Hello, welcome to today's lesson.

My name is Mrs. Hastings and I'm really excited to be sharing this learning journey with you.

We're going to have lots of fun and learn lots of new things.

Welcome to today's lesson, which is from the unit, Why was the Struggle for the Vote Important Today? Today's lesson is called How can We Exercise Our Democratic Rights Without a Vote? We are going to be able to explain by the end of the lesson what democratic rights are and how to exercise them, even if I'm not eligible to vote yet.

So we are going to be doing lots of new learning, thinking about our democratic rights, and hopefully having a bit of fun along the way.

So before we look at the learning cycle, there's important ground rules that we need to make sure we are adhering to because some of the things that we might be thinking about and talking about could be considered sensitive.

So firstly, we need to make sure that we listen to others.

It is okay to disagree with each other, but we should listen properly before making assumptions or deciding how to respond.

When disagreeing, challenge a statement, not the person.

Respect privacy, we can discuss examples, but do not use names or descriptions that identify anyone including ourselves.

No judgement , we can explore beliefs and misunderstandings about a topic without fear of being judged.

And lastly, choose level of participation.

Everyone has the right to choose not to answer a question or join a discussion.

We never put anyone on the spot.

So let's take a look at the keywords that we are going to frequently come across in our lesson today.

Firstly, human rights.

These are basic rights and freedoms that all people are entitled to.

And democratic rights, these are fundamental freedoms and entitlements needed to maintain a democratic society.

And now onto our learning cycle, we are thinking about the question, how can we exercise our democratic rights without a vote? So there are two parts to our learning cycle today.

Firstly, what are democratic rights? And how can we exercise our democratic rights? So let's start with the first part of our learning cycle.

What are democratic rights? Human rights are fundamental rights and freedoms that every person is entitled to.

They are universal.

That means that they apply to all people regardless of nationality, so where they live, ethnicity, gender, religion, or any other status.

The core idea behind human rights is the dignity and equality of all individuals.

And the concept of human rights is enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

This was signed after World War II when the horrors of the Holocaust, which you may know a little bit about, were unveiled.

And it was seen that Jews and other minority groups in Germany and the occupied countries had not been treated with dignity and respect, and their human rights have been significantly abused.

And so Eleanor Roosevelt created this Universal Declaration of Human Rights, along with other people, and it was signed by the United Nations countries that had signed up to the United Nations.

In the UK we have something called the Human Rights Act, which is enshrined in law.

So this is an act of parliament created in 1998, which sets out the fundamental rights and freedoms that everyone in the UK is entitled to.

All public authorities, such as the government, the NHS, schools and the police must follow the Human Rights Act.

So human rights can be divided into different categories.

For example, they could be categorised into two, civil rights and political rights.

And these are human rights that protect individual freedoms and allow participation in political life such as a civil right might be the right to life, and a political right might be the right to vote.

And then economic, social, and cultural rights.

These human rights ensure access to basic needs and services, like the right to education and the right to health.

So let's check our understanding.

What are human rights? Are they A, rights and freedoms that only some people are entitled to? B, rights and freedoms that every single person is entitled to.

Or C, rights which only include economic, social, and cultural rights? What are human rights? A, B, or C? It is B, rights and freedoms that every single person is entitled to.

So well done if you got that right.

So let's have a look at democratic rights then.

What are democratic rights? Democratic rights are political rights.

They are fundamental freedoms and entitlements needed to maintain a democratic society.

They allow people to participate in and influence the political decisions and processes of their country.

Democratic rights ensure that people have a voice in how they're governed, and importantly, can hold leaders accountable.

Citizens of the UK have several key democratic rights.

How many can you think of? Pause the video and have a conversation with the person sat next to you and see if you can come up with a number of different democratic rights that you think we have in the UK.

So well done for having those conversations.

You may have come up with the following democratic rights that we have in the UK, voting and elections.

So we have the right to vote.

Citizens aged 18 and over can vote in elections and referendums. Now, it might differ depending on where you live in the UK.

So for example, actually in Scotland, in local elections, you can vote at the age of 16.

But in general, elections, which is the one that decides the government and parliament at Westminster, you have to be over the age of 18.

The right to stand for election.

Eligible citizens can run for public office.

That means you could stand to be a counsellor or to be an MP if you are eligible.

Another key democratic rights is that we have regular elections to elect representatives.

So in the UK, a general election must take place at least every five years.

So it can't go beyond five years.

It could be that an election happens sooner than every five years, but they must happen at least every five years.

And we have a choice of political parties, okay, we have plurality.

That means that there is more than one political party that we can choose from at an election.

We also have some other key democratic rights.

So we have the right to freedom of speech.

This means that we people can express their opinions and criticise the government without fear of being, you know, put in prison or anything like that.

So in other countries where it may be where there's a dictatorship, which is kind of the opposite to a democracy, if you speak out against the government, then it might cause you to become a political prisoner.

Freedom of assembly and protest.

People can gather and protest peacefully.

So we can hold peaceful marches, peaceful demonstrations to express our opinions and show that we're maybe not happy or even that we're in support of something that the government is choosing to do.

We have freedom of association.

People can join groups, organisations, and political parties.

So things like you can choose which religion you want to worship, if that's something that you are keen to do.

You don't have to be of a particular religion and meet in a particular place.

We have different religions that can practise their worship freely by association in this country.

We have the right to access information so we can request information from the government.

And the Freedom of Information Act has allowed that to happen.

We have the right to a fair trial.

So we have trial by jury in this country.

So everyone is entitled to a fair and impartial hearing if they are in court.

These democratic rights are protected by law.

They ensure UK citizens can actively participate in democracy and hold the government to account.

So let's check our understanding of democratic rights.

True or false? Democratic rights are not essential for maintaining a democratic society.

Is that true or false? It is false.

Why? Because democratic rights are fundamental freedoms and entitlements needed to maintain a democratic society.

Without them, you wouldn't be considered to be a democracy.

Which of the following is not a democratic right? A, the right to vote.

B, the right to a fair trial.

C, freedom of speech.

Or D, the right to education.

So which of the following is not a democratic right? A, B, C, or D? It is D.

Whilst the right to education may not be classed as a democratic right, it is still a basic human right.

So let's get on with our first practise task.

So firstly, I would like you to define human rights and democratic rights.

Include examples in your definitions that's really important to demonstrate that you've understood those definitions and embed those key terms into your understanding.

And secondly, I'd like you to write one short paragraph explaining with examples the democratic rights we have in the UK.

So pause the video and take some time to complete those two tasks.

Well done for completing those two tasks.

So the first task was to define human rights and democratic rights and include examples in your definitions.

So you may have said the following, human rights are fundamental rights and freedoms that every person is entitled to.

They are universal in that they apply to everyone everywhere.

They include the right to life, the right to education, and the right to health.

In the UK, human rights are protected in law by the Human Rights Act 1998.

And for democratic rights, you might have said, democratic rights are political rights that are fundamental freedoms and entitlements needed to maintain a democratic society.

This includes the right to vote and the right to join a political party.

And for the second task, write one short paragraph explaining with examples the democratic rights we have in the UK.

You may have said in the UK we have several democratic rights that allow us to participate in political decisions and processes.

For example, we have the right to vote in elections and a choice of political parties.

We also have the right to assemble, meaning we can protest peacefully in support of or against decisions that politicians have made.

These rights are protected in law.

So well done for completing the first part of our learning cycle.

We're now going to move on to the second part of our learning cycle and look at the question, how can we exercise our democratic rights? So we've looked at what democratic rights are.

Now we're gonna be thinking about how we can actually put those into practise.

How can we exercise our democratic rights? So the right to vote is one of the key democratic rights that we've looked at.

