Speaking up for what you and other young people believe in is so important. As an elected Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, I represent 12-25 year-olds in my constituency in Glasgow Southside and my role is to represent them to decision makers. I know the power of being in the room, talking about what really matters and how simply by letting those in charge know what young people think, it can make a real difference to their decisions. You can’t beat the feeling of seeing a real change that you worked hard to see put in place

So, if you want to speak up for young people and learning more about how to get involved in planning, Planning Aid in Scotland are launching their young placemakers programme. This will see 12 young people from across Scotland, 16-20, trained up to speak out for their local communities on how their village, town or city should look like. This is a fantastic opportunity to meet other young people and make a real difference to where you live in.

There are also the benefits for you of being a young placemaker. Not only do you meet other likeminded people and get to go out into your local area talking with young people but you get a unique experience. With only 12 placemakers, you’ll have a unique set of skills from being part of the three year program that many others will find hard to rival.

I would also urge every applicant to join their local Community Council. They are the forum for your local community and they must be consulted on planning and licensing applications, the only community organisations in Scotland with this right. As a Young Community Councillor and Chair of my community council, I know you’ll be a fantastic asset to your local community by joining your community council.  Every member of the public has a right to attend their meetings and if you’re 16+, you can join as a community councillor.

Kyle Thornton MSYP

Kyle is Vice Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament. The 18 Year-Old from Glasgow is the elected MSYP for Glasgow Southside, re-elected for a second term in March 2013. A student at Glasgow University, he is currently studying Politics/Economics and takes a keen interest in current affairs. Kyle takes a particular interest in health, education and community engagement and is an active community councillor.

These were the first SYP elections to be held in all 32 Local Authorities at the same time.  Over the two week election period a total of 67,071 young people voted – enough to fill Scotland’s biggest stadium Murrayfield. They elected 142 Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYP).

The newly elected MSYPs, representing every Scottish Parliamentary constituency, will take up office at the Scottish Youth Parliament’s National Sitting at the end of June.

Grant Costello MSYP, Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, says

Grant Costello MSYP, Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, says
“My congratulations to all of the newly elected MSYPs.  Standing for election can be scary, but for the successful candidates the reward is having the chance to stand up and be the voice of young Scots.  The success of the elections is down to all the fantastic young people who campaigned hard to be elected, and convinced over 67,000 of their peers to vote.  It’s a great reply to those who claim young people don’t care about politics.

“These elections have also been an enormous success for the Scottish Youth Parliament, capping a sensational twelve months.  In the last year we’ve seen the Scottish Government create bills for Equal Marriage and Votes at 16 in the Independence Referendum.  This election gives our new MSYPs a real mandate from Scotland’s young people to keep on campaigning for the fairer and more equal Scotland the Scottish Youth Parliament wants to make a reality.”

A full list of the newly elected MSYPs can be found at http://www.syp.org.uk/elections-W21page-71-

Four constituencies (Galloway and West Dumfries, Cunninghame North, Skye Lochaber and Badenoch and Na h-Eileanan an Iar) only had one candidate stand for election.  The Local Authorities will endeavor to run by-elections in the next few months to fill the vacant seats.

Last week we witnessed masses of MPs take to the floor of the archaic House of Commons and declare their support for same-sex couples to be given the right to marry. For supporters of equality it was a delight to watch and listen. Of course those opponents to the Bill made their stance very clear but this was merely a temporary fly in the ointment for the proposals were passed by a majority of 225 later in the day.

Now the attention falls back to us here in Scotland where the debate was first brought to the public forum. Looking at how Scottish MPs voted last week, it is clear that the argument is far from won in Scotland. Seven Labour MPs voted against the proposals and interestingly the former Prime Minister, Gordon Brown was not present during the voting. This left Scotland close to Northern Ireland in terms of national representatives voting against same-sex marriage proposals.

Those advocates of equal marriage in Scotland cannot afford to become complacent, although the majority of MSPs have given their support to proposals; the debate is still very much on-going. This and with an ever mounting campaign from the Scotland for Marriage coalition there is still much work to be done. These proposals will of course be met with some opposition, but that is the nature of dealing with a sensitive topic such as marriage. Opponents will argue that this reason alone means that we should abandon any change, but this of course is incorrect as the concept of marriage, as well as laws relating to it has been ever changing throughout the centuries. However for those who support these changes, there is a real need to continue challenging the myths being peddled by opponents and win over the hearts and minds of the Scottish public at large.

