Chance to be Chancellor
Aviva and The Citizenship Foundation give young people the Chance to be Chancellor
Since 2007, Aviva have worked with The Citizenship Foundation to deliver ‘Paying for It'. This educational programme forms part of Aviva's Corporate Responsibility activity and takes economic citizenship into schools nationwide. It addresses the economic elements of the citizenship curriculum and encourages young people to think about issues of financial and social importance.
In 2010, the ‘Paying for It' material, was delivered with the help of over 100 volunteers from 8 Aviva sites in the UK taking advantage of the company's 21 hours annual paid leave for voluntary work. In Norwich, this has included the Hewett School, Framingham Earl High School and City College Norwich. The resources are also made available for teachers to download for free from payingforit.org.uk, a facility that enabled over 3,000 lesson plans to be downloaded during the year.
A key part of this initiative is the Chance to be Chancellor Competition which encourages young people across the UK to get to grips with the Budget and give their perspectives on the UK economy. Entrants, aged 14-18, are asked to review and prioritise a series of policy options, similar to those faced by the government, as well as justifying their choices.
In 2010, the competition winner and runners up got the chance to meet Chancellor Osborne and discuss their views on the economy as part of the awards ceremony held at HM Treasury. Aviva Marketing Director Gary Price said: “We were delighted that the Chancellor was able to show his support for this programme. As a major financial services company, Aviva believes in the value of financial education programmes. In economic times like this, they're vital.”
The 2010 winner, Jamie Ells, 17, from Merchant Taylors' School, in Middlesex, said: "Chance to be Chancellor allowed me to express my own thoughts and meet in person the people who make the decisions. It was amazing to meet the Chancellor and speak to him about the policies I suggested in my entry."
The 2011 competition launched in January and will remain open until 4 March. Hosted online (chancetobechancellor.org.uk), this year we are collating all responses to create the first ever Youth Budget, which will be presented to HM Treasury a week after the budget. The competition has been supported by Chloe Smith, MP for Norwich North who said: "Good financial and economic understanding is vital for young people. It's what allows you to be part of the world around you. I am passionate about young people being involved in politics and society, so I urge people to sign up to this competition."
For more information e-mail cccc@aviva.co.uk.
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