Young People Take the Lead in Online Safety Research at the Liverpool Children’s Parliament

Young Parliamentarians in Liverpool were invited to step into the role of researchers and advocates as part of this year’s 2168 Children’s Parliament program, tackling issues like online safety and cyberbullying.

Each year since 2017, the 2168 Children’s Parliament program, launched by the Liverpool City Council with funding from Mission Australia*, appoints a cohort of 44 children aged 9-12 from 11 primary schools in the Liverpool 2168 postcode area. Parliamentarians attend workshops and excursions educating them on children’s rights, democratic processes, and civic life, and conduct surveys on issues they care about in their communities.

The program leads up to sittings where the young Parliamentarians discuss and advocate for issues identified among themselves and their school peers, present their research and advocate for change to a panel of Ambassadors with prominent political and educational influence. Ambassadors will then advocate on behalf of the Parliament to address these issues, meeting again for a second sitting to report on their progress.

The inclusion of children in democratic decision-making through this program reinforces the importance of upholding their rights and perspectives, as well as building the skills that will allow them to advocate for themselves and their peers in future. Children’s perspectives are particularly important on the issue of online safety as active and at-risk members of the digital world.

Last week, Y&R researchers Lilly Moody and Nukte Ogun delivered a workshop on research, advocacy, and policy to the 2168 Children’s Parliament, introducing them to the process of researching issues and advocating for change. The workshop introduced Parliamentarians to the pipeline of change - from research, to advocacy, to policy – focusing on their key topics of online safety and cyberbullying.

After designing and conducting research projects, Parliamentarians were tasked with presenting their solutions to a council of peers, where ideas such as a restriction on people over a certain age accessing children’s platforms or a school-based children’s social media site were discussed and debated.

“The 2168 Children’s Parliament shows children they have a place in democracy, and workshops like Tuesday’s give the next generation of changemakers the tools to turn that belonging into real community change” said Moody, highlighting how the program gives agency to its young participants.

The relationship between Y&R and the 2168 Children’s Parliament spans back to its establishment, with co-director Amanda Third sitting on the program’s panel of Ambassadors. This year marks the 4^th (fourth?) that Y&R has run the research, advocacy, and policy workshop.

*This activity is a partnership between Liverpool City Council and Mission Australia under the Australian Government funded ‘2168’ Communities for Children Programme.