YouthDebates
 | |
| Founded | 26 June 2014 |
|---|---|
| Area served |
United Kingdom (June–August 2014) Worldwide (August 2014 – present) |
| Founder(s) |
|
| Industry | Internet |
| Website | YouthDebates.org |
| Type of site | Online forum |
| Registration | Required to post |
| Users | 4,000 (May 2015) |
| Current status | Active |
YouthDebates.org (YD) is an online political organisation encouraging youth engagement and empowerment. Its forums were started in June 2014 to allow young people the chance to debate and engage in the world of politics. YD is run by young people and aims to represent the views of teenagers and young adults, understand and encourage their own interpretations of politics and promote the importance of voting, especially to young non-voters.[1]
YouthDebates.org was launched on 26 June 2014 by Alexander Firth, with Ryan Chatt taking the role of Public Relations Director soon after the launch.[2] Originally UK-based, since August 2014 YouthDebates.org has been serving an international audience of young people.
History
The website was originally launched on 26 June 2014, targeted primarily at a UK audience and with a UK domain name (YouthDebate.co.uk). During August of the same year, the domain was changed to a more universal '.org' and the target audience changed to cover all English-speaking countries around the world.
On 5 October 2014, YouthDebates.org announced that 50,000 posts had been made since the launch in June that year.
YD heavily updated its forums in early October. The forum software changed from MyBB to XenForo. New forums were also introduced to accommodate a more international audience, this included more countries in Europe, South America, Asia and Africa. YouthDebates reached the milestones of 100,000 posts in November, and 150,000 posts shortly after.
The Pamphleteer
'The Pamphleteer' was a freely available publication hosted at YouthDebates. First published in August 2014 under the editorship of Chris Whitwood, the founder of Paradigm YP - another youth led organisation campaigning for the teaching of first aid in schools as part of the curriculum, it has since been discontinued. Editions were to be published approximately quarterly as a free online newspaper. The aim of the not-for-profit newspaper was to promulgate the views of young people on politics and international relations through a friendly form of writing. 'The Pamphleteer' aimed to present fresh, original and challenging ideas and comment relating to topical issues and politics across the board in short articles of no more than five-hundred words.'[3]
Members of YouthDebates.org were encouraged to submit articles freely to the editor.
Popularity
Demographics
The majority of users are from the United Kingdom, aged between 13 and 25, although there are growing user bases in the United States, Canada, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Over time, the proportion of users from the UK has grown smaller, with a more balanced user base developing since the move away from the .co.uk Domain.
There are currently sub-forums dedicated to all continents, and most 'major' countries. Possible plans for the future include expansion into non-English speaking regions as growth and increased resources permit more possibilities.
Mission
Foresight
YouthDebate's foresight it that all young people should have the ability to vent their political views, whatever they may be, and have their voice heard on issues that are affecting them.
Website
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Forums
The majority of user activity is focused around the forums, the purpose of these being to facilitate discussion about any topic related to politics and sociology, and there is also a small section dedicated to non-political topics. The forums cater to an international audience with sub-forums focused on all regions of the world.
Governance
YD is governed and led by young people. A group of young members, who take on the role of moderators, moderate the forums and decide on important issues.
As the hierarchy and the community of the organisation grew, more specific roles were taken into action. For example, Continent forums were managed and populated by Managers, and their staff. The Board of Trustess was also established, with Alex Firth and Ryan Chatt taking a role in both management and public relations.
Membership
Membership is free and open to all, and whilst YD is marketed to under-25s, there is no official age restriction. Membership gives users the ability to post, create new topics, 'like' posts, run and vote in polls, create their own public profile, upload resources and interact with/add to the media gallery.
Premium Membership
Premium membership was introduced at the end of August 2014. Users who donate a minimum of £5 GBP per month are able to claim this level of membership, which includes the following benefits:
- User group is set to 'Forum Supporters'
- Unlimited Private Messaging space (standard users are limited to 10,000 messages),
- Unlimited attachment space (for standard users there is a 100,000mb cap),
- Ability to change username
- Ability to send attachments in private messages
- Ability to add a custom user title
- Access to the 'Loyalty Lounge', which is a sub-forum normally only available to users with a very high post/like count who have been registered for at least 6 months.
The introduction of Premium Membership was one of several drives to generate more money to finance the website and allow its continued expansion. Initially, the policy was introduced based on a one-time payment basis, but it was later changed to a system of monthly payments with the aim of generating further revenue. However, users who had bought premium membership before the change have been allowed to keep their privileges on a permanent basis.
See also
References
- ↑ Rebecca Appleton (3 July 2014). "New Online Political Platform Launches with a Mission to Inspire British Youth". http://news.cision.com/dakota-digitalltd.
- ↑ Catherine Priestley (3 February 2015). "Finger on the political pulse". http://www.thenorthernecho.co.uk.
- ↑ "The Pamphleteer". Retrieved 28 September 2014.