Youth Manifesto 2011-2015
The Scottish Parliamentary elections in 2011 might seem a long way away, but here at the SYP we’re already planning to make sure that the voices of young people are heard loud and clear, through the production of our youth manifesto. Last time around, we directly involved over 6,000 young people in the production of the manifesto and this time we’re hoping to smash that figure, aiming for closer to 15,000! We’ve come up with a process which will see us involving young people at every stage, in schools, youth groups and even festivals as we look to make sure that the SYP is telling politicians what young people really think.
Check out the diagram below for a simple representation of how it'll all work and then read on for more information about how the parts all fit together...
CALL FOR IDEAS: 6th April - 31st May
The Call for Ideas has now closed, the next phase, the BIG vote, will kick off on 1st July.
The first phase of the process was our “Call for Ideas”, where we asked young people across Scotland to feed in their suggestions for what should be in the manifesto – and we got loads of responses!
We've now turned over your suggestions to Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs) who’ll filter them down into 50 points.
THE BIG VOTE: July, August, September
We’ll then turn these 50 points into surveys which we’ll use to consult with young people over the months of July, August and September. We've already decided that unless an issue gets at least 50% support from young people, it won't go in. This second phase, our BIG vote, is the most important part of the whole process and it’s where we want to get as many young people involved as we possibly can – if you’re interested in taking part (or can help us access a group of young people) then please drop us an email at manifesto@syp.org.uk and we’ll work out a plan.
MANIFESTO LAUNCH AND CAMPAIGNING: March 2010 Onwards
Once we have the results of the BIG vote, we’ll put all the results together and create a manifesto for Scotland’s young people, to be launched in the run up to 2011’s Scottish Parliament elections. Using the manifesto we’ll then be campaigning to ensure that parties listen to what young people have to say and help young people make up their minds about who deserves their vote!
WORKING WITH SCCYP – EVEN MORE IMPACT!
In addition to all this, for the first time ever, the SYP will be using the results of our BIG consultation to help Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People work out what goes into his workplan. Based on the results of the consultation, the Commissioner will work with children and young people to create a list of priorities which will be voted on during the month of November – the Commissioner will work on whatever children and young people decide is important!
If you're looking for more information about the SYP's manifesto, check out the facts about the last version, Our Scotland, produced in the run up to the 2007 Scottish Parliamentary election.