YouthDebates

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.
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. Originally UK-based, since August 2014 YouthDebates.org has been serving an international audience of young people.
In April 2016,YouthDebates.org exchanged hands, and is currently operating under the ownership of Dylan Hailey.
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. As of April 2016, YD has accumulated over 2.7 million posts and 104,000 threads.
In the latter half of March 2015, co-founder Ryan Chatt resigned from his position, as a result of other commitments. Soon after, Ryan Campling and Joshua Waller were promoted to Roleplay Director and Human Resources Director respectively. June 2015 saw Frankie Copp promoted to the role of Public Relations Director, bringing the board of Directors to its highest level of four people. Shortly afterwards, Ryan Campling resigned as Roleplay Director, followed by the resignation of Joshua Waller in April 2016, and of Frankie Copp later in 2016.
YD operates three social media accounts; which are used to promote the group, on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram. These were launched in mid 2015, and have amassed thousands of followers. The Youth Debates Facebook group changed hands, and is no longer directly affiliated with the website, though the YD still operates a Facebook page.
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.
Website
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 by staff originating from those regions, although these regional staff roles have since been abolished, with the all staff members currently operating across the whole forum. The Board of Trustees was also established, with Alex Firth and Ryan Chatt taking a role in both management and public relations. After Ryan Chatt's departure, Frankie Copp took up the role of Public Relations Director, with Joshua Waller becoming Human Resources Director.
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.

Main Menu

See Also

Main Menu