One issue that has become the subject of debate in Scotland is how same-sex marriage should be taught about in schools. The Scottish Government is currently consulting the public on whether changes need to be made to the guidance about how marriage and stable relationships are approached in PSE and other subjects, as well as whether your parents should be able to withdraw you from classes if same-sex marriage might be mentioned. It’s vital that young people’s views are heard on this issue, and with that in mind, SYP would like to know what you think, so we can tell the Scottish Government how these issues should be tackled. If you’re aged between 14 and 25, please take a few moments of your time to give us your thoughts by taking part in our short survey on PSE, sex education and teaching same-sex marriage in schools by clicking here.

Yvette Cooper summed up the debate in the House of Commons in excellent style by declaring that, “We all love a good wedding… and for those who want to get married then they should be allowed to”. This is exactly what this debate essentially boils down to, this is not about altering any current marriages, it is about ensuring we preserve the institution of marriage by allowing those couples the exact same rights as other couples, plain and simple.

So when the a debate is finally put in front of our decision makers in Holyrood, let us hope that they show Scotland to be as forward thinking and progressive as we know it is by declaring “I do” to same-sex marriage.

Groups of young people from across Scotland have been working hard to create their very own anti-knife crime videos, and now the public can decide which entries they want to reach the national final.

‘We-CTV’ is funded by  No Knives, Better Lives and delivered by the Scottish Youth Parliament. The project sees young people aged between 11-16 produce their own two-minute films highlighting both the dangers of knife-crime and discouraging their peers from picking up a knife.

Now in its third year, We-CTV is a national competition with young people from all parts of Scotland encouraged to submit a story board with their ideas. Twenty successful groups from across Scotland were chosen to go through to the next stage of the project.

Those successful entrants were assisted with their films by experts from: the LEITH Agency, The Wise Group, Medics Against Violence and the Violence Reduction Unit at two special production days, held at Hampden and Murrayfield. The young people then went away and created these films – all decisions over the content of the films being made by the young people.

To view the videos and vote, members of the public should visit www.syp.org.uk/wectv. Voting opens today, and will run until Monday 18^th February.

Ten finalists will be chosen to attend the We-CTV Premiere Awards Ceremony being held at the end of March in Glasgow’s Science Centre, where the films will be premiered on the big screen. The prize winners will be announced by Kenny MacAskill MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice.

Grant Costello MSYP, Chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, said:

“Now in its third year, We-CTV is a fantastic youth-led project which is going from strength to strength. We-CTV gives young people the creative space and the tools they need, allowing them to get to grips with a serious issue which sadly that affects thousands of Scots every year.

I’ve been thoroughly impressed by the high standard of the videos submitted by our finalists. The original ideas that they’ve come up with in such a short space of time are extremely impressive. I’d encourage everyone, both young and old, to head to our website, watch the films for themselves and vote for your favourite”

Kenny MacAskill MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Justice, said:

“The No Knives, Better Lives campaign is making real progress in local communities across Scotland and this campaign is contributing to vital reductions in knife crime.

“We are constantly looking at new ways of getting our message across to young people about the dangers and consequences of knife crime. The We-CTV project is a fantastic idea – we’ve already seen some really creative films being produced by school pupils and their involvement is making them stop and think about the negative effects of knives in their communities. That can only be a good thing and has the power to turn lives around and stop them and their friends from going down the wrong path in life.

“We may also have uncovered some budding Scottish film directors of the future and I’d urge as many people to vote as possible. I commend the Scottish Youth Parliament, YouthLink Scotland and the schools and youth groups involved for their important work helping to educate young people on the dangers of knife crime.”

The winter metaphor feels appropriate, because for myself, as well as several of our most experienced MSYPS, we are approaching the end of our time in the Scottish Youth Parliament.  After the sitting a new generation of MSYPs will be elected, and I hope they will be even more successful than our membership – although the bar has been set very high!

So for me, as well as many other MSYPs, our March sitting will be a little bittersweet.  Being at the Scottish Parliament is a big deal, and there’s a great agenda planned.  But at the same time this will be the last full sitting for so many of our members.

