10,000 Secondary Students send representatives to Parliament to discuss volunteering

On Tuesday December 6^th representatives of over 10,000 secondary school age children will meet to discuss the challenge of youth volunteering.

Education charity Oasis Community Learning is hosting the third of their series of Oasis National Student Leaders' conferences in London aimed at engaging young people with the decisions that Government makes on their behalf.

Before the conference the 60 selected representatives from 14 Oasis Academies will visit the Houses of Parliament to see for themselves where nation decision making happens. Following this they will engage in debate and discussion around their experiences of local volunteering, what they perceive the barriers to be, and how to combat the negative effects of crime in communities through the Oasis '100 Days of Peace Making' initiative, a project devised to help address  community cohesion following the unrest of Summer 2011.

With an opening speech by Hazel Blears, MP (Lab. Salford and Eccles) Local MPs will also attend the conference to meet directly with their student representatives.

Steve Chalke MBE, Founder and CEO of Oasis Community Learning, said

"Our annual national conference provides a great platform for our students to have their opinions heard by Government and maybe even for their suggestions and findings to be built into Ministerial consultations, both now and in the future. Well done to them for all their hard work."

Nick de Bois MP (Con. Enfield North) said:

"I'm really looking forward to meeting representatives from the Oasis Academy. I'm a passionate advocate for the role young people can play in volunteering and making a difference to society. Next year the National Citizenship Service will give up to 30,000 16-year-olds the chance to learn new skills and get involved in their community, so I'm keen to hear how the students from Oasis will be involved in this, and discuss their views on politics and Government".