SYP Weekly Update 147
17th June 2010
Find out more about what's happening in the SYP in our weekly updates, click on the section title to take you to more information for each of the articles...
List
Events
- Board and Convener Election Candidates Announced
- The early bird catches the Subject Committee place!
UK and International
Communications
- ‘see me’ Photography Competition
Policy
- