Archbishop and Youth Parliament representative 'Value the Vote'
The Archbishop and Victoria Fowler from UK Youth ParliamentWednesday 7th October 2009
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams met yesterday with Victoria Fowler, a member of the UK Youth Parliament, to discuss the 'Value the Vote' campaign, which aims to incorporate political education into the secondary education curriculum.The meeting followed the Archbishop's recent visit to Kent University, during which he spoke to members of the Youth Parliament about the importance of young people's voices being heard and valued in today's society.
The 'Value the Vote' campaign was launched in February this year, with the aim of making political engagement a way of life for young people, and breaking down barriers to the political field caused by lack of understanding. It has since been adopted by the UK Youth Parliament as a key campaign for the coming year.
Following the meeting at Lambeth Palace, the Archbishop of Canterbury expressed his enthusiasm about the campaign:
"We are selling young people short when we assume they only want to be entertained. In reality, many young people care enormously about key issues facing society, such as how our democracy works or how we address the problems of climate change. I am very enthusiastic about this campaign and hope it will make a real contribution to supporting and extending young people's involvement in political life."
Victoria Fowler, who is Chair of the West Midlands Youth Parliament, and Local and National Campaign Leader for 'Value the Vote' said:
"The opportunity to meet with the Archbishop really takes the campaign to the next level. It means a great deal to hear somebody like him give so much credit to young people and be so positive about the campaign."
