This budget has put fuel back into Britain!"

George Osborne promised a "neutral" budget.

For every give-away, there was a take.

Here are some of the main highlights of the budget that will affect young Britain:

EMPLOYMENT

Funding is to be put forward for 24 NEW technical colleges, as well as 100,000 NEW work-experience placements and 40,000 NEW apprenticeship schemes.

HOLIDAYS

All rises in passenger duty (the amount you pay) have been DELAYED.

FUEL

The price we pay at the pump has been REDUCED by 1p per litre EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY.

 The fuel duty escalator has been SCRAPPED and the planned rise of 4p per litre at the start of the new tax year (Monday 4th April) has been DELAYED UNTIL 2012.

TAXES

The current amount of money you earn before you start paying tax will RISE to £8,105 from APRIL 2012.

Communities Secretary - Eric Pickles:
 "This should help all the families that have been squeezed"

Council Tax is to be FROZEN across ALL COUNCILS in the UK, with OVER 40 seeing their council tax rate DECREASE.



PENSIONS

A NEW single tier scheme to be unveiled estimated to be worth £140 PER WEEK.


 But,with all these so-called give-aways, there are the "take-aways" to consider:


ALCOHOL & TOBACCO

The price we pay for a pint will RISE 2% ABOVE the rate of inflation, equating to roughly an EXTRA 10p.

The price we pay for a packet will also RISE 2% ABOVE the rate of inflation, equating to an EXTRA 50P.

THE ECONOMY

The amount of money the country will produce for 2011 has been DOWNSIZED from 2.1% to 1.7%.

The rate of inflation (the price we pay for groceries, electrical goodies etc.) will RISE from 4% to 5%.

Estimated amount of money it will borrow for 2012/13 was £91 BILLION,
 the revised figure is £101 BILLION.

There's one thing that we, the general public all learn from a very young age about borrowing:

You have to give it back sometime.

Labour Party Leader Ed Milliband:
"It's hurting, but it's not working."

Labour Party leader, Ed Milliband keeps repeating the catchphrase:

"It's hurting, but it's not working"

But with no clear-cut plan from his party, what choice do we really have?

Find how long it takes to hurt you using this 

budget calculator and post your results on the facebook page.

Broken Future - An Alternate View On Government Cuts

Many people feel that the government has turned their back on them due to the massive cuts. On Saturday 26 March there will be a protest against the government’s cuts. This will see the UK’s biggest single protest since the anti-Iraq war march in 2003. Many people around the country will travel to London and make their voices heard at their anger of government’s cuts. The march will begin from London’s Victoria Embankment between Waterloo and Blackfriars Bridges at 12:00pm.

The cuts are absolutely ridiculous; they seem to be killing off young people when they are the future of the society. This is what, I think, the government doesn’t seem to realize.

My brother is due to begin university in September. He will be studying English Literature; his mind is set on going to university this year. To some extent I’m worried about the amount of debt he will be in at the end of his degree. Will there even be enough jobs available for university graduates?

I’m still considering going university, there is a lot I’d like to learn and there is no social life like university. But I have always been put off by the tuition fees – even before they put up the fees. I find university life rather interesting and it’s quite heart-breaking that I may have to forget about going to university all together because I’ll be drowning in debt by the time I graduate.

I know a few people that have dropped out of college because of the EMA (Education Maintenance Allowance) cuts and also the rise of tuition fees, they feel that it isn’t worth going to university and getting themselves in larges sums of debt. I know many young people were only attending college because of EMA but I suppose they could have come up with a better alternative rather than calling the whole thing to a close.

What I’m mostly upset about is them getting rid of the FJF Future Jobs Fund. My brother got his first job through the Future Jobs Fund and although the contract was only for 6 months, he got the skills and experience he needed that will attract potential employers. Now it is going to be tougher than it was before for young people with little or no experience to find employment. This is what happens when the government tries to fix something that isn’t broken. They are supposed to be creating more opportunities not taking them away.

Just because of the government, people should not give up on their dreams; there are other options than just going to university. This is the chance for people to think and be more aware about what is out there. There are apprenticeships where it is possible to earn money while gaining essential skills required in a working environment and I’m sure there are more choices out there.

Despite the government, my family still remain optimistic and believe that something better will come along. There is always an option. The cuts have made me think about how much we take for granted.  

By Lee Andrew

An interview with :Elliot Forlan

 

Evolution NOW had the privilege of meet with Elliot Forlan, who is currently running for Youth Parliament in Barnet.

Our main aim of the meeting was to hear his views about young people and politics, and if he believes that young people are engaged with politics.

Throughout the meeting we covered many topics and one point of particular interest was the current age to vote and how it should be lowered to 16.

