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 countdown is on to nominate local young heroes for the Sunday Mail Young Scot Awards 2022, which recognises the extraordinary young people who are making a real difference to the lives of others.
Now in its sixteenth year, the awards highlight the triumphs of young people across a range of categories – from sport and the environment to enterprise and volunteering – and shine a light on the invaluable contributions made by remarkable young people across Scotland.
Nominations are still open at youngscotawards.com and will close on13 February 2022.
The results are set to be announced on 27 April 2022 by BBC Radio 1 DJ Gemma Cairney at a star-studded red-carpet awards ceremony hosted at Edinburgh’s International Conference Centre.
The winners will join a prestigious roll call of previous recipients including RuPaul’s Drag Race champion Lawrence Chaney and social media star Jamie Genevieve. Charitable duo Jack Mullen and Alfie King were crowned 2021’s ‘Young Scots of the Year’ for their work raising donations and keeping community spirit alive during the pandemic.
“It’s an honour to be able to celebrate their achievements, so if you know someone who’s gone above and beyond to help others – we want to hear about them! Please make your nomination today.”
Awards host Gemma Cairney said: ‘I’m over the moon to have been chosen to host the Sunday Mail Young Scot Awards again this year!
“There’s still time for people across Edinburgh to celebrate the young people who have made a real difference to their communities so make sure you get your nominations in. I can’t wait to meet your local young heroes.”
The categories for 2022 include:
· The Arts
· Community – Sponsored by the Scottish Government
· Enhancing Education – sponsored by Skills Development Scotland
· Enterprise
· Entertainment
· Environment – sponsored by First Bus
· Equality and Diversity – sponsored by Arnold Clark
Children aged five to 11 years old who have specific medical conditions which place them at greater risk from COVID-19 will be invited for their first vaccination from this week onwards.
Parents do not need to book an appointment for them online as they will be contacted directly by Health Boards.
Those five to 11 year olds who are household contacts of people with immune suppression will be invited to receive their vaccination in due course.
Letters will also be sent to young people aged 12-15 who are at particular clinical risk from COVID-19 inviting them for a booster jag, 12 weeks after their last primary dose.
Meanwhile, second doses are now available for all 12 to 15 year olds who had their first dose at least twelve weeks previously. This cohort can book an appointment online at NHS Inform or go to a drop-in centre. Parents and carers are welcome to accompany them..
Any 16 or 17 year old can book a booster online for 12 weeks after their second dose. They can also visit any drop-in centre.
Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said: “The vaccination programme continues to be a huge success and we are so grateful to all those who have taken up the offer of a vaccination and of course, every single person involved in the delivery of our national programme.
“In this next part of the programme we continue to deliver boosters and take forward the latest advice from the JCVI regarding younger cohorts. They and their parents can find out more about the vaccination that is recommended for each age group at NHS Inform.
“We urge all those who are eligible for any dose to take up the offer to protect them, those around them and of course our NHS at this particularly busy time.”
An Edinburgh charity that supports young people in the city has received £2,000 from Amazon Development Centre Scotland in Waterloo Place.
Canongate Youth provides a safe and welcoming space where young people aged 5-25 can enjoy a wide range of activities including cooking, art, games, employability support and group work. The charity also offers young people advice to help build skills, confidence and peer relationships.
Commenting on the donation, Graeme Smith, Managing Director at Amazon Development Centre Scotland, said: “At Amazon, we are passionate about developing young skills and confidence in young people.
“The staff and volunteers at Canongate Youth provide a brilliant service in Edinburgh and we are pleased to support them with this donation.”
Clare Jamieson, Manager of Canongate Youth, added: “We would like to extend our thanks to Graeme and the team for supporting us with this donation.
“Like all charities, we’ve found the last 18 months to be incredibly challenging but it’s donations like this that help us continue to support young people across Edinburgh during a time when they need us most.”
Amazon Development Centre Scotland has been based in Edinburgh since 2004 and is responsible for devising and growing innovations that bring new levels of choice and convenience to hundreds of millions of customers around the world.
It houses teams of leading engineers, scientists, designers and product managers who work on everything from interactive user interface design to large-scale distributed systems and machine learning.
Community donations are one of a number of ways in which Amazon is supporting communities across the UK during COVID-19.
Throughout the pandemic Amazon has provided disadvantaged students with free online STEM resources and supported virtual classrooms with no-cost resources from AWS and Amazon Future Engineer.
The company has also teamed up with charity partner Magic Breakfast to deliver more than five million healthy breakfasts to children at risk of hunger in disadvantaged areas around the UK.
Aldi Scotland has launched its ‘Not Socks Again?!’ campaign for the second year running, following its widespread success in 2021, which saw more than 2000 pairs of socks donated to good causes.
The initiative encourages customers to donate any unwanted or extra unused socks they may have received as Christmas gifts to charities supporting people in need across Scotland.
Every year, millions of people receive socks for Christmas that they often don’t want or need, charities across Scotland do, and Aldi’s ‘Not Socks Again?!’ campaign aims to put these gifts to better use by donating new and unused socks to those who need them most.
