Big Think
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Big Think Competition
The competition has now closed. Thank you for all the brilliant ideas that have been sent in. The finalists are being selected and notified, so make sure you watch this space to find out who the winners are.
Bebo's Big Think - Take your ideas to the top!
You've already shared your views with each other and we've even given some of you the chance to put your questions to Gordon Brown. And now, we're giving some of you the opportunity to showcase your own ideas for building a better Britain, all thanks to Bebo's Big Think. What can we say? We're nice like that.
We've been looking for illuminating, practical ideas on the three C's - climate change, crime and careers. Whether it's working better with local police, an ingenious initiative to cut your street's carbon footprint or a suggestion to help tackle youth unemployment or bullying, we wanted to know what's in your head that could make Britain better.
You have sent in your ideas, and now the innovators behind the top six ideas will be whisked to London to take part in a one-of-a-kind workshop run by experts. They'll learn how to amp up their idea for maximum impact, before pitching it to a high-profile panel! Heading up the panel is Cabinet Minister Tessa Jowell, who will be joined by drum 'n' bass pioneer Goldie, record-breaking mountaineer Jake Meyer, Apprentice winner and successful business supremo Michelle Dewberry and Ginny Lunn, the big cheese at leading charity The Prince's Trust.
Each finalist will have 10 minutes to show off their idea, and field tricky questions on how they see it working in practice.
We'll then whittle our finalists down to three winners, who'll present their plan, in person, to members of the British Cabinet! Who knows from there? Our winners could be walking the corridors of power with the help of government to get their idea off the ground. We can smell the power from here.
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- Your ideas for our future
- Me, Myself, and I
- Fancy telling top politicians how YOU would make the country better? Post your ideas, inspiration and ambitions for Britain on our dedicated forum to do just that.
Bebo want to put your thoughts in front of some of the country’s leading politicians and policy-makers. What you post here matters; the Government want to read it and harness your imaginations to craft a better, fairer future for all of us.
Today we will be selecting FIVE lucky winners from the entries received on Bebo, to give the Prime Minister some personal political pointers at an exclusive Downing Street Q&A session.
Winners will be contacted individually, and posted on this page, so watch this space to find out who your spokespeople are.
The competition is now closed, but even if you haven't been selected to go to No.10 next week, please continue to send in your questions, so that your Bebo spokespeople will have your questions and thoughts to present to the Prime Minister!
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My trip to No.10...
Apprenticeships aren't widely publicised as an option - I certainly hadn't been so aware of them until the recent coverage they've been getting in the news on how beneficial they can be to a business in the current recession. That's why Downing Street recently held a reception to celebrate the success of apprenticeship program, and to encourage businesses to take more people on. The people I spoke to took a different path to myself - I carried on to A-levels after my GCSE's and am now applying to unviersities, whereas a whole load of people decided to leave school and join an an apprenticeship program, so they could earn, learn on the job, and have more time to progress to the level they wanted. I realised how much determination it takes to deviate from the norm, especially when, in some of their cases, all their friends were doing as I am now; studying for standard qualifications.
On the night, many apprentices spoke to the room about their experiences, and how getting a practical, hands-on feel for a profession has given them what compulsory education hadn't. A little later on, Gordon Brown came with Education Secretary Ed Balls (who stood beside him throughout the PM's speech, nodding in agreement occasionally), and Business Secretary Peter Mandelson (who simply watched the speech from inside the group). When he first came in, he mingled amongst a few groups, one of which I was a part of! He came towards a cluster of five people (of which I was one), shook all of our hands, spoke about football with one person, in a way that didn't make him seem like a Prime Minister at all, and told us to enjoy our evening. He then proceeded to make his speech. Joking with one of the apprentices about the football team she supported, the speech didn't seem rehearsed at all and I was impressed at how the delivery can influence how you view what a person is saying....Gordon Brown stressed that companies need to be making more spaces for apprentices, and more accepting to those with non-traditional qualifications. Which is true, but I think that the problem of university places needs to be acknowleged, so that both people with a degree, and apprentices can be given the same chance of promotion...What does everyone think? Should people who went through the system be given the same opportunities as apprentices, or is it obvious that in the five years it takes to get A-levels and a degree, those who left school will climb up to the same mlevel as a graduate?