Elliot went on to mention that our project was one of many similar ones. It was time our voices should be heard collectively.

“its not that young people are not interested in politics, politics isn’t interested in young people” - A quote that resonated with us as Elliot spoke about how he got involved with politics.

Elliot furthered illustrated the importance of the quote by detailing how it has taken 4 years to establish a youth parliament in Barnet.

We seemingly agreed that Politics is mainly geared and suited to the older generation. Politicians either don’t really take on the issues of the youth of today, or they are just really patronising when executing ideas and initiatives. For example the “Hug a hoodie” campaign.

What are your views? 


Do you believe that young people are being engaged with politics successfully?


Let us know your thoughts!

Nathaniel Hinds

Evolution NOW Meets Boris Johnson!

(From left:) Mayor Of London Boris Johnson, Lem Leon & Ismael Hinds

It was a cold evening but there was a strange sense of excitement mixed with anticipation as Evolution NOW were in attendance for the Community Conversation. These conversations happen across London and tonight was the turn of Waltham Forest. The Mayor of London, Boris Johnson was coming to town.

Strangely, the usual media circus was not present, there was no police and even more bizarrely, no searching occurred when we entered the building. As we took our seats we began to see the room fill out with residents from all corners of the borough.

Just because the cameras weren't present, it didn't mean there wasn't going to be a show tonight. The main focus of tonight was finding solutions to the problem of serious violence within the borough.

Edward Addison, CEO of Arrowhead Consultancy

Hosted by Edward Addison, CEO of Arrowhead Consultancy, the evening began smoothly, outlining the plan for the evening. Currently at Kings college in London, Mr. Addison is engaged in research into the social impact of young black men.

Mayor of London, Boris Johnson

Then Boris stood up to address us, letting us know that "all questions will be addressed" and reeling of his statistics that overall in London, the rate of crime has indeed risen in 2010 but injury rates with knives have fallen. This would be little comfort to the parents of the 14 year old boy who was stabbed to death in Leyton recently.

"It's not just about where the jobs are, it's about changing young people's mindset towards work." - Sheridan Mangal, Founder and CEO of SFM Capital Markets

Deputy Mayor of London, Richard Barnes believes change can occur through faith directives.

Boris then went on to promote his mentoring programme in which young black boys will be mentored to make better choices in their lives. The scheme isn't solely for this demographic but it is the main focus and the people they want as mentors are young black role models. Ismael had the privilege of speaking to one of the scheme's success stories, 16yo Leon Ward.

(From left) Ismael and Leon Ward

Ismael asked him what his perception of politics was.

He replied boring, it’s not really interesting. He then went on to say that it’s as though we can’t relate. People want to see the real side of politics rather than all the backstabbing, airing of personal lives and such irrelevant fluff.

As he said those words it was as though a light bulb went off in my head, what he said made perfect sense. One of the reasons why a lot of young people are not involved with politics, is because they feel as though they can’t trust the politicians. They just don’t have a figure to relate to.

For example David Cameron stating that he was going to fight for young peoples tuition fees. When in actual fact when he came into power he increased the tuition fees limit incredibly.

So in actual fact can we EVER really trust politicians?

With that in mind, Boris ultimately did try his hardest to promote the message of economic hope - making a world where young people from all walks of life can get jobs.

The most interesting quote of the evening came from the Mayor when he was offering his opinion on possible reasons as to why serious violent crime was so high:

" There IS a failure in parenting..." - Boris Johnson.

How Can You Measure Happiness?

Genevieve Boast - Emergency Happiness

In Late November 2010, David Cameron announced that he had kick started the Office of National Statistics (ONS) to measure the nation’s psychological and environmental welfare – Also known as happiness.

A former US Senator was once quoted saying that a country’s Gross Domestic Product (a total sum of either what everyone has earnt or spent in a year: GDP for short) measure everything except that that makes life worthwhile.

Nearly three months on and we have still yet to see exactly how this coalition intend to proceed with this on paper. So it begs to ask the question: how DO you measure happiness?

Evolution NOW spoke with one of the happiest people we know, Genevieve Boast, who runs a company called Emergency Happiness. Gen was (pun intended) more than happy to help and when asked these are some of the marvellous tips she provided on how to measure your own happiness:

·   Do I wake up in the morning looking forward to the day no matter what I have to do?

