Member Article

North East teenagers launch gender parity campaign

Launching a short film and infographic for International Women’s Day, teenagers from across the North East are calling for bold action on gender parity.

• Teenage girls are twice as likely as boys to report experiencing depression and anxiety, says the UK Department for Education.
• One in three females will experience gender based violence in their lifetime, according to the World Health Organisation.
• The World Economic Forum predicts it will take another 160 years to close the gap between what men and women can expect to earn.

Last year, North East teenagers spent 214,000 hours delivering positive change in their communities through National Citizen Service (NCS).

Projects included supporting survivors of domestic abuse and developing resources for schools to use to tackle mental health issues such as body confidence.

Teens get bold for change

Graduates from the scheme are now taking to the internet to back the International Women’s Day campaign for a more gender inclusive world.

The regional NCS Youth Board has unveiled a short animated film and an infographic outlining their ideas for achieving a more gender inclusive world.

Other young people are contributing to the global conversation by posting their #BeBoldForChange campaign pledges on social media.

“This is such an important campaign,“ said NCS graduate Alex-Elliott Smith, 16, of Ponteland, who helped create another video which captured the thoughts of friends. “I work with young children every weekend and I can’t let them grow up in a world where girls aren’t treated with the same value as boys. The world needs to know: everyone is equal.“

Fellow NCS graduate June Riz Gomez, 16, of Sunderland, designed an infographic for the campaign and added: “The reason why this campaign is something I support is because equality is something so basic yet it hasn’t been achieved yet. It’s 2017 and we still live in a world where males are superior – when they should be our equals.“

Aelred Robinson, Graduate Coordinator for NCS North East, said: “NCS gives teens life-changing skills and experiences – including the chance to take action on causes and issues they care about. It’s great to see young people once more using their passion to push for positive change.“

Thousands of young people from the North East will take part in NCS this summer. As well as experiencing the freedom of living away from home and gaining essential skills, they will each spend at least 30 hours contributing to causes they care about.

Young people aged 16-17 years-old can book their life-changing summer online at NCSNORTHEAST.CO.UK or by calling 0191 247 4020.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by NCS North East .