However, whilst for some of us it may be the finish, for many others the end of the sitting will be the start of the journey.  As soon as the dust settles at the Scottish Parliament we will be launching the final phase of this year’s SYP elections.  As you will have already heard, the Deputy First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, will be launching the elections themselves – which will kick off a frantic two week campaign.

All of you will be aware how successful the last set of SYP elections were – with nearly 85,000 votes cast it we’ve set ourselves a pretty tough target.  I’m very excited young people from Berwick to Stornoway will have the opportunity to vote for their MSYPs – it’s exactly what SYP is about.

The next month is going to be a crucial one for all the candidates.  With the registration process complete it’s time for all candidates to explain why they are the best person for their area.  You’ll be able to read every manifesto on the website later on this month – and we’ll be using the hashtag #sypelex over the next six weeks for all our news.

At the end of the sitting we’ll formally launch the elections themselves – setting off a 12 day campaign for votes across the country, with the results happening across the country on the 14^th and 15^th of March

It should be epic – so get involved now.  Even, if like me, all you can do is encourage people locally to pay attention, and then to vote!

The nomination period has now closed, and we will shortly be announcing the five nominees for this year’s award.

http://www.capitalfm.com/scottishvarietyawards/

We kicked off with the hugely successful Love Equally march where more than 1,000 people took to the streets of Edinburgh in support of the introduction of same-sex marriage in Scotland. SYP stood shoulder to shoulder with young and old from across the country in a historic moment of solidarity. Our voices were heard by decision makers with the Scottish Government announcing they intend to propose legislation to allow same-sex couples to get married by 2015. This campaign was very ambitious and we faced tough questions from our critics. However this is a campaign that we won and we can proud to know that we played our part in creating a more equal society in Scotland.

At our June sitting we chose to fight for a better pay for young workers by selecting ‘One Fair Wage’ to be our campaign for the year ahead. MSYPs came together and highlighted their concerns at Scots aged between 16-17 years old only receiving little more than £3.68 per hour in many jobs. We have made great strides in this campaign, with members going out to local employers and getting them to commit to a living wage of £7.45 for all workers regardless of age. There has been support from decision makers too with the Scottish Government along with all 32 of Scotland’s local authorities stating they will be paying their workers the living wage. Next year we will be continuing with this national campaign to call for all Scots to be paid one fair wage.

The second part of the year has seen a series of success stories.  Most obviously the historic announcement that 16 and 17 year olds will have the right to vote in the planned 2014 independence referendum. This truly was a seminal moment in Scotland’s political story and something we can be truly proud to have achieved. Much like our Love Equally campaign, we answered our harshest critics by arguing that with great rights come great responsibilities and that young people in Scotland did want to have their voice heard in this referendum. We now have less than two years until Scots will go to the polls to decide the future of Scotland, we as a youth parliament will be working to ensure that young people take part both in the vote and in the wider discussion on our constitutional future.

We rounded off the year in true SYP style by bringing young people and decision makers together to discuss youth unemployment in Scotland. The summit was attended by nearly 100 young people who had their own opinions and ideas to share on how we can get more under 25s into work or training. Six Scottish Government Ministers made it along to the event, which was an incredible achievement for all who were involved. The day itself wouldn’t have been possible without the assistance of our partners at Young Scot and this event highlights the great work that can come out of working together with other organisations. The discussions that came out of the summit will assist the Scottish Government in what steps they need to take in order to bring down the rate of youth unemployment across the country.

Looking to 2013, we have another exciting year ahead of us! In March we will see MSYPs come together in the Scottish Parliament for our 50^th sitting which is set to be one of the best yet. This sitting will give us a chance to look at what we have achieved over the past two years and look to the future. In the same month the SYP 2013 elections will be taking place across Scotland. We will be working very hard to ensure that young people go out and cast their votes which will form our new membership. Young Scots across the nation will be putting themselves forward in the election to stand up for what they believe in. The next year will also give us an opportunity to have our say in the Scottish Government’s same-sex marriage consultation, it is vital that we build on the energy we had this year and keep fighting to give all couples the same right to marry.

John Lennon once said, “so this is Christmas, and what have you done?” well we can see that for SYP, we have had a bumper year of successes and that is something that we can be immensely proud of.

I would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and the very best wishes for 2013. The Scottish Youth Parliament will be taking a well deserved rest over the festive period, but we will be back to build on our massive achievements and continue to keep raising the voice of Scotland’s young people.