·   Do I celebrate the small things in life almost as much as the big ones (i.e my train being on time on a rainy day vs. winning a new contract at work)

·   If I take joy in helping others no matter how small the gift (like a smile)

·   How often I think about the things in my life that make me happy and feel gratitude for having them

·   Whether I love myself and feel loved by others

·   How often I catch myself judging people or situations and choose consciously to stop it

·   How often I can say I am learning something new and growing into a better person

·   By how powerful and in control of my life choices I feel

·   By how connected I feel to my life and the people in it

·   By how quickly I spring back from 'challenges' and step up to try again

·   By how playful and energetic I feel

Do you think these types of questions will be included on this questionnaire when it does eventually materialize? Or do you think its one of DC’s gassed idea’s that may never come to fruition?

Either way, happiness is something everyone would like to have in their lives all the time. If you don’t think you’re getting enough, then change your way of thinking and the world will change with you.

VAT 20% Right Way To Grow?

What is VAT?

Well VAT is simply a tax charge which is allocated for most transactions on day to day spending. For example, businesses attach VAT to the price of the product, which they are selling.
To break it down, there are three different types of VAT rates which are :


Standard rates 20 per cent
Reduced rates 5 per cent
Zero rates: 0 per cent


Standard rates:
Standard VAT rates within the UK, are rates which have been implemented among most of the goods and services that we purchase.  These are such things as bus fares, electrical goods and price of holidays.


Reduced rates:
Reduced rates, these are products or services which have been reduced –rated , because of the product itself or the circumstances of the sale. For example products which are on the January sale. Also goods being reduced because of the condition that they are in.


Zero rates:
Zero rated goods, are products which have absolutely no tax rates.
For example food, except for meals in restaurants and also children’s clothing.

Why is there an increase of tax?

Well according to the government, they think, “it is necessary to help bring down the UK’s high budget deficit”.

When the tax increased was revealed in the summer of 2010, chancellor George Osborne stated “ it would raise more than £13bn a year by the end of the parliament”.

So how is the increase of VAT going to effect us ?

Personally, even though the government are increasing VAT to bring down the UK’s high budget deficit. This poses as an extreme burden towards working class people.

This is because mostly everything which we purchase, has had a 2.5% increase. Even towards the little things such as bus fare. For example bus fare was £2 and now at the new price of £2.20. 

According to “this is money” there would be an increase towards London underground fares by 2%. Also Products like the zone 2-6 one day travel card will be permanently eliminated.

 Even the labour party have accused the government of penalising low- income families. Labour Party Leader Ed Miliband has stated that it is the wrong tax at the wrong time.

As lower income households usually spend a greater portion of their income on taxed products, this is clearly obvious that they are being effected a lot more by this dramatic VAT increase!

By Ismael Hinds

What Is Alternative Voting?

Evolution NOW with Deborah Grayson (Centre) 

Evolution NOW met with Deborah Grayson (pictured), a local event organiser for the YES! to fairer votes campaign, to find out how to AV will create a TRUE DEMOCRACY.

Democracy means the ability to vote for your leader – but what about the way we vote?

The current voting system in place is a system called First-Past-The-Post (FPTP). This system is based on say three candidates, and you having to vote for one of them. Once these votes are collated, the winner is determined by the first to achieve a measly 30% of the votes.

Not only is this a poor representation of the turnout of those who voted, but as an individual, maybe the person you voted for isn’t exactly your first choice. Suppose for example, you like only one or two of that party’s manifesto pledges but can appreciate the views of the other parties on the same issue?

Much like the attitudes and views of some of our elected politicians at present, FPTP is obsolete, tired and not representative of what we all think.

Alternative Voting (AV) is a system that seems foreign to many, when in actual fact it is being used all around us:

• The recent Labour leadership race used it.
• Mayor of London Elections uses it.
• Presidential Elections in Universities use it.
• Australia’s Prime Minister was elected using this very system.

AV is simply a multiple choice ballot. Instead of an “x”, you get to chose who your favourite is out of say five candidates. Then listing from 1 to 5 (1 being the highest, 5 the lowest) you select who you would like to win. The percentage needed to be declared the winner on such a type of ballot is 50%.

This means the voting would embrace a wider audience, encompass more of the community if you will and reduce the margin of winning via tactical voting dramatically. It makes your vote a more valuable commodity to the person trying to obtain it, as literally every vote would count towards reaching the 50% target.

But naturally, there are ministers in parliament who are opposed to this voting system and are already banding together to make sure that the political system remains in the dark ages with archaic ideologies and an equally archaic voting system.

With the margin of victory so high, if there is no outright winner, the person with the lowest amount of votes is removed and the ballot is sent out again for you to vote for the remaining participants until somebody achieves the 50% needed to be declared the victor.

Think like how you vote off participants on the x-factor but on a much quicker scale. As a matter of fact...

...Even when voting for the X-factor, you’re using the Alternative Vote system.

To find out how you can say YES to fairer votes, attend one of the road-shows in your local area or be an ambassador and set up one of your very own.