Hi All,
I hope you are well. The Young People’s Committee have been busy organising this year’s Summer Quest, which we sent out a save the date for 29 July, I hope you all managed to save this date! Continue reading Sign up for The Quest!
Tag: youth
PYCP receives £2000 from STV Children’s Appeal
Pilton Youth and Children’s Project (PYCP) has received £2,000 from the STV Children’s Appeal to boost financial support for the local project. Continue reading PYCP receives £2000 from STV Children’s Appeal
Forum aims to make North Edinburgh a rights-respecting community
North Edinburgh Young Peoples Forum launch Rights Respecting Community Charter
North Edinburgh Young People’s Forum has launched a Rights Respecting Charter in North Edinburgh. Their charter protects and enhances the human rights of young people and the Forum plans to encourage groups, organisations and individuals across the area to pledge their support by signing up.
NEYPF have been working on the project for a considerable time, trawling through UNICEF’s Charter on the Rights of the Child document and then selecting key articles for specific adoption across North Edinburgh.
Launching the document at West Pilton Neighbourhood Centre recently, NEYPF’s Brandin explained: “The UK has signed the United Nations Charter on the Rights of the Child – this means that all children and young people living in North Edinburgh have rights, and NEYPF want these rights to be respected in our community.
“We enjoy many rights – to education, language, nationality – but not of all us enjoy all of our rights and some need strengthened. By signing this Charter you are agreeing to help make sure that all children and young people living in North Edinburgh enjoy their rights.”
NEYPF has selected the following as their key articles:
(15) We have the right to meet safely in our shopping centres, parks, community centres, clubs, libraries schools and sports centres – but bullying is still an issues in North Edinburgh which means that some of us can’t enjoy this right. Bullying is not okay and it will not be tolerated in this community.
Will you help us challenge bullying behaviour and support vulnerable young people?
(39) Children and young people who have been bullied or have suffered a bad experience have the right to be helped to recover.
Mental health can be an issue for us and we deserve better support and services. We need to talk more about mental health. We need earlier support before things get so bad they are in bits.
Children who don’t cause problems can become invisible and don’t receive praise or attention. These children need support to build their self-esteem and resilience so that they don’t experience bullying in the first place.
Will you help support children and young people earlier?
Continue reading Forum aims to make North Edinburgh a rights-respecting community
Community Conference: now it’s time for action
Action Groups formed based on community priorities
Five new Action Groups have been formed following last month’s community conference at Craigroyston Community High School.
The conference, organised by Community Action North and Granton Improvement Society supported by Craigroyston High School’s Community Centre, gave local people an opportunity to identify the main issues affecting the area. Participants then worked in small groups to look in detail at these topics and went on to form Action Groups to work with others to find short, medium and longer term solutions to the area’s problems.
The Action Groups are:
- Big Picture (Economy, Employment & Decision Making)
- Community Spaces & Environment
- Crime & Community Safety
- Housing
- Youth
More than fifty local people took part in the event and it’s hoped that many more with attend a follow up event in the autumn.
A spokesperson for the conference organisers said: “The weather on the day was really dreadfully so we were delighted that so many people made the effort to attend. There was a lot of enthusiasm and many ideas were generated at the conference and the Action Groups will now take these ideas forward and plan the way ahead. There are lots of changes happening in the area just now and it’s important that local people are involved and have a say in the decisions that affect their lives.”
If you would like to be involved in the Action Groups or want more information about CAN, email comunityactionnorth@gmail.com
Granton Youth Centre’s work praised in national report
Youth groups are facing the most challenging time in their history, according to new research commissioned by UK Youth. The report says community-based youth organisations still play a key role in supporting our young people. Continue reading Granton Youth Centre’s work praised in national report
PYCP AGM tmz!