Really, really important that we have a voice in elections and we get to choose which political party and which member of parliament or local council, for example, we might want to represent us.

However, to be able to vote in an election, you must meet the eligibility criteria.

Although this can be different depending on the election, in England it generally means for all elections you have to hold British Republic of Ireland or Commonwealth citizenships and be over the age of 18.

Now obviously for a lot of you taking part in the lesson, you won't meet that eligibility criteria because you aren't over the age of 18.

But that doesn't mean that you can't exercise your democratic rights.

Remember that voting is only one key democratic right.

So how can you exercise your democratic rights if you're not yet eligible to vote? There are still several ways.

I wonder if you can think what those ways might be based on what you understand about democratic rights and what they are.

Have a think, pause a video and see with your partner if you can come up with some ideas of how you can still exercise your democratic rights even though you are not yet eligible to vote.

So hopefully you've had a chance to discuss and think about those ideas.

So there are still several ways that you can exercise your democratic rights even though you are not eligible to vote yet.

And you might have come up with the following.

You could contact your local counsellor or member of parliament that might be sending an email through social media or writing a letter.

You could join a protest or pressure group.

You could join a political party.

You can express your opinion, you have freedom of speech.

So true or false? Voting is the only way you can exercise your democratic rights.

Is that true or false? It is false.

Even though in England you cannot vote until you're 18, there are several other ways you can exercise your democratic rights.

For example, you could contact your local counsellor or MP, express your opinion, join a protest, pressure group or political party.

So let's think about ways that we can exercise our democratic rights in a bit more detail.

So you could contact your local council or MP.

You can send an email or letter.

You could attend a surgery session.

So that's where they have face-to-face meetings where you can meet your representative and discuss the issue directly.

And you can look up for your local MP when and where they hold their surgery sessions.

You could visit parliament and meet your MP in the central lobby.

So you can contact your MP and say you'd like to meet them in parliament.

You could use your freedom of speech to express your opinion.

So what are the ways that we could do that? You could share your views with other people.

You have the right to express and discuss your opinions and your ideas.

You could write articles or blogs.

You could engage in debates.

And you could also protest peacefully.

We'll come on to protesting in a minute.

So you could join a protest or pressure group.

And this would allow you to raise awareness by spreading the message of important issues, something that you feel passionate about and that you feel strongly that you need to spread the message about.

This could then influence change.

You could push for policy or action changes by spreading the message and raising the awareness.

And you might want to do that by also contacting your MP.

These things are interlinked.

These ways that you can express your democratic rights are all interlinked with each other.

You could show support, so you could stand with others who share your goals.

Again, we have the right to assemble and assembly is part of that protest.

So if you're in a group of people who have shared goals and shared aims, then that's really important.

You could organise events, you could plan and participate in protests or campaigns.

You could advocate for rights, fight for causes like social justice or environmental protection.

But it's really important, particularly as you are not yet over the age of 18, that you prioritise your safety.

So if you are thinking about and planning on joining a protest or pressure group and you want to attend a protest, for example, make sure you have permission or you go along with a trusted adult before attending a protest or joining a pressure group.

And you could join a political party as a youth member.

This would allow you to influence policy of that political party, shape party policies on issues important to young people.

So young people are less likely to vote.

People between the age of 18 to 24 are less likely to vote, which can mean that young people's issues get pushed to the side.

But if you joined a political party and there was a good strong youth membership of a political party, then that is a way of shaping issues that are important to young people.

And again, I would suggest with the permission of a trusted adult, you can also get involved in the campaigning in a political party.

So that could be through supporting election campaigns, maybe by going out and posting leaflets through people's doors or canvassing and promoting the candidates.

But again, as I've already said, really important that if you are going to do that, you get the permission from a trusted adult or you do it with a trusted adult.

It also enables you to develop your leadership skills by joining a political party.

So you gain experience in organising, debating, and leading.

And it allows you to network with like-minded people.

