*The Debatewise Blog
Economic crisis and graduates
With Debatewise now more focused towards students and young people I hope we can not only encourage debate but also play some role in persuading younger people that politics is worth paying attention to. Debates involved in politics do not just affect some faraway place called the ‘Westminster village’ but has a major influence on everyone’s lives. This is unfortunately all the more true with the economy in nose dive as it is graduates who are feeling the pinch as unemployment is growing fastest among 18-24 year olds http://www.guardian.co.uk/education/2009/jan/10/graduate-employment-crisis-rescue-package many seem to think that it is time to head back to education with large increases in applications for postgraduate degrees this year. All this seems particularly relevent to me as I will at some stage no longer be a debatewise intern and will need to find some paid employment, I do not think my telephone interview this morning for the NGDP (a pooled local government authorities in England and Wales graduate program) went particularly well, not really a surprise given my dislike of telephones.On the positive side this should mean what we are doing, particularly with the census, should go down well. It is all very well to be disinterested and not have a voice in the good times but in the bad its best to have as many ways of showing what your views are to the government as possible.
As part of this shift in focus Betony has Debatewise tweeting on twitter and from today ‘Debate Wise’ is looking for friends on facebook! This is probably the most ‘bottom up’ approach to gaining participation in the site possible, much more so even than contacting students unions and societies. I hope it meets with success.