City of York Council's award-winning Wise Words CD for new voters is to get a welcome in the hillsides - with a copy winging its way to Wales.

The Welsh Assembly Government's Commission on Local Government Electoral Arrangements in Wales has written to the York council asking for a copy of the CD. The CD aims to give new voters an introduction to local government and all the services it provides for young people and other citizens.

The commission is looking at ways of boosting interest in elections and public affairs among the young voters of Wales and wants to hear the CD which features top BBC One Radio disc jockeys Mark Radcliffe and Marc 'Lard' Riley.

Wise Words - that's Geiriau Cymen in Welsh - was first produced by City of York Council's marketing and communications team in cassette version in 1997. It won the Institute of Public Relations' 1997 Excellence in Communications award as well as contributing to the team's Local Government Chronicle PR team of the Year award in 1998.

It was then re-launched in up-to-the-minute CD version with a new script in June 2000 and has been sent out to new voters on their 18th birthdays as they appear for the first time on the city's electoral register.

The CD was recorded in Manchester by Mark and Lard and features a comedy script written in the style of the duo's popular Radio One afternoon show.

The script was penned in-house by the council's publicity manager Steve Eccles, a huge fan of the BBC show, and Port Talbot-raised, former South Wales Echo and Neath Guardian journalist Neil Sterio - the council's press manager.

Hugh Rawlings, secretary to the Assembly's commissioners, has told City of York Council chief executive David Atkinson, "One of the issues concerning commissioners is the low turnout in local elections and they have identified young people as a group which is generally not engaged in local government through the ballot box. I know the commissioners would be extremely interested to know about Wise Words."

Mr Atkinson said today, "City of York Council is a double beacon-winning authority and believes that all those involved in local government up and down the country can learn things from each other.

"We are very happy to be able to help the Assembly's commission in this way. Wise Words has been well received in York and tries to engage young people in a humorous way."

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