Barnado’s 'The Teen’s Speech' Campaign - Giving Youth a Voice

Barnado’s The Teen’s Speech campaign (see this case study in UTalkMarketing) has finally come to an end this week after months of interviewing, filming, blogging and tweeting. I just wanted to mark this by directing you to the lyrical and moving blog post by Vik Sharma, who followed the project around the UK, blogging as he went.

The Teen’s Speech was one of the most remarkable projects eModeration has ever been asked to work on.  Created by London agency Poke, The Teens' Speech was a project designed to give a voice to young people in Britain.

As Vik puts it in his blog:

“Children are our future. They will define this country in years to come. Therefore, it’s in everyone's best interest to listen to what they have to say. It's also in everyone's best interest to give them the best possible start in life and create a society where young people can make mistakes and learn from them, a society that removes them from the moral and legal equivalent of Newton's third law of motion - that every action must have an equal and opposite reaction. We need to develop the moral imagination and courage to allow children to develop into well rounded individuals - or we face a future based on the worst qualities of humanity, rather than the finest.”

Please do take a look at this campaign: both as a really fine example of how many social media platforms can intertwine and become an effective, cohesive whole – and because of the crucial message it conveys.

Vik brings the campaign to a close with a call to action:

“At Barnardo’s we'll continue to speak out on matters that affect young people, but there will be times when we'll need your voice to make sure an issue gets the attention it deserves.
Right now we're calling on politicians to support the UK’s most disadvantaged and vulnerable children ahead of the general election. You can challenge them and make sure they hear our call for change. Take the next step and become a Barnardo's campaigner at www.barnardos.org.uk/campaign."

Think I’ll do that.