University News Last updated 07 November 2012
While the American Presidential election continues to dominate the news agenda, a group of Birmingham students and experts from Universities from across the country will today be looking at the issue of political participation in the UK by holding a debate focusing on the contentious issue of ‘who should be allowed to vote’.
The event is being held at Birmingham City University in partnership with the Political Studies Association for the Economic and Research Council’s (ERSC) National Festival of Social Sciences.
More than 80 sixth form students from Sutton Coldfield Grammar School for Girl, Tudor Hall School and Solihull Sixth Form College will take part in the debate and will be giving their views on different areas of the political participation agenda, including whether prisoners should be allowed to vote and whether the voting age should be lowered to 16.
Dr Lyndsey Harris, Senior Lecture at Birmingham City University, organised the event. She said: “Following consultation with local schools the debate aims to encourage interactive student participation for Year 12 and 13 students and highlight the specific relevance of the study of politics and the value of social sciences as an academic subject and to society. We have chosen the issue of political participation precisely because it is highly topical and is likely to become increasingly so in the run-up to the next General Election in 2015.”
The tenth annual ERSC Festival of Social Science runs until 10 November and aims to increase awareness of the contributions the social sciences make to the wellbeing of the economy of the UK society.