Pilton Youth & Children’s Project
Annual General Meeting
The Greenhouse, West Pilton Rise
Friday 26 February: Lunch from 1pm, AGM 2pm
Youth projects share cash seized from criminals
Youth organisations share Cash Back proceeds
More than £400,000 seized from criminals is being used to fund six youth projects across Scotland, Justice Secretary Michael Matheson has announced. Continue reading Youth projects share cash seized from criminals
Talking youth in Inverleith
Two events of interest to young people living in the Inverleith Neighbouhood Partnership area:
YOU(th) DECIDE!’ is an opportunity for young people aged between 11 and 18 to tell us what they think needs to happen in Inverleith to make it better for young people, and have a say on how local funds are spend.
Councillor Gavin Barrie, Champion of the Inverleith Neighbourhood Partnership’s Young People’s Action Group, is asking young people to send us your ideas, and then voted for your favourites. Poster and proposal form here. Please pass on and help us get young people aware of this.
YOUth Decide poster and proposal form 2016 final (1)
YOUTH TALK
Friday 11 March 12.30 – 3pm, St Stephen’s Stockbridge
Inverleith Youth Talk is a chance for organisations and service providers in Inverleith to chat to young people about your services, to network with other service providers and to explore potentials for new collaborative working with young people at the heart of this. We are bringing together young people and key adults to understand the outcomes to date and help shape any future actions for improving Inverleith area for our young people. The YouthTalk event will take place on Friday 11 March from 12.30 til 3pm in Saint Stephen’s Stockbridge
Beyond Gender: Minister visits Leith-based youth group
Minister praises Beyond Gender’s ‘fantastic work’
UK Minister for Women and Equalities Nicky Morgan MP (above) met with transgender young people in Edinburgh last week. Speaking to young people from Beyond Gender youth group – recently awarded Youth Group of the Year at the Equality Network’s LGBTI Awards – the Minister heard young people’s stories and learned more about the issues affecting their lives.
The Minister’s visit is timely, given that The Women and Equalities Committee is currently undertaking an inquiry into equality for transgender (trans) people. LGBT Youth Scotland works with LGBT young people across Scotland, and supports two trans specific youth groups – one in Edinburgh and one in Glasgow.
LGBT Youth Scotland, Beyond Gender and Scottish Transgender Alliance all raised the importance of the Equal Recognition Campaign to reform the Gender Recognition Act, in particular the importance of legally recognising people who do not identify as men or women and lowering the age of gender recognition to 16 years old.
Fergus McMillan, Chief Executive of LGBT Youth Scotland said: “We were delighted to welcome Nicky Morgan (Minister for Women & Equalities) to LGBT Youth Scotland to visit the Beyond Gender youth group. It was a great opportunity for young people to have their views heard directly by a Government Minister. Young people spoke about their experiences of education and health services: they asked for more teacher training in order that transgender young people feel safe and supported in their education; recognition of non-binary identities; and work to reduce the waiting lists for gender specialists.
“Our research shows that 67% of transgender young people self-identified as having a mental health problem or condition due to experiencing prejudice and discrimination; 37% of transgender young people had left education as a direct result of homophobia, biphobia or transphobia; and less than half of transgender young people would be confident to report a hate crime. It is clear that more needs to be done – we hope the visit has been valuable in getting trangender young people’s stories heard and will go some way to improve the lives of transgender young people across the UK.”
Nicky Morgan MP said: “It was a pleasure to visit the Beyond Gender youth group in Edinburgh. The young people I met were truly inspirational, and it is clear that the organisation is doing fantastic work to tackle discrimination and raise awareness of the issues affecting LGBT young people.”
On young person from Beyond Gender youth group added: “It was nice to be heard by someone who has power to make changes and we hope that the minister acts on the issues we raised with her today. Beyond Gender is a lifeline for us – it’s a place you will always be accepted as yourself. We want to live in a Scotland and UK where trans people are accepted and respected for who they are and can grow up safe and happy.”
Lothian Youth Dance open auditions
Saturday 12 & Sunday 13 December
Dance Base are putting together a Youth Dance Company for young people aged 14-19 from across the Lothians (writes Heather Marshall). All welcome and the audition workshops look like they’ll be great fun!