After Gordon Brown's spoke, I went to speak to him on his way out, saying I thought his speech was great, and asking whether he remembered being questioned in the Cabinet Room in April by the ambassadors. Graciously, he said: "Yes, certainly!".
Attia x
0 Comments 4 days
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George Lenton - download his free track on Bebo's Big Think
Download the buzz track to the Number 10 film for free at the top of the page. It's called Refresh and it's by George Lenton ft. Liz Laurence.
Growing up on a diet of long-haired rock and grunge, George Lenton was drawn to dance music by the energy of the flourishing drum and bass scene.
Enraptured one night by the turntable skills of the Scratch Pervert he bought some decks, spent twenty five hours a day practicing flare, crabs and other obscure figure contortions and eventually entered loads of proper turntablist competitions.
Shortly after he began making in-roads into production, joining a band to channel his passion. When the old cliché of ‘musical differences’ reared its ugly head however, George set off solo, turning his new skills to creating energetic music that makes you want to move.
Still with an emphasis on drums and bass (though not always in that order), his productions span electro, glitchy hip-hop and dubstep and have had wide-spread blog support, as well as Radio One plays from the likes of Rob Da Bank and Huw Stephens.
You can find him on Bebo here: http://www.bebo.com/georgelenton
0 Comments 105 days
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In awe....
Attia here!! Today Gordon Brown took on 15 people's worth of challenging questions. It's easy to feel disconnected with politics, especially now; when the House of Commons can be a two-party/person battle, and all you hear in the newspapers is MP "scandals".. however, this mornings events really changed my perception of the way the country is run. Meeting Gordon Brown was an eye-opening experience - just know that what you see and read in the papers isn't always the case.
We arrived at Number 10 at the early start of 6.45...We had our beautiful breakfast in the "white drawing room", and proceeded to go downstairs to wait for the Prime Minister to arrive in the Cabinet Room, which is all the heads of departments meet on a weekly basis. Instead of foreign and education secretaries, the 15 of us were seated at the Cabinet table, and I wasn't ready for him to go around and greet all of us individually, but he gracefully did! I introduced myself; "Hi! I'm Attia...I'm 17, i've just finished my first year of A-levels..I'd love to study Politics and International Relations at University". Genuinely, he wanted to know what I'm interested in, to which I explained that I want to study the Middle East....He carefully elaborated on how sensitive a region it is, and that he's meeting with a leader from Palestine, and a leader of Israel to make progress. I would have loved to talk about it more, but there were a good 10 others to go, before we got down to the hard hitting questions.
Though we were sat around an official table, the dialogue was very relaxed, and we had the opportunity to ask supplementary questions, and the chance to challenge his answers if we didn't agree...I said (a bit contraversially....) that I don't think we should bring the voting age to 16, because personally, my political viewpoint wasn't as developed as it could have been had I studied Politics earlier....The Prime Minister then put forward a suggestion that we incorporate political parties more into the compulsory Citzenship lessons at school so 15 and 16 year olds have a more rounded viewpoint - a suggestion very, very warmly welcomed....as was the idea of a youth referendum. I say...watch this space!
We then proceeded onto the terrace, which overlooked the most beautiful garden, complete with strawberry plants and a trampoline! There, Rick Edwards, who facilitated the whole discussion debriefed us and we reflected over the eventful talk. Having visited Downing street and having challenged Gordon Brown himself about confidence in politics, the voting age, and knife crime, I feel so confident that this is the field I want to enter. Maybe I won't be replacing Mr. PM himself, but who knows...you might see me knocking on Number 10 more often!
