Young people have got a reputation for quite a lot of things, not all of them good ones. Luckily, I'm pretty sure that apathy is fast becoming a thing of the past when it comes to young people. What makes me so sure is the engagement the UK has seen in the past four weeks. The run up to the general election of May 6th, attracted half a million young voters to the polls for the first time, incredible. Not only that, young people got involved in debates, protests and campaigns up and down the country, giving seasoned voters a definite run for their money.

This following videos feature a collection of the highlights from an event I attended recently, aimed at getting young people even more engaged.

The debate, perfectly timed at just one week before the election was brought together 15 organisations (listed below), 500 of their youth supporters, and gave them the chance to put their questions to a host of senior political figures. The result was a lively and engaging debate, featuring Labour Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Hilary Benn, Shadow Home Office Minister, James Brokenshire, Liberal Democrat Shadow Minister for Energy and Climate Change, Simon Hughes, and representing the Green Party, Darren Johnson, Green Chair of the Greater London Assembly.

The first shows why young people are getting involved:

But the four politicians didn't get off lightly just because it was a fresh-faced audience, oh no. Instead, they faced tough questioning on global health, human rights, corporate responsibility and international conflict, proving that young people are a very long way from being apathetic. Watch how the panel dealt with the grilling they got:

Who knows, perhaps the ever-increasing participation on the part of 18-25s in debating politics, and the election of two 28-year olds to the Houses of Parliament last Thursday signal that there is, at last, a change, the change all three leaders have promised so fervently. Can it be that we helped to bring about that change? And can we continue to be part of it?

[These videos were made in conjunction with Paper Epic].

[The 15 organisations involved were: Aegis Students, FOSIS, NCPO, Campaigns Against Arms Trade, War on Want, Students Supporting Street Kids, Student Action for Refugees, Student Hubs, People & Planet, Charities Parliament, Power 2010, The Howard League for Penal Reform, Student Stop Aids Campaign, Fairtrade Foundation, Amnesty International, and Medsin].