One final thought, people talked of 2012 being ‘the year of sport’ – we can however be proud to know that 2012 was the year of the Scottish Youth Parliament.

Expanding the voters’ franchise has been a noble and evolving struggle in the history of the UK. From universal suffrage to votes at 18, the UK moves ever more progressively to a place where all citizens, and 16 and 17 year olds *are* citizens, are enfranchised. And yet, in modern times we suffer steadily declining levels of turnout at elections and lacklustre politicisation. The political landscape of the average voter’s life is littered with distrust of the process and what it can do for them and their family. “They’ve all got their snouts in the trough”, “It doesn’t make a difference if I vote, they’re all the same anyway”, we’ve all heard and indeed related to a societal malaise in political engagement.

None have more right to settle into that alienation than the young; youth unemployment is just under 1 million with the number of 18 to 24-year-olds out of work for more than two years more than doubling since 2008. EMA in England and Wales has been cut. FE colleges, the traditional incubators of the young in times of recession, are facing real terms spending cuts. And yet we see a persistent and organised demand from the young for political recognition and for a chance to engage in the highest act of citizenry in a peacetime democracy.

If 16 and 17 year olds pay taxes, on lowered minimum wages, with more challenging circumstances in securing the job in the first place then it is the rankest hypocrisy for older generations who have caused those difficult circumstances to say that the young can help the nation out of this time of crisis, but have no say in its direction. We complain that the young turn out for elections in lower numbers, but we enfranchise them only after two years of economic and personal autonomy where they are conditioned by a lack of political opportunity to reject the process. Give the young the weapons to defend themselves in a political society which attacks their interests and they will learn to use them.

The UK has always pushed forward for greater democracy, only recently devolving power to Scotland and now it is Scotland showing it the way. English women once fought for the right of Scottish, Welsh and Irish women to be full citizens, now in the referendum young Scots have the ability through to deliver the decisive blow that will enfranchise young people across the UK. We are better together.

It is 42 years since the voting age was lowered to 18, an age that seemed right for the era. But times change, and polls show that a majority of the public now believe that 16 and 17-year-olds have the right to be treated like full members of our political community. It deserves repeating, constantly and forcefully, that if 16 is the age at which society deems you old enough to pay taxes, consent to sexual relationships and become a company director, then 16 should also be the age at which you can exercise political judgement too.

The claim that young voters would somehow be too irresponsible or too ill-informed to cast their votes wisely has no more force than for middle-aged or elderly voters. Indeed, compulsory Citizenship classes (which admittedly could do with an overhaul) mean that they may be more aware of the political process and more willing to question arguments. The 590,000 young people who voted in elections locally to choose representatives to youth councils and the UK Youth Parliament are knowledgeable and passionate about the world in which they live and as capable of engaging in politics as anyone else.

There is growing momentum in the Votes at 16 campaign, and while the Scottish Referendum will not change things over night, it will further dislodge outdated views about young people. Once that vote is done – whatever the outcome – the pressing challenge will be to ensure this great extension of citizenship is made permanent, in Scotland but also in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Marc Kidson is a trustee for the British Youth Council

Meet Ruaridh. Ruaridh has a job at a local shop. After tax and national insurance his pay cheque may not be very much, but it’s enough for him and his new wife to pay the rent and council tax on their flat, and have enough left over for a trip to the cinema every so often.

Ruaridh is passionate about local and national politics, with a particular interest in upcoming changes to the welfare system, climate change and sport. It’s therefore not much of a surprise that the upcoming referendum on Scottish Independence in 2014 is of particular interest to Scott.

Not that it matters because Ruaridh, at 17, can’t vote.

Pay tax? Yes. Get married? Yup. Join the armed forces? Of course. Have sex? Absolutely. He can even change his name by deed poll to “Lord Gaga” if he fancies it, but actually vote in it and have a say in the constitutional future of the country that he lives in? Afraid not.

But that’s fine, because young people aren’t interested in politics anyway. It’s all X-Factor, PlayStations and Skins, right? Wrong. True, many young people might not be too interested in “traditional party politics”, but talk to them about issues – Should we be at war in Iraq?, Is it safe to walk home in their communities?, How can they best help tackle climate change? – and you’ll soon realise that they will express their opinions as passionately as anyone else.