Attia
x1 Comment 121 days
Finalists
The 6 finalists!
Make sure you watch this space, as the 6 finalists will be announced here soon.
In the meantime, we'd still love to hear your ideas on how to improve and benefit Britain, so keep posting your comments here on Bebo's Big Think.
It's time to get thinking!
The Ambassadors
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Which crimes are the most likely to lead a young person astray in Britain?
- Taking drugs - getting high seems to be no big deal
- Underage drinking – nobody waits til their 18 for their first pint
- Violent crime – guns and knifes are commonplace
- Shoplifting – make up and cds fit snugly up coat sleeves
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Whose actions do you find most inspiring?
- Angeline Jolie for her work as a UN ambassador
- Bono for his fight against global poverty
- Green Day for donating all royalties from iTunes sale of Boulevard of Broken Dreams to help victi
- Rihanna for creating the Believe Foundation for terminally ill children
- Ludacris for founding the Ludacris Foundation for inspiring young people and promoting community
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What’s most important in a career?
- Fun – find a job you love and you’ll never work a day in your life!
- Fame – I want to see my name in lights
- Financial rewards – I’m after a life of leisure, holidays and fab clothes
- Flexible work hours – family and friends come first
- Friends – working with a great crew makes every day a laugh
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Central Heating, on or off?
by
Petit Filous
Remember that british gas guy a while ago that said we should just put on a jumper if we get cold? Well, that man was saying this to customers but is he right?0 Replys 1 week
Climate change-
One of the most important issues we have ever faced. But what are we doing about it?! Not much. Turning down electricity is one example and so is trying not to use central heating. Should we wear a jumper or should we spend money on heating gas. The answer seems obvious, however how many of us have actually done so? The uproar of people against the man at british gas was huge, but maybe if we put on more layers that wouldn't be a problem.
How do we go about this then? Please comment.
Please make a pledge or promise to try and combat climate change. Not for ourselves but for the future. -
Climate Change - reduce? reuse? recycle? what do you do?
by
Elliott
So it's on the news every day that the world is suffering from global warming and apparently humans are the main cause with our wastefulness. If this is true as we are led to believe what do people think is the best way to combat this climate change?0 Replys 2 weeks
I know friends who have made pledges to help stop climate change. Some examples are below.
Kat - I refuse to buy new clothes but only second hand clothes from charity shops. This way I'm recycling and keeping waste out of land fill and helping charity all at the same time.
Jack - I promise to recycle all my beer cans and bottles to stop them going into landfill and and to make new beer cans! That way less energy and less new raw materials are needed to make more beer!
Me - I'm trying to cut down the length of time I spend in the shower so as to waste less water and less gas to heat the water up.
So what's your pledge? How do you try and combat climate change?
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School Books
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Chris Walsh
should we change the school books for english0 Replys 13 weeks
if so what books do you think you should read?
i personally think that we shouldn't change it
Usb no nufn to share i doubt v much ur a playful toy
"The murderer" charge wasn't literal (unless there's something you would care to share with the audience?) I thought i was being obvious but clearly not blatant enough. I was referring ofcourse to your eagerness to kill any form of satire. I still think i was justified, therefore cannot take back the last part of the comment, though i assure you i meant no offence, in the same way i take your criticism of my planet with a pinch of salt. However, in my planet "the fairer sex" refrain from having conversations with USB operated pleasure toys.
Usb mre lyke retract the whole statement cause at the end u called me a murderer haha wat planet u livin on defo nt da same one as me
Ok you're right, please accept my apologies. As far as low blows go that was firmly in the scrotum. I deeply regret putting finger to QWERTY in that intstance and would like to retract the first portion of my statement. It wasn't clever and it wasn't right.
haha lmfao wind ur neck in usb lets slag my name wat r u ten lol ive heard it al be4 get over urself
usb must be the light bulb fixing company i suspect.
