Young People take their ideas to Cabinet
Posted by Hunter on Wed, 02 Dec 2009.
Pearl Amoateng, 21, from Tottenham, David Berrill, 17 from Godalming in Surrey, and Danielle Burns, 24, from Belfast had a tour of Downing Street before addressing the Prime Minister and Cabinet after winning the “Take Your Ideas To The Top” competition, run by the Cabinet Office and social networking site Bebo.
Their ideas were for centres to help inspire young people who may otherwise turn to crime (Pearl), “employment evenings” to make it easier for young people to find work (Danielle), and a website that joins up jobseekers aged 16 to 24 with opportunities for part-time, temporary and weekend work (David).
Thousands of people visited the Big Think page on Bebo last month, submitting ideas on how to tackle crime, deal with climate change and help with careers.
The best six were invited to Westminster to pitch their ideas to a panel comprising Cabinet Office Minister Tessa Jowell, musician Goldie, record-breaking young mountaineer Jake Meyer, Apprentice winner Michele Dewberry and Prince’s Trust head of policy and development Ginny Lunn.
The panel picked the three winners who presented their ideas at the end of today’s Cabinet meeting.
The three runners-up also visited Downing Street and met with the Prime Minister. They were:
Saad Raja, 22, from East Putney in London.
Mark Robinson, 17, from Fermanagh in Northern Ireland.
Kieran Petit, 20, from Scunthorpe in Lincolnshire.
Speaking after the event, Prime Minister Gordon Brown said:
“I am glad so many young people have got involved with the Bebo’s ‘Big Think’ and are debating important issues such as crime, climate change and jobs. It was fascinating to hear the ideas from David, Pearl and Danielle today and hear how young people feel we should deal with these challenges facing their generation.”
Cabinet Office Minister Tessa Jowell said:
"It's really important that young people feel engaged with politics, and I was very impressed with the ideas that were presented to the Prime Minister today. The three winners and the other finalists should all be very proud of what they've achieved’.