Tag: participation

Citizens Assembly to hold final meeting today

The Citizens Assembly will meet for Weekend 8 today – Saturday 5 December. Convener Kate Wimpress has written a blog where she provides an overview of the weekend (see below). 

We will be livestreaming the plenary sessions on our website, 

www.citizensassembly.scot 

and materials for the Assembly that members will use, are also available to view online.

Convener Kate Wimpress (above) said: “I am very much looking forward to the last meeting of the Citizens’ Assembly.

“Members will be meeting online on Saturday, 5th December, to discuss support for the final recommendations to advance their vision for Scotland. This is the culmination of the remarkable journey we have taken, together, as Scotland’s first  Assembly. As usual, we will be livestreaming the plenary sessions on our website: www.citizensassembly.scot

“Members will be reading out their recommendations, and it will be a privilege to hear the recommendations, formed through careful deliberation, shared in their own voice. They will also be voting on the levels of support for each recommendations agreed during weekend 7. 

“The recommendations are varied and speak to a number of broad themes: 

How decisions are taken 

  • Recommendations about improving citizen participation, the provision of information, and accountability in our political institutions.

Constitutional issues 

  • Some recommendations explicitly call for further powers, for example, around taxation and negotiating  trade agreements. Others call for changes in areas that are currently reserved, including aspects of employment law, incomes and regulation of utilities to support environmental objectives. 

Building a sustainable country  

  • A range of recommendations about environmental sustainability.

Tax and economy  

  • Recommendations on changes to, and improving the understanding of, the tax system

Income and poverty

  • Recommendations covering a range of action to address poverty including to improve information on poverty and relating to income and employment.

Helping people to realise their potential 

  • A broad range of recommendations, including around education and training for young people, and action around health and wellbeing, the NHS, and wider health services 

“There is a great deal of detail within each of the  themes and members will be finalising their recommendations during Weekend 8.

“The final report will incorporate the Assembly vision and the recommendations, alongside a description of how the process worked, and reflections from Members on their journey. It is to be published early next month, presented to the Scottish Government and Parliament, and debated in the Scottish Parliament.  

“We are making plans for communicating the final reports and our subscribers will be kept up to date with all the latest developments.

“In the meantime, we will continue to promote the Assembly across our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram social media channels.”

Young Start lottery boost for Capital employability project

Projects that will boost the physical and mental health of young Scots are amongst those sharing in £732,323 of dormant bank accounts funding announced on Thursday.

Ten projects, run for and by young people, are celebrating the cash from The National Lottery Community Fund’s Young Start fund. 

One of them is Edinburgh’s Capital City Partnership, who receive £62, 500. The city council’s arms-length employability agency will use their Young Start funding to work with ‘young people in Edinburgh at high risk of unemployment’ who will be supported by a dedicated Employment Advocacy worker. The project will work with twenty young people and will also offer two volunteering opportunities.

The Young Start funding will remove barriers to sport and physical activity for young disabled Scots like racerunner athlete Wiktoria Mucha following a grant of £66,000 to local charity, PHSYICAL.

Wiktoria Mucha, 18, from Blairgowrie has cerebral palsy and is a member of Perth Strathtay Harriers which is one of the many partner organisations and sports clubs that PHYSICAL will work with as part of their Young Start funded ‘Positive Beginnings’ project.

Over the next three years hundreds of young people from Perth & Kinross will be able to access coaching opportunities, accredited courses, volunteering opportunities, one to one mentoring and peer support.

Welcoming the news Wiktoria said: “I enjoy race-running as it improves your overall fitness and emotional well-being. I’m looking forward to taking part in Positive Beginnings as I think it will help me with my confidence by meeting other people and learning new skills.”

PHYSICAL trustee Jim Hunter added: “This Young Start grant will allow us to evolve and grow our ‘Positive Beginnings’ programme. Young disabled people, like Wiktoria, will be at the centre of this process and involved throughout.

“It will help each young person develop lifelong skills and knowledge through the platform of sport and physical activity. This cash boost goes a long way to help us reach the financial target for this project.”

Meanwhile, Dundee Football Club in the Community Trust receives £95,624 to help build the confidence, skills and future employment prospects of young people aged between 15 and 24.

The project will create a safe space for young people to access work placements and further education opportunities whilst using their local knowledge to plan and deliver activities for their communities.

Over two years, it will support 45 young people who will create, design and benefit from the programme.

Welcoming the news, Greg Fenton, Community Manager, Dundee FC In The Community Trust, said: “We are delighted with the news of our Young Start grant, which will help us achieve what we set out as a charity to Deliver Change and Transform Lives in our community.

“This project will give young people a fantastic chance in life and, working with our team and partners, this will increase their positive life chances and support them into further education and/or employment.

“The Trust have guaranteed to employ some of the young people on full time and part time contracts from the programme for a full year, so they can give back to their community whilst transforming their lives and the lives of other young people.”

Young Start awards dormant bank and building society cash to youth-led projects across Scotland and is delivered by The National Lottery Community Fund.

The National Lottery Community Fund’s Scotland Chair, Kate Still, said: “At a time when young people are understandably concerned about their futures, it’s great to see that today’s Young Start funding will provide access to accredited courses, volunteering and training opportunities.

“This in turn will help to grow the confidence of many young people like Wiktoria who will lead from the front and realise their full potential.”