..Atleast my mother didn't marry a "german wolf" and take his surname. Still bless you for managing to distinguish between the myth and the reality, even if it was done in "cold blood."
"RIP sarcasm" (Adam n Eve - 19/11/09)
Nicola you murderer!!
Usb is taking the you know what !
i think usb is ful of crap
He was a very convincing 8 yr old. He had a smokers cough and everything. What were me and Patel to do when there was a profit to be made? Besides, he and his friends had previously purchased fireworks, tobacco and contraception the year before. I was already sold. I object to your mocking. I was a human going through rehibilitation. Ofcourse i deserved Sky sprts 1,2,3 and extra (also ESPN and pay per view).I thought this was a civilized society?
I was led to believe, Scooter were strictly a product of the third reich?? The lead singer looks like he was in the Gestapo.
I think usb was taking the urine megann !
+ wow. You didnt have sports channel? Get a grip, you shouldnt your in there as a punishment. Am i not right? + scooter is swedish
so kinda down the middle. 
as for the peodophile thing, i totally agree. They are being housed all over the place + normally in neighboor hoods that have children in them. Disgrace.
How did the 8 year old even look old enough?
Being a prisoner ain't no picnic either. Me and my brother Patel were put away for selling alcopops to an 8 yr old (before you judge me she he had I.D) In our cell we were abused and tortured by being systematically being forced to eat Western meals and listen to "white man music" such as Kenny Rogers and Scooter. Although we did have Sky, the animals didn't even give us the sports package and our babestation was cut after 10pm. I still get flashbacks about following big games on sky sports news. I've been more than punished in my life by the system. More so than any "innocent" man deserves.
Also in relation to the point below. I think the government have already responded to the "as long as they don't live beside me" attitude to the rehabilitators. They've constructed purpose built towns where all the paedophiles can work, live and feel part of society again. I believe they call this town "Dunfermline."
A heroin addict will not turn their life around untill they are ready for to do it the police should be targetting all the dealers large and small alike and judges should be handing out much stiffer sentances drug dealers live off the misery of others all their possesions and assets should be taken off them and auctioned off ive seen the misery of heroin and what it causes people too stoop so low too get their fix.
One thing that really really angers me in this country is people who have committed disgusting evil crimes get protection. Eg: the case of Heather Boyd, if the social work dep spent half the amount of money they're spendin 2 keep her safe on her son, he'd still b alive 2day! Also my sister has jst found out her nxt door neighbour (a scout leader) is bein charged with child porn, he's been bailed & the housin have told my sis jst 2 put up with it, altho they have offered 2 put up a big fence - like that makes it better, my sis has 4 kids all under 14. Police r drivin past his house every 20min 2 make sure he's no bein targeted by violence & they've also set him up with state of the art cameras at his windows so he can film people if they target him - sickest thing I've ever heard of, a man been charged with child porn & wut do the police do, give him new cameras, fuckin lovely that this country is so sick! Plus, no1 even knew he was bein charged with this til it was in the sun.
I'm from Dundee and I know for definate the police here work together with the bouncers on the doors in city centre at night & pretty sure the police here also work with security in shops & stuff during the day. Known offenders r jst that - known. So when they enter a shop to steal or whatever, they're immediately watched by security etc. The punishments these offenders r gettin should b way heavier than they r at moment. Drug addicts however, I personally dnt believe any sort of punishment no matter how heavy will stop them as the whole problem is that they r addicted. Heroin in particular strips people of feelings, goin thru hell for crimes doesnt make a difference, they're body still needs a hit.
The victims are never protected m8 i shit u not i worked for B&Q years ago in edinburgh nightshift a guy fell through the roof trying to break in and the goverment gave him 25k compensation from B&Q because they had no fragile roof signs displayed lol the criminals are much more looked after than there victims
Prisoners get it way too easy with their playstations sky tv and them moaning about their human rights they are in prison to be punished not pampered what about their victims human rights ?
Heeeyyy All