Interested in politics but not able to vote yet? Don’t worry. There are still ways to stay abreast of the issues and get involved.

Both the Progressive Labour Party and the United Bermuda Party have youth wings and the web has made it easier for teens of today to get involved in meaningful political conversation.

Your first port of call should be the parties website, www.plp.bm and www.ubp.bm. On these sites both parties have statements from their Members of Parliament and Senators discussing important topics.

These sites also let you know events that are happening so you can go and meet party members and learn more about the political process.

Interested in actually becoming a politician? Then Youth Parliament is for you. The group of approximately 50 students meets once a week to debate national issues.

Its mission is to give young people a chance to express their feelings and learn about Government. The teenagers discuss Bills ranging from raising the age of obtaining a motorcycle, to eliminating conscription and banning smoking in public places. They also get to take on the roles of Speaker of the House and Premier.

Your school guidance councillor should be able to help get you involved or call the Department of Youth at 297-7619.

For those who are more interested in reading different views and discussing things on line The PLP site also has a great blog attached to it just for the youth of Bermuda. It’s called “Progressive Minds” and can be found at www.progressiveminds.bm.

On the blog, they discuss hot topics of the day, such as education and building developments and also run polls. The current one asks if you think Portuguese should be taught in Bermuda’s schools.

The UBP’s youth wing, Young United, is geared towards people 18-35 but welcomes younger teens as well. Kimberley Caines, a spokeswoman for the group, said it is for people interested in bridging the gap between the young adult population and the political arena. She said the group is made up of diverse individuals and consists of university students and persons in varied careers. The group holds events throughout the year to get young adults interested in politics.

For more information you can e-mail youngunitedbermudagmail.com.

But for students that don’t want to affiliate themselves with either party yet or just want to get an idea about what other young people are thinking the popular online community FaceBook is the perfect way to do so.

There are many groups on the site geared to politics in Bermuda and discussions take place daily.

Funnily enough the tone of debates online is normally more civil than what happens at the House of Assembly, there is no name calling or bickering - just healthy debate.

Groups on the site such as “You gotta love Bermuda Politics” and “Bermudians for a Better Tomorrow” have nearly 300 young people as members and discuss things like education, race and the environment.

And if you really want to get involved in politics try starting a club at school or join your student government to better understand how it all works.