3 July, 2003

Nandor calls for kids to act up

Young people need to speak up and adults need to start listening to them, Green MP Nandor Tanczos said today.

Nandor, the Green Youth Affairs spokesperson, said the results of a survey released today by Tearaway Magazine and the Global Education Centre showed that young people were disempowered from acting on their concerns.

The survey concluded that young people have clear concerns for global issues such as war, terrorism and poverty but lacked a deeper analysis of the causes and effects of these issues. A feeling of disempowerment to act on these concerns compounded this.

"This survey shows that young people are very aware of issues around them and that the 'me generation' stereotype is bollocks," said Nandor.

"It's not just young people who lack understanding of the interconnection of global issues. It is a general problem because mainstream media don't present any real analysis. That's why independent media, such as Indymedia, and youth media such as Tearaway are important.

"Young people are symptomatic of the wider society. People are aware of the problems that face the world but don't have the information to analyse them and do not feel sufficiently supported to act on their concerns.

"Every time a young person is suspended from school for colouring their hair or piercing their face, society shows that it doesn't value young people's perspectives.

"I challenge young people to speak up. Asking the awkward questions is the first step to understanding the world as it really is, not how the media owning elites want us to see it."

ENDS

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