Aldi’s Sock Amnesty’ boxes will be in stores across Scotland from the 3rd of January until the end of the month, where people can drop off their unused socks to help keep vulnerable people warm this winter.
The Bethany Christian Trust are working toward the goal of ending homelessness in Scotland. The team at the Bethany Christian Trust offer a broad range of services, from assistance with housing, education and employment, to crisis intervention wellbeing support.
Nathanael Smith, Community Fundraiser, Bethany Christian Trust, said: “It’s surprising how much a good pair of socks can make a difference in someone’s life.
“It’s a simple gift that can mean warmth, comfort and dignity to those in need. Thanks to Aldi for making such an amazing project possible.”
Richard Holloway, Regional Managing Director for Scotland, said: “Following an immensely challenging year, the team at Aldi Scotland were eager to support charities which are working tirelessly to help those in need.
“In winter, charities are always looking for essential items to be donated, and so we thought, why not encourage our customers to donate any unwanted gifts of socks to people who truly need them.
Aldi will also contribute a £250 donation to each charity in the hope of helping the most vulnerable in our communities.
Aldi’s Sock Amnesty boxes will be in store from 3rd January and customers are invited to drop off any unwanted, new and unused, socks which will be donated to the charity in their local area.”
This initiative builds on Aldi’s commitment to supporting communities across Scotland. Since 2016, Aldi’s Scottish Sports Fund has supported over 500 local clubs with more than £290,000 worth of donations.
In addition, Aldi has helped to provide over 10 million meals to vulnerable people across the UK through its partnership with community engagement platform, Neighbourly. Aldi also helped 12 local foodbanks this year after it relaunched its popular Supermarket Sweep programme this year.
To find your nearest Aldi store please visit their website here and donate your unwanted socks this Christmas.
Young people (aged 6-15) across the UK want to see more clean energy powering the country and people taking personal responsibility to protect the planet.
The call for a cleaner and greener future came from independent YouGov research commissioned by ScottishPower Renewables during the United Nations COP26 Climate Change Conference, held in Glasgow last month.
YouGov asked over 1,000 British children aged 6 – 15 years for their thoughts on UK climate action and what was needed to tackle the climate crisis.
More than three-quarters (81 per cent) of those responding called for more renewable energy to be used, while 58 per cent said it was up to “everyone” to make sure the planet is protected.
Young people surveyed also said COP26 had inspired them to take action themselves to help the environment, with 53 per cent committing to recycling more and over one third (35 per cent) saying they would ditch the car in favour of active travel options like cycling and walking.
And they called on schools to take action too, with demands for the introduction of more wind turbines and solar panels to power their schools (59%) and more lessons about climate change (42%).
The YouGov findings echo feedback from secondary school pupils who took part in ScottishPower Renewables’ COP26 ‘Let’s Talk Energy’ event, where green jobs and more investment to create clean energy were identified as what’s needed to deliver a low-carbon future.
Lindsay McQuade, CEO of ScottishPower Renewables, said:“As a Principal Partner for COP26 and lead for the conference’s youth theme, ScottishPower recognises the importance of listening to young people. Every action taken today will impact their future and it’s vital that they therefore have their say on what they want for a cleaner and greener future.
“This survey shows that children and young people understand the climate emergency and recognise that renewable energy has a crucial part to play as we move forward, electrify our lives and reduce our carbon footprint. We fully support the call for more renewable energy and we’re doing everything we can to make it happen – investing almost £4 billion to double our current renewables capacity by 2025, with plans to treble it by 2030.
“Importantly, the survey also shows that young people know we all have the power to make a real difference to the environment by making changes in how we live our lives. Whether that’s in how we travel around, the food we eat or the clothes we wear – it all matters – and it’s great that COP is inspiring such positive action from young people.
“With human behaviour responsible for many of the changes to our planet, the only way we’ll be successful in tackling the climate emergency is by everyone joining in and doing their bit. Young people understand that – it’s something we can all learn from and something that can give us all hope for a clean energy future.”
As part of its COP26 education programme, ScottishPower Renewables is also working with Glasgow Science Centre on a Renewables Challenge for 124 primary schools and 10 secondary schools. Through the programme pupils learn about COP26, renewable energy, green jobs and going carbon neutral.
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
Yesterday’s government figures showed that job vacancies have hit a record high of 1.2 million, an increase of 20% in the past three months. It’s seems like a no-brainer that our young people should be able to train to fill these roles.
Many of the sectors continuing to battle with skills shortages, such as construction, manufacturing, and hospitality, are reliant on Level 2 vocational qualifications as a direct route into jobs in these industries.
Yet, the Government has failed to prioritise these lower level, work-ready qualifications, instead focusing their post-16 policy and funding at qualifications of A Level standard and above.
The Government have a chance to close the skills gap and the disadvantage gap that is so significant among 16-19-year-olds, boost the economy and give young people the future they deserve. But to do this, they must ensure a wide range of high-quality, employer-endorsed options are available at all levels.
