Back in February Golwg started the ‘Fotio am Fory’ (Vote for Tomorrow) project, conducting focus groups with a range of young people from six Welsh-medium secondary schools across Wales.
The main aim of the research was to understand young people’s habits when it comes to news, politics and current affairs that are important to them and build on this to give them ownership of the issues and the news.
When the project sarted schools were closed so the young people participated on Zoom or Teams from the kitchen or lounge but by the end of the research period the teachers and young people were back in the classroom participating during free lessons or at lunchtime all masked up. Thank you to all the schools, teachers and young people who contributed so generously to the research.
Do they engage with the news on a daily basis? And on what platform? How much time do they spend engaging with the news each day? What issues are important to them? Do they feel represented in the news? Is being allowed to vote important to them?
Wow, these young people were on fire over issues like mental health, climate change, women's rights, LGBTQ+, BLM and free school meals to name but a few. The passion in these discussions was enough to put a stop to anyone who is in doubt about giving 16+ young people the vote.
What did the young people want?
- Simple vocabulary and content
- Engaging and fresh content
- Easily accessible
- Appealing content
The young people believe that ‘our generation is really progressive’ which begs the question, is this because platforms are so accessible to them these days? Information and news is there for them on their phones 24/7. According to the Survey Monkey results 71% of young people use Instagram to receive news and information and 7% use print.
To meet the demands and needs of the young people we launched www.instagram.com/fotioamforyy. Here young people can access simple, striking and appealing content on politics in Wales with the Welsh prince of Tik Tok himself, Ellis Lloyd Jones acting as ambassador for the project. We have attracted a lot of young people to the platform, and their requirements and habits are at the heart of all the content. The Takeovers had a fantastic response with young people at the helm for the day, as well as young people writing articles for the Golwg Bro360 website and Fotio am Fory.
Young people most certainly have a voice, and they want to make an impact.
