Hero of history gives hope to young ideas

Main picture and below: scenes from the latest Young People's Parliament, held at The Guildhall

He abolished the slave trade and 200 years on, Wilberforce can still inspire a new generation of policy-makers

William Wilberforce spent much of his time in London taking part in parliamentary debates to abolish slavery. And now he's providing inspiration for more than 100 young politicians in Hull.
The city's Young People's Parliament, which has members aged from 10 to 25, meets every three months at The Guildhall.
"Our aim is to make the city a better place for children and young people to live," says Keith Russell from The Warren youth project, one of the organisers of the parliament.
"Hopefully, the young people will choose one of their parliaments to focus on what Wilberforce did, and as youth workers we think children and young people can look to Wilberforce's example and realise it's not impossible to change the world, even when the odds are really stacked against you."
The Young People's Parliament is the policy-making body for Hull's children and young people, and when it votes for something, Hull City Council and other bodies will listen and try to act positively.
At the third meeting, held last month, the parliament debated the question: 'What can we do about crime and safety in Hull?'

The decisions voted through were to:

• Ask for more CCTV cameras in Hull.
• Arrange for police officers to visit schools more often to talk about what happens to criminals when they are arrested. This would reassure young people that crime is being dealt with.
• Write to Hull City Council to ask that the funding continues for wheelchair-accessible transport to after-school youth clubs for pupils at Frederick Holmes School, north Hull.
• Send a petition to Tony Blair to seek more Government funding for extra police officers.
• Ask Hull City Council for more financial support for children and families facing domestic violence.

The fourth meeting of the parliament takes place in May and will address the issue of health. September's parliament will discuss racism. For information about the venue, date and time, call Hull Youth Council on (01482) 585297, or visit the website www.hullcc.gov.uk