Thank you for being a part of the Scottish Rural & Islands Youth Parliament 2023!
We hope you enjoyed the event in Fort William on the 1st of November 2023. If you missed it, you can catch up on the highlights and discussions by exploring our post-event content. You can also download the programme here.
It was an inspiring gathering that brought together young voices from rural and island Scotland to discuss what truly matters.
Even though the event has passed, you can still stay connected and informed. Sign up for our newsletter to receive updates and stay engaged with the ongoing conversations. Your voice continues to matter!
Our Priorities
The housing market needs to be reformed and regulated to meet the needs of all people in rural and island communities now! by implementing policy that disempowers the private sector and empowers communities.
We want a public transport service (using all modes) that is more sustainable, reliable, and frequent for everyone in Scotland.
We need proper recognition of the arts as a tool for individual expression and community development, building community resilience through ring-fencing funding for local authorities to create a robust network of skilled community development staff who use and celebrate the arts.
In order to educate the public and support small-scale producers, supermarkets must provide shelf space for products and produce from the local region, to reduce food miles and carbon costs, promote food security, and recognise quality and high welfare standards.
There is a lack of long-term commitment to our rural and islands environment prioritising rural community agency alongside nature regeneration. We want a government funding cycle that enables long-term conservation work and better regulation of the monetisation of nature, which also benefits the community.
We want a reformed education system which is responsive to the needs of local young people and their region, delivered through: recurring youth-led updates to the curriculum; year-round engaging work experience opportunities with local industry partners; and the use of wellbeing as an additional measure of educational success.
We ask you to improve the current system with empathetic interventions including: recognition and management of symptoms rather than medical diagnoses, creating social support places, finding proven methods and solutions tailored to specific age groups.
As Young Carers, we ask you to commit to funding carers’ centres directly. Carers centres directly support Young Carers to be seen, heard and supported in their homes and communities. We also ask for Young Carer Statements to be a priority across rural and island Scotland.
Listening, championing and acting with sincerity and purpose alongside young adults and marginalised groups, utilising people’s voices to deliver services and shape positive change.
We want Ms Gougeon to be our spokesperson at the Scottish Parliament by publicly demonstrating what you have learned at this Scottish Rural and Islands Youth Parliament and what actions you will take following it. We want resources that will support our ongoing participation across the network, developing the youth voice across rural and island Scotland.
Our Youth Sponsors
We are very grateful to the individuals and organisations who generously sponsored our young delegates.
They include, Ann Nisbet Studio, Laurence Lassell, Nick Wright and the following organisations:
