Friday, September 10, 2010

British journalist and broadcaster Andrew Marr may be used to dealing with global figureheads and world leaders.

But his new book, ‘Who’s In Charge?’ is a political book aimed at children. And although children may not seem to be everyone’s idea of a target audience when it comes to  politics, Marr believes kids are right on the pulse with certain issues.

He’s right too, if you think about the efforts made by schoolkids in the UAE for Earth Day only last week.

Marr says: “There’s a real issue for a lot of kids these days which is that they get worked up about things like the environment, animal rights, global warming or lots of issues that are not really talked about in party politics.

“Children tend to become engaged with issues about injustice or pollution - immediate, emotional things.

“So while it’s important to educate children about politics and why it matters, politicians also need to be attuned to the issues that children deem important so they can engage and get them more interested.”

A general election is set to take place in the United Kingdom early next month, and Marr is busy reporting on the political issues of the day which will help sway the voters in Britain.

Although children cannot vote, Marr believes they pick up on the idea of how politics works early on in life. He says: “If you’re in a playground, if you’re with a group of kids playing in the park, at home - there’s always somebody giving the orders, bossing other people around and there are the ones who are bossed around.

“No matter how young, you can understand that.

The question is, ‘Why should this person be bossing me around, why should this person be setting the rules, who gives them the right?’”