Let’s highlight just one recent example. Earlier this month on Valentine’s Day over 1,000 young people were involved in a march down the Royal Mile to show their support for Equal Marriage rights as part of the Scottish Youth Parliament’s Love Equally Campaign. Not the sign of a group of people uninterested in issues or legislative change.

Or another. As part of Eating Disorder Awareness Week, a group of young people created their own photography project, Re-Capture, to show what recovery means to them with the aim of reaching out to decision-makers to ask them to involve young people in their own treatment decisions.

Of course not all young people are interested in politics – but then there are a fair few adults who aren’t either. Are we saying any adult not interested in politics shouldn’t get to vote? It’s a curious argument I’ve never really understood. You could wonder why would young people be interested in politics if we don’t let them have their say anyway? By extending the franchise we would be actively encouraging young people to be interested and passionate in the world around them – the very purpose of our developing Curriculum For Excellence.

Indeed, as The Co-operative led “Votes At 16” coalition, which I’m proud to say Young Scot is an official supporter of, states:  “Not only are 16 and 17 year olds by law able to make complex decisions and take on wide ranging responsibilities, they are also showing in practice that they want to make a positive difference. Locking them out is patronising: it relies on out-dated views about young people’s capacities.”

For anyone that knows me, one thing that is guaranteed to spark a reaction is when young people are described as “citizens of tomorrow”. They are not – young people are very much citizens of today. They are not “the future of Scotland”, they are the present of Scotland. In fact there are few other groups in society that use public services more than young people. They attend schools, use public transport, council leisure facilities, make use of public parks…the list goes on.

The narrative seems to be taking hold that those in favour of the IndyRef believe including 16 and 17 year-olds will boost their vote, because young people will be more likely to vote “Yes” to independence.

I, and many others in the youth sector, remain unconvinced by this. From the young people I speak too (and I speak to a LOT of young people in my job) the view is that, like anyone else, there are those that have made their mind up, but a significant proportion have yet to be convinced either way.

And I’d also contend that argument is another disservice to democracy – the principle must be whether young people should have a democratic vote in the decisions that affect them now and in the years to come. It is not “we’ll only let them vote if we can predict which way they will go” – imagine disenfranchising any other group in society on that basis?

The first steps have already been taken – in 2009 The Scottish Parliament approved 16 and 17 year olds having the vote in the pilot Health Board elections on June 2010. It happened again last year with the decision to allow them to vote in the direct elections to the Crofting Commission.

And at Young Scot we can point directly to last year’s voting in the Scottish Youth Parliament elections. In March 2011, young people aged 12 to 25 across Scotland had the opportunity to cast their vote online via www.youngscot.org for the very first time at the SYP local elections across the country.

The platform was developed in partnership between Young Scot and the SYP to help increase young people’s interest and understanding of the political system in Scotland, and to develop voter participation and engagement. Using their Young Scot NEC cards, young people could log on to the Young Scot website, select their local page, read and listen to Podcast manifestos, then cast their e-vote for their favoured candidate. In total over 12,000 voters used the e-Voting “polling station” across nine local authorities. A further 60,000 votes were cast in more traditional ways – with a pencil on a piece of string even – in ballot boxes in schools and youth centres up and down the land.

But there is more to engagement that just turning out to vote – that is only one part of the process. There is a huge amount of fantastic work going on the length and breadth of Scotland, by teachers, youth workers, development officers, community planning staff and young people themselves to engage young people in the present and future of their communities. We risk undermining that, and future engagement, is we opt to keep the ballot box – virtual or otherwise – closed to them.

Of course there are those, including Professor John Curtice at the recent COSLA conference, who predict that extending the franchise to 16 and 17 year-olds might bring the turnout down. But this is only a percentage figure and the statement should not be accepted at face value. The actual number of people voting, having the chance to have their voices heard in a democratic way, would be increased.

And whether that’s by putting a cross next to NO, next to YES or, indeed any other option that might appear on the ballot paper, getting more people, young or old, switched on and having their say is something we should strive for as a nation

So for all the Ruaridhs, and Roannas, out there let’s open the box.

YoungScot are the Scottish Youth Information Service for 11-26-year-olds – and you can (and should) find much more out about them at http://www.youngscot.org/