The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) represents Scotland’s young people.
Democratically elected members listen to and recognise the issues that are most important to young people, ensuring that their voices are heard by decision-makers. All young people aged between 14 and 25 years old can stand for election to the SYP.
Following on from last year’s successful SYP elections in Edinburgh, one seat remains unfilled in Northern and Leith. SYP rules state that the vacancy should be filled.
Where a seat is vacant, it can be filled through existing youth structures.
We are therefore asking young people involved in pupil/student councils or other youth structures such as participation groups in youth work agencies if they are interested in becoming a Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament for Northern and Leith.
Interested young people must live, study (i.e. go to school or college) or work in the constituency.
The next meeting of the EDINBURGH ASSOCIATION of COMMUNITY COUNCILS will be an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) on Thursday 20 January at 7pm to update the EACC Constitution.
Other items include on the agenda include best practice for community council treasurers and police reports at CC meetings.
There’s a distictly Drylaw flavour to next week’s Inverleith Neighbourhood Network meeting.
Drylaw Neighbourhood Centre will be giving a presentation to the meeting in a ‘Getting To Know You’ session and Easter Drylaw Park has also been tabled as an agenda item.
The meeting, which will take place online using TEAMS, will be held on Monday 6th December from 6 – 7.30pm.
The Scottish Youth Parliament election results 2021 were announced on Monday 22 November. Eleven new Members of the SYP will now represent young people in Edinburgh.
Ten of those elected are from state schools in the city, seven are young women and three are from a Black and Minority Ethnic background.
One remaining seat, in Northern and Leith, will be contested in the new year.
Edinburgh registered the highest number of expressions of interest in Scotland from potential candidates and fielded the most candidates (26) of any local authority.
We also achieved the highest voter turnout in Edinburgh since 2015, despite many of the usual campaigning activities being curtailed because of the pandemic.
Councillor Ellie Bird, Young People’s Champion, said: “I want to commend the astonishing achievements and contributions of all 26 candidates that stood across Edinburgh in the Scottish Youth Parliament election, and warmly welcome the eleven new MSYPs into our city’s elected member family.
“The success of this year’s election is a testament to the commitment and passion of everyone involved in prioritising the voice of young people, at a time when it’s never been more important.
“Due to the restricted access to schools, youth clubs and community centres, candidates have had to rely on their own ingenuity, creativity and sheer dogged persistence to get their message, and their vote, out.
“The determination that these young people have demonstrated in standing up for what they believe in by putting themselves forward for election and to be accountable to their electorate, especially during such a challenging period for young people, is nothing short of inspirational.
“I know they all have a lot to offer their communities and the causes they care about most, and I can’t wait to see what they do next and look forward to working with Edinburgh’s newest group of elected representatives to place young people at the heart of policy and decision making.”
For more information about the election and the successful candidates, please see @edinburghMSYPs
The Social Action Inquiry was set-up to explore what helps and what hinders Social Action in Scotland.
Our first steps are a series of participatory and thought-provoking conversations to connect people taking practical, socially driven action in the service of others, our shared spaces and our natural environments.
The conversation is two hours long and divided into 3 parts. Each part will invite participation from attendees to contribute through dialogue, written words and images.
The structure of the conversation will:
Provide space to share the stories of social action that need heard
Begin to develop the network of allies involved in social action
Explain the intention and life cycle of the Inquiry
Identify who else we need to speak to
Shape the next steps of the Inquiry
At the end of the sessions there will be information and offers from the Inquiry Team of how people can stay connected with the Inquiry.
These conversations will take place on the Zoom platform. Once you have registered, we will send you the Zoom link and materials that you can use during the session.
I wanted to drop you a message to update you on our engagement activities for this phase of the Social Action Inquiry (writes DARRYL).
We are hosting 3 weeks of Conversations with the Social Action Inquiry.
Tickets can be reserved through Eventbrite here. We have scheduled BSL interpreters for the event on the 7th of December (7-9 p.m.).
We have also scheduled additional conversations with allied initiatives and organisations such as #Iwill21 and Inspirealba.
Each conversation is two hours in length and are designed with liberating structures in mind, enabling attendees to contribute regularly and evenly to the conversations. The conversations are divided into three parts and the aims for these sessions are to:
Provide space to share the stories of social action that need heard
Begin to develop the network of allies involved in social action
Explain the intention and life cycle of the Inquiry
Identify who else we need to speak to
Shape the next steps of the Inquiry
We would be grateful if you could share information about these events through your networks ,social media, and perhaps more importantly, nudge one or two people that spring to mind that need to know about these conversations.
We find that the personal touch often has the greatest influence.
You can find us on Twitter and Instagram we invite you to follow us, both platforms have embedded a short animation describing the events which can be shared.
Finally, please do get in touch if you would like to connect. Alternatively if you would like to be removed from our mailing list please let us know as well.
A new climate change focused fellowship promoting equal participation by women in peace resolution is being supported as part of a £300,000 funding commitment from the Scottish Government.
The Beyond Borders UNSCR1325 Climate Change Fellowship will provide peacekeeping, negotiation and reconstruction training to women in areas of conflict.
It will enable climate activists, people from indigenous and island communities, and areas where there is no state control, to share their experience of issues of gender, climate change and conflict.
This new programme is one of the three fellowships delivered by Beyond Borders to support women with conflict resolution supported by Scottish Government funding in 2021-22.
The fellowship on conflict resolution has involved over 250 women from more than 20 countries across the Middle East, North Africa and South Asia since it began in 2016.
Speaking at the New York Times Climate Hub at COP26, External Affairs Secretary Angus Robertson said: “We know that women and girls are disproportionately affected by climate change.
“Our transition to net zero can only truly be just if it also tackles inequalities that women and girls face around the world, but that are particularly apparent in the global south and places of conflict – such as increased food insecurity, displacement and sexualised violence.
“We have an opportunity to support women to play a full role in work to mitigate climate impacts, disaster risks and loss and damage that are inextricably linked to both conflict and the climate emergency, and this funding will further the work already started by the Beyond Borders fellowship.”
Beyond Borders Founder Mark Muller Stuart, QC, said: “Beyond Borders welcomes the continued support of the Scottish Government for the development of the Women in Conflict 1325 Peacemaking Fellowship Programme.
“Since 2016, the Fellowship has created a unique community of practice of women working in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, and will now build upon this community in exploring the critical nexus of climate change, gender, conflict and security.
“Following the lead of the United Nations Secretary General, the Fellowship is committed to providing a platform for the discussion of these crucial themes and to developing a framework concerning climate change and conflict, and the instrumental role that women play in working to ameliorate both phenomena.”
