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Published on vInspired.com on 2 May 2014, here . We all know that voter turnout is falling among 18-24 year-olds. But young people say they do want a stake in the world around them. They just need politicians to connect with them differently. In the countdown to the 2015 general election, we’re calling on the UK’s party leaders to take to Twitter with their top five pledges to help young voters. Why aren't young people voting? When we launched Swing the Vote in February, we asked 1000 young people why they were turning away from the polls. 78% told us they didn't feel represented, while 58% didn't feel they had enough information about politics to make a decision. How do we change this? In a follow-up piece of research this week, we asked young people how those in power could help address these problems. How can politics work better for them? The study revealed that the use of social media will be pivotal to a party’s success or failure in winning the youth vote. Of 3000 16-24 year-olds: One in two (45%) of young, would-be voters want party leaders to deliver their 2015 election promises via social media, Instagram...

Ghostwritten for the Roundhouse and published on The Guardian Culture Professionals Network here It's a tough time for young people in the UK , with thousands of them facing bleaker employment prospects than at any time in recent history, and access to one of the traditional routes to employment – university – narrowing due to the increased cost associated with higher education. The Roundhouse works with 3,000 11 to 25 year olds each year, but what constantly surprises me about those I meet is that I rarely hear much complaint about the climate they find themselves in. Instead, I encounter a real spirit of enterprise, a readiness to adapt to this state of affairs, to think laterally, to be proactive and to find opportunities that work for them. Increasingly, it is creative organisations that can provide those opportunities. Our own youth programme is able to offer young people access to industry-standard facilities, practical experience, tuition and mentoring from industry professionals and vital connections within its specialist fields of music, media and the performing arts. The creative industries are becoming one of the UK's most important sectors, contributing over £28bn gross value added to the economy ( according to DCMS...

Published on the Guardian Theatre blog on 8 October 2009, here . The theatre world, one might suspect, thinks about children in the same way it thinks about baubles and tinsel: it's happy to see them appear around the beginning of December, but loses enthusiasm for them a few days into the new year. You'd be forgiven for thinking so if your view was based on mainstream media coverage. Children's companies recount a raft of anecdotes about journalists who don't return their calls for most of the year, only to rediscover the existence of children's theatre in mid-November. After all, Christmas is when readers think about spending time with their families, isn't it? The truth, of course, is that families are looking for child-friendly activities during evenings, weekends and school holidays year-round, while teachers planning trips look for ways to fill the gaps in-between. Yet enthusiasm for children's work is sorely lacking. The responses from arts journalists vary, but usually fall into one of three categories: the Candid No ("We don't cover children's theatre – it doesn't really work for our audience"); the Helpless ("I'd love to come but my editor won't give me the space"); or the Nervous...