The British Youth Council is a youth-led charity that empowers young people aged 25 and under to influence and inform the decisions that affect their lives. BYC found that the majority of young people felt they did not have a voice and were not listened to by decision makers. They reported facing practical and social barriers to accessing training and a lack of knowledge on how to influence and improve their communities. Many felt decision makers are not accessible and youth friendly and there is a large gap between them and those who making decisions that are affecting them. Young people consulted rated learning new skills as the key area that would support them to get involved with their communities, and reported that the type of community activity that would appeal most to them would be working with their peers to influence local youth services and the way their community is run In the 2010, only 45% of young people in the UK voted in the General Elections. In preparation for the next 2015 General Election, BYC would like to increase the involvement of young people in democratic processes. In order to support youth empowerment and voice across the UK, the ‘Youth Voice’ meeting will aim to empower 300 young people across the UK by giving them the skills, knowledge and experience to have meaningful dialogue with decision makers. We aim for young people to have the opportunity to influence policies not only at the event but also be ready to work with decision makers and campaign on young people’s issues in their local communities. We also aim to inspire young people be involved in democratic processes and multiply their knowledge and skills to other young people in the run up to the next General Elections. The meetings will tackle the barriers faced by young people by providing them with skills training; the opportunity to engage directly with decision makers and influence local, national and international policies; the chance to work with and be inspired by their peers and signposting to further opportunities for youth led community action. As BYC are the lead coordinators of the UK National Working Group for Structured Dialogue, the outcomes will also directly feed into the wider process of the ‘Youth Empowerment’ theme of Structured Dialogue in the UK and in Europe. The project will be led by a young people steering group who will be responsible for organising and facilitating the meeting, developing the content, promotion and follow up in their regions/nations. The 'Youth Voice' meeting will involve a wide range of young people aged between 13-19 years old who are from UK Youth Parliament, Youth Councils, Young Mayors schemes and local authorities. There will be equal allocation of young people from each region. The first 2 days will involve training, simulation activities and group work to prepare the young people to work with and influence decision makers. At the end of the meeting, all the young people will meet with decision makers including candidate MPS for a roundtable to discuss an issue they have joint agreed in their group over the weekend. The aim will be to use the skills they have learnt to discuss issues facing young people and work together to develop recommendations for policies and future activities. The meeting will be using non-formal, interactive and creative approaches such as specific skills based workshops, simulation exercises, debates and discussion, role plays, energisers, outdoor and team building activities. After the event, 300 young people will have the skills and be empowered to represent the voice and run local campaigns for young people in their communities. The young people will multiply their knowledge and learning to young people in their youth organisations and via social media. There will be a formal report with recommendations and outcomes of the meeting with decision makers that will be formally present to National Governments and the National Working Group for Structured Dialogue. It is aimed that this will be used to directly influence new youth policies being implemented by the new Government in 2015 and the European Parliament. From having direct access with decision makers it is hoped that young people will have the confidence and skills to meet and work with their newly elected MPs after the General Election.