Sky News launches a brilliant new campaign ‘Stand Up Be Counted’. This new platform has been created for 16-25 year-olds, as part of a plan to make their own content  “a core part of Sky News coverage.”

The platform which is set to launch on the 1st September 2014, aims to create a voice for the young by involving them in a collaborative campaign with the mainstream media. Young people aged 16-25 can get involved with this initiative,  and it allows them to actively upload videos to the site, articles and  comments about the issues which matter to them the most.

Stand Up Be Counted is part of a plan to get more young people involved with politics in addition to raising their opinions and issues, they have to ensure that their stories are heard fairly. Figures have shown that the number of young people between the age of 18-25 voting, has been decreasing for quite a while with the figure in the 2010 General Election at 44 percent. SKY News want more young people to become more actively involved in politics and build their attitudes to politics positively by getting more to register to vote and just in time for the upcoming general election. This will all become a core part of Sky News’ coverage, so will allow some attention to be focussed towards the younger generation.

Sky News have teamed up with the UK’s leading communications charity; Media Trust as well as other youth media organisations to work on Stand Up Be Counted together, to ensure that this reaches a diverse and representative number of young people in the UK. For young people to get involved with this great new platform, all you need to do is register at skynews.com/StandUpBeCounted where you will then be able to share your views. The website has been divided into four different categories:

1. Hot Topics 

This space is open for all the latest news items which can be debated

2. Open Mic 

Open Mic allows stand ups to talk about any subject or issue they wish to talk about

3.  News Feed

Newsfeed will highlight the best content from Sky News

4. Stand Ups

Stand Ups will be where the profiles of the registered Stand Ups can be seen and their content.

These four different areas will allow the stand ups to share their content via whatsapp, Kik, Facebook, Twitter and Google+. A camera icon should be displayed at the top of the page, where users can upload videos instantly. In addition to this, there will also be a Register To Vote icon which will then take users to the government’s online voter registration site, allowing them to register to vote very quickly.

Stand Up Be Counted is a truly great way for young people to actively get more involved with politics, as it allows for their voices to be heard and encourages more young people to start making a great impact upon their future.

The head of Sky News comments: “Our campaign is bold in scope and I hope thousands of young people across the UK will become a part of it. Young people have told us they don’t think politics or the media represents them or their interests. They tell us they are seen as either scapegoats or victims, and are viewed as part of the problem rather than as a solution. We want to give them a platform which works for them – a place where they can talk about their hopes, dreams and fears about the future and share them with their contemporaries via social media platforms. Their voices will become an integral part of our coverage, we will highlight the issues that matter to them ensuring our content becomes more inclusive and reflective of a younger generation.”

Young people have the power and the ability to really inspire and change the perceptions people have of the youth, improve voter turnout and get more young people’s voices heard. Stand Up Be Counted is working with Sky Academy to create opportunities for up to one million young people by 2020. The campaign is here to inspire young people and help them to make a difference in their lives and reach their future goals.

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Young People