Groups wanting to know more about Young Start, and how it can support them during these unprecedented times should telephone 0141 846 0447 or visit  https://www.tnlcommunityfund.org.uk/youngstart 

Drylaw Telford CC to meet online tomorrow

Drylaw Telford Community Council is to meet online via Zoom tomorrow evening.

CC members have been notified of login instructions and members of the public wishing to participate should contact DTCC secretary Pam Higgins via email at pamhigginsdtcc@gmail.com

Pam said: ” It was lovely to get back together as a group in August and I look forward to seeing as many people as possible in the coming months.  I believe this way of meeting will be our new normal for the foreseeable future.”

Latest update from Citizens’ Assembly

The report from Weekend 5 of the Assembly has now been published, and you can see all the outputs including the livestream recordings on our Weekend 5 page. 

Convener Kate Wimpress has also published a blog where she reflects on the last weekend. 



We look forward to meeting again online on 3 and 4 October, and hope you can join us by watching the livestream on our homepage. 

Best wishes,

Citizens’ Assembly Secretariat

Edinburgh urged to share views on gender inequality and body image

The First Minister’s National Advisory Council on Women and Girls (NACWG) is calling on Edinburgh residents to join the #GenerationEqual movement and have their say in its latest discussion surrounding body image.

Increased societal pressures relating to ‘body image standards’ and the rise in use of social media has had a considerable impact on body image for many women and girls of all ages.

Discrimination, developing distorted perceptions and dealing with low self-esteem, often with associated mental health consequences, are just some of the issues stemming from body image. The Advisory Council would like to hear views on body image from people of all genders and those who don’t identify to help inform its findings and shape its recommendations to the First Minister.

The NACWG was formed to drive equality for women and girls in every community across Scotland by raising the issue of gender inequality. Focusing on a new Spotlight theme on a bi-monthly basis, the Advisory Council aims to bring people together and create discussion on many issues still faced by women and girls in Scotland today. The NACWG is putting a Spotlight on body image  until the end of October to explore the daily challenges and pressures of body image.

Louise Macdonald OBE, Co-Chair of the NACWG, said: “In today’s society women and girls still face huge pressures to look a certain way as they compare their appearance to others on social media, magazines and in advertisements. Poor self-confidence can be extremely damaging, and can lead to many women and girls struggling with their self-worth and place in society.

“The Advisory Council is inviting groups, organisations and networks in Edinburgh, to share their experiences, opinions and ideas around the body image Spotlight. Every bit of feedback will help advise the First Minister and drive action in creating long-lasting change for women and girls in Scotland.”

To participate in this national conversation groups, organisations and networks are encouraged to form a virtual Wee Circle to discuss these issues and share ideas on how it can be tackled. 

Feedback from these Wee Circle discussions, as well as individual feedback, can be submitted online at onescotland.org/NACWG. 

Alternatively, thoughts can be shared on social media using the hashtag #GenerationEqual.

Survey: Research on communities and active travel

The Scottish Community Development Centre has been commissioned by Sustrans to research how and why communities engage (or don’t engage) with active travel projects

SCDC wants to hear from all types and sizes of community and voluntary organisations across the country.

Wherever you are on your active travel journey your experience matters: from those who have never even considered an active travel project to those that are thinking and planning on to those who have successfully completed one.

It doesn’t matter the focus of your organisation – Sustrans would like to know how they can work with all sections of our communities to deliver the benefits of active travel to everyone.

Complete the short (ten-minute maximum) survey by clicking on the link below. Closes Friday 28th August at midnight:

https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/communities_and_active_travel

Scottish Womens Convention to hold online conference

The Scottish Womens Convention (SWC) are thrilled to announce our first ever Online Conference, which will focus on social care and the impact on women across Scotland.

This will take place via Zoom on Wednesday 23rd September, between 3pm and 5pm. Spaces will be limited, so we recommend registering soon! 

Register here for free – https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/women-and-social-care-in-scotland-tickets-117005623971

This event will see a number of attendees and speakers come together to discuss some of the most pressing current issues. We want to cover everything from experiences before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, to what we need to do in future to make social care work for everyone in Scotland.

This event will complement the SWC’s ongoing work regarding Women and Social Care in Scotland. A summary report of our initial findings can be accessed here – https://bit.ly/314dJwy A huge thank you to all who have contributed to this work so far. 

We look forward to welcoming you to our Conference. Any questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us through this email, or across our social media channels @swcwomen. 

Take care!

Team SWC

Scottish Women’s Convention

2nd Floor, The Albany Centre

44 Ashley Street, Glasgow G3 6DS

Tel: 0141 339 4797

Email: info@scottishwomensconvention.org

Follow us @SWCWomen on Twitter, Instagram or find us on Facebook

Website: www.scottishwomensconvention.org

Citizens Assembly to reconvene next month

The Citizens Assembly will resume online following a break due to COVID disruption. We will reconvene on 5 September and will report to the Scottish Government and Parliament by the end of the year.

The Assembly’s remit will be unchanged.

You may recall that before the pause, members had made substantial progress in developing a shared vision for the future of Scotland, and had considered key challenges to building a sustainable country.

Members also examined Scotland’s finances and taxation, and discussed how decisions are taken for and about Scotland.

The Assembly will now complete its work across these areas, while also considering the impact of COVID-19.


The interim report, The Journey So Far, was published yesterday alongside a comprehensive set of articles and videos summarising the work.

 All information can be found at www.CitizensAssembly.scot and we will continue to update our Facebook, TwitterInstagram and YouTube channel social media channels.

Best wishes, 

Citizens’ Assembly Secretariat

Picture: Chris Watt