OUR MISSION

It would be easy to think that young people have stopped caring about politics and that politics has stopped caring about them. With low youth turnout at elections and politicians finding it hard to engage young people, trust and understanding between these two groups can feel like it’s on a downward spiral.

But young people do care about having their voices heard, especially on issues that matter to them. Sometimes they just don’t feel able to join the conversation and engage with people in power. Young people may feel disillusioned and uninspired by the decision-making process. They may believe they don’t know enough or think that someone else knows better. They may feel that their voice doesn’t count.

15% of young people agree with the statement “I trust politicians”

47% of 18–25-year-olds voted in the 2019 general election (compared with 75% of 65 yrs+)

This is a complex problem, but part of the solution is to bring young people and politicians together to have meaningful conversations about important issues, where they can share perspectives and learn from each other. At its best, this is an experience that goes beyond the usual limits of the classroom or town hall and engages young people in a personal way that makes politics matter.

The Politics Project specialises in making these conversations happen. We help teachers, politicians and students get the most out of each engagement and leave feeling informed, inspired, and empowered, because we believe that everyone should be able to use their voice. 

Read more about our impact →

HARRIET ANDREWS  |  DIRECTOR/FOUNDER

Harriet founded The Politics Project in 2015 to develop creative and interactive programmes that help young people to use their voice. She is a graduate of the University of Manchester where she studied Politics, Philosophy and Economics. At university she discovered her love of youth democratic education and has been talking to young people about politics ever since. Prior to founding The Politics Project she worked for a variety of organisations in formal education and youth and community work, including UpRising, DebateMate, the Tutor Trust, NCS and Manchester Creative Studio. Harriet is a core fellow of the Political Literacy Oversight Group set up by the APPG on Democratic Engagement and is a fellow of the RSA.

Ian pope  |  HEAD OF PROGRAMMES

Ian is passionate about empowering young people with the skills and knowledge they need to improve their lives and community. Working in the not-for-profit sector for over 15 years, he has delivered dozens of projects that improved the life chances of young people by equipping them with the employability skills and knowledge they need to succeed. A University of Southampton Politics graduate, Ian has always been interested in politics and democratic engagement. He joined The Politics Project in 2020 eager to use his experience to help young people develop their confidence and understanding of political issues, so they can make a positive difference to their community and society.

Rosa slater  |  DIGITAL SURGERIES PROGRAMME LEAD

Rosa graduated with a Philosophy degree from the University of Birmingham in 2018. Having recently run a community youth movement, Rosa is committed to the values of youth empowerment. Being engaged in political issues shaped her drive to make the world a better place and she has volunteered as a mentor through various projects to help young people build their resilience and self-belief. Joining The Politics Project in 2021 has enabled her to fulfil her desire to engage young people of all backgrounds, especially those typically underrepresented, to participate in the democratic process.

Maddy Dhesi  |  SOCIAL media coordinator

From North Wales, Maddy is a democracy campaigner and Politics with Quantitative Measures student at the University of Glasgow. Since her first time voting in the 2021 Senedd elections, Maddy has been writing about Welsh democracy and now advocates against barriers to voting. She has a background in campaigns that aim to increase voter turnout and youth engagement in Welsh politics. Maddy is interested in how lack of democratic education impacts democracy and is very excited to be part of The Politics Project’s mission of filling that gap.

Amanda pilkington  |  FREELANCE Graphic designer

Over the last 12 years, Amanda has delivered numerous branding campaigns helping charities and not-for-profits organisations to engage with their audiences – increasing their impact and reach through visual identity and hard-hitting campaigns and behaviour change.

Amanda is committed to creative projects that tackle rich and varied themes to create a shared vision of a better world for all. Since working with the Politics Project in 2021, Amanda has used her industry experience and skills to help young people engage with the democratic process and give them an opportunity and the confidence to be politically active and heard.

FOPé AJANAKU |  DEMOCRACY CLASSROOM SENIOR PROGRAMME MANAGER

Fopé is an educator and writer with a degree in politics from Newcastle University and a short lived career in student politics. They come with wealth of facilitation and programme delivery experience having delivered workshops on building equitable workplaces, youth activism and political education for young people all over the country. Their work for the past few years has involved supporting young activists to create and develop community based campaigns at the heart of youth led movements. Joining The Politics Project allows them to continue that work on a bigger scale and continue giving young people the tools and education they need to make the world a better place. Alongside this, Fopé is an avid buyer of books (and a more hesitant reader of said books).

Our Board

OLIVER GEFFROY 

Oliver Geffroy is a Managing Director in Compliance at Bank of America Merrill Lynch in London. Prior to that he has worked in Legal, Compliance and Banking roles at The Royal Bank of Scotland, Barclays, Dresdner Kleinwort and Credit Suisse First Boston. Admitted to the bar in 1998 and specialized in corporate law, Oliver was also an attorney-at law at international law firm Linklaters. Oliver studied Law in Germany and Switzerland and holds a degree from Eberhard-Karls-Universität Tübingen where he was also an assistant professor. Oliver is a member of the Executive Faculty of University of St. Gallen, Switzerland, and of the Steering Committee of SHCOG and is a frequent speaker on regulatory matters at various Compliance industry conferences.

ROSIE CLAYTON

Rosie is a freelance education advisor and consultant who brings experience at both a strategic and policy level, and also programme delivery in schools. She is currently an Associate at the Innovation Unit and New Schools Specialist at the School Design Lab, and a strategic advisor for Gaia Technologies. Prior to this she was involved in setting up innovative Studio Schools across the UK.  She has been an advisor to the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, looking at issues around social mobility and social impact.

EMILY OWEN 

Emily is a resources and content contributor for The Politics Project. She is a qualified Citizenship teacher and is currently head of Politics and Citizenship at Pimlico Academy. Emily has spent ten years as a Head of Department for Citizenship and PSHE in three very different schools in the North West and in London. Emily has worked with The Politics Project for a number of years and piloted the first Digital Surgeries with her classes. As well as working for The Politics Project, Emily is an ACT Ambassador Teacher and contributor and previously worked in the Houses of Parliament Education Team. 

Michelle Man

Michelle is Head of Impact and Learning at ClientEarth, an environmental NGO that uses the power of the law to achieve systemic change. She also supports non-profits and funders to maximise their social impact, advising on strategy, data and research, DEI, and evaluation and learning. Michelle’s experience spans the public, private and third sectors, with previous roles at organisations such as the Electoral Commission and Transparency International. She co-founded the Centre for Democracy to develop the ecosystem of organisations working towards a better democracy in the UK.