UK should go to war only as last resort, say under-18s - 8 April, 2008
Effective diplomacy is vital
Under-18s taking part in a Hansard Society online debate at www.headsup.org.uk felt that overseas conflict must be a last resort and that diplomaticnegotiations should be exhausted before embarking upon any conflict decision.
The debate Defence D-Day...Should our forces be in Iraq? ran from February 25 to March 14, 2008 at http://www.headsup.org.uk/. Parliamentarians and decision-makers from all political parties took part in the debate.
Young people taking part concluded:
* that the impact on the families of armed forces personnel is considerable and must be taken into account. However, some students felt that the impact on families comes with the territory and should not affect decisions to go to war.
* that we should give more thought to what life will be like in post-war zones. But a large number of students took the opposite view and felt that we should not take these considerations into account when going to war.
* that violence is sometimes a necessary evil in conflict resolution. Most students argued in favour of peaceful protest but the majority acknowledged that, on the whole, non-violent acts did not achieve their aim.
Barry Griffiths, HeadsUp Manager, commented: "The students taking part in this debate acknowledged how difficult such decisions are and explored many of the contradictions inherent in deciding to go to war. The legislators taking part used the forum as a real engagement tool and the young participants appreciated this feedback and interaction."
HeadsUp is a vital resource for teaching the political literacy element of the Citizenship Curriculum and ensuring young people's voices are heard by decision-makers. In addition to the forum where school students explore and debate the political issues and ideas that matter to them, there are teachers' notes, ideas for classroom activities and background information for young people all available on the HeadsUp website.
For more information contact Virginia Gibbons, Communications Manager at the Hansard Society on 0207 438 1225 or 07812 765 552.
Editors' Notes
This forum attracted the online involvement of a range of decision-makers, these included:
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HeadsUp (
http://www.headsup.org.uk/) is an innovative website where under-18s debate political issues and processes. The site is a non-partisan, cross-party educational resource that provides a secure, structured and student-centred discussion platform.
- Two ways to register to participate in HeadsUp:
1. Young People - If you are under 18 and want to get involved you need to email us at info@headsup.org.uk, specifying your preferred username and password.
2. Teachers - can register a whole class/school year/group by completing our online registration form: http://www.headsup.org.uk/content/register.asp?page=s7_4
- All HeadsUp forums are open to view and follow the debate. Participants will still need to register or login to post comments.
- The project is jointly funded by the Ministry of Justice (former DCA) and the House of Commons.
- Young people who took part in this HeadsUp Forum are available for interview. However, this may take some time to arrange due to the busy academic calendar]. For more information contact Virginia Gibbons, Communications Manager at the Hansard Society on 0207 438 1225 or 07812 765 552.
- At the end of the debate, a summary report detailing young people's contributions will be distributed to relevant government ministers, MPs, AMs, MEPS, MSPs and all-party groups in Parliament.
- Over 4000 individuals are currently registered with HeadsUp.