It enables you to connect with others who share the same or similar political beliefs to yourself.

So let's check our understanding of what we've learned about democratic rights and how we can exercise them.

Which of the following is a way to exercise your democratic rights? A, not listening to other people's opinions.

B, contacting a member of parliament.

Or C, joining a political party.

So which of the following is a way to exercise your democratic rights? Well done if you spotted that there are actually two ways that you can exercise your democratic rights in those answers.

You can exercise your democratic rights by B, contacting your member of parliament and C, joining a political party.

So let's have a look at our practise task.

Firstly, I'd like you to read Sophia's opinion about exercising her democratic rights in the UK.

Is she correct? Rewrite her opinion based on what you know about democratic rights in the UK? So Sophia says, "I'm only 15, so I have no way of exercising my democratic rights in the UK.

I feel I have no voice and cannot be involved in the political process.

It is really unfair!" So is she correct? Rewrite her opinion based on what you know about democratic rights in the UK? Pause the video now to complete that task.

Well done for completing that task.

So I asked you to read Sophia's opinion about exercising her democratic rights in the UK and consider whether she was correct.

And I asked you to rewrite her opinion based on what you know about democratic rights in the UK.

Your answer could have included that Sophia is not correct to say that there are no methods for her to exercise her democratic rights.

And she could have said, "Even though I am only 15 and cannot vote in elections, there are lots of ways I can exercise my democratic rights in the UK.

For example, I could become a youth member of a political party, contact my MP, or join a protest!" So second thing I'd like you to do is to write an email to your local MP to demonstrate your democratic rights and to express your opinions about an issue that matters to you, okay? It doesn't have to be an actual email, but on a piece of paper or in your exercise books, write down what it might look like.

If you actually wanted to send it later on, then maybe you could type it up and send it to your MP if it's something that you feel passionate about.

So it could be a local, national, or global issue.

Be persuasive in the language that you use.

You really want to prove that this is an issue that you find really, really important.

So here are some examples of issues that you could write about.

Locally, you could think about an issue about transport or public spaces such as parks.

Nationally, you might want to think about issues around healthcare, education, maybe votes at 16.

Whether you think that younger people should be given the right to vote.

And globally, global issues such as climate change, conflict or human rights.

And obviously we talked about human rights earlier and what they are.

So think about an issue that matters to you and write an email to your local MP.

Pause your video now whilst you complete that task.

Well done for completing that task.

Now, there are absolutely loads of issues that you could have focused on.

I asked you to write an email to your local MP to express your concern about an issue that matters to you.

You may have written an email like the following.

Now the email that I've written is about the global issue of climate change 'cause it's something that really matters to me.

So you might have written something along the lines of, dear, and then the name of your MP.

Hopefully you know the name of your MP or you could find that out.

I'm writing to you as a concerned constituent, deeply alarmed by the ongoing climate crisis that is affecting our planet.

We cannot ignore it any longer.

I urge you to prioritise climate change in your policies and support stronger efforts to reduce carbon issues such as promoting renewable energy sources and enforcing stricter laws to protect the environment.

The choices we make today will shape the future of our planet.

I hope you'll take bold action to protect the environment and the wellbeing of all citizens.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

I look forward to your response and hope to see strong leadership on this critical issue.

So well done for completing that task and hopefully you use persuasive language.

So in summary, what we have learned today in how can we exercise our democratic rights without a vote is that human rights are fundamental rights and freedoms that every person is entitled to.

Democratic rights are fundamental freedoms and entitlements needed to sustain political democracy.

And there are several ways you can exercise your democratic rights, even if you can't vote.

You could contact your local counsellor or MP, join a protest or pressure group, join a political party, or get involved in campaigns and share your views on the issues that matter to you.

Well done for completing today's learning journey.

I really hope that you've enjoyed it.

You've learned lots, and you're going to take away lots of the issues and ideas that we've come across today with you.