Millions prepare to support national young people's 'Takeover Day' » Communities » 24dash.com

Children's Secretary Ed Balls will be "taken over" by a 17-year-old girl today.

He is one of hundreds of organisations and individuals supporting national 11 MILLION Takeover Day.

The initiative, organised by Sir Al Aynsley-Green, the Children's Commissioner for England, gives the country's 11 million children and young people a chance to make a change and get involved in decision-making.

Ed Balls will be joined by a 17-year-old girl as he carries out school visits in Keighley, near Bradford, Yorkshire, as part of his ministerial duties.

The Secretary of State said: "When we launched our Children's Plan last year I said that we needed to carry on listening if we were to help all our children and young people aim high and achieve their ambitions.

"I'm delighted to say that consulting with children and young people is now something that my department does regularly and I'm pleased to be supporting 11 MILLION and Sir Al Aynsley-Green in their endeavours to give our children a voice."

Decision makers in government, politicians, local councils, businesses, charities, schools and the media were asked to invite children and young people to overtake their organisations for one day.

Sir Al Aynsley-Green, whose job is being taken over by a 15-year-old girl during his tour of the East Midlands this week, said: "11 MILLION Takeover Day is about giving children and young people opportunities to make a positive contribution.

"We know that many organisations already do this extremely well, but for those who do not normally include children in their daily activities, Takeover Day can help to bridge some of the gaps and misunderstandings between the generations.

"There are lots of really amazing events being organised across the country and I hope that the day is used as a catalyst to get even more people thinking about the valuable role young people have in our society."

The Scout Association is also taking part by handing over responsibility of the next issue of its magazine to nine young volunteers.

The scouts, aged between 10 and 21, are in charge of creating the issue which has a circulation of 80,000 across the UK.

They have been working on the project since August and have controlled every stage of production from ideas for articles to designing the magazine.

Tom Hylands, a scout from West Sussex and a member of the team, said: "Creating the magazine has been a huge challenge for the whole team, but we have really enjoyed working together, sharing ideas and the finished magazine is something we can be really proud of.

"It's great to know that on Takeover Day, teenagers like us all over the country will be able to show the critics that we know how to handle responsibility."

Chief Scout Peter Duncan said: "The creation of Scouting Magazine by nine scouts is a brilliant way to celebrate Takeover Day. The young people have shown real maturity and creativity, and have gained a lot of great new skills from the experience.

"I think the staff at the magazine also really appreciated the wealth of skills young people have to offer, a lesson that society would do well to learn."

This is the second time the scheme will be run. Last year 500 organisations and individuals gave 10,000 children and young people the chance to have their say.