SWU supports Shout Out UK and its objective of greater political literacy education

Shout Out UK (SOUK) is a social enterprise that pushes for greater political literacy education amongst young people and has run some of the largest city-wide voter registration and voter awareness campaigns in the democratic world. Its education programmes on Media & Political Literacy have been utilised to combat disinformation and extremism nationwide through Prevent, as well as translated into various languages and utilised in multiple countries.

Last year in 2021 SWU was happy to fund the SOUK workshop in Birmingham for the Year 10 students at Bishop Vesey's Grammar School. It was a terrific opportunity for SWU General John McGowan and Austerity Action Group Chair Angi Naylor to engage over 100 young people with political literacy around social work and trade unions.

SOUK has also provided the secretariat for the All-Party Parliamentary Groups (APPG) on Political Literacy since the APPG’s launch in January 2021. This APPG is a coalition of MPs and Lords with the aim of bringing political and media literacy education to every single young person in Britain, regardless of socio-economic status.

SWU has now written a letter of support for SOUK on the need for comprehensive nonpartisan political literacy.

SWU General Secretary John McGowan said, “I am delighted that SWU is supporting the great work of Shout Out UK, supporting spreading political knowledge to young people and their objectives for enhanced teacher training and the greater integration of political literacy education in England's school curriculum.”

"Research by the APPG on Political Literacy from 2021, of which SOUK is the secretariat, revealed that while the vast majority of secondary school teachers feel responsible for developing young people’s political literacy, only one percent feel fully prepared to do so. The research also showed that at the moment, twenty six percent of secondary schools in England deliver ‘no provision’ of democratic education, despite both teachers and parents placing high levels of importance on the subject.

Given SOUK’s extensive work supporting young people across England around political literacy as well as their position as the Secretariat to the APPG on Political Literacy, we are happy to support their objective for enhanced teacher training and the greater integration of political literacy education in the national curriculum."

Read the letter here.

Matteo Bergamini, CEO and Founder of Shout Out UK said, “If the last few years have taught us anything, it is that democracy is fragile and none of our rights are guaranteed. Democracy needs to be nurtured, engaged with and none of that can be achieved if we are not taught how. Everyone is affected by politics, so we all have a right to understand how what affects us, works. If you don't do politics, politics will do you. So it's imperative that we finally give this education to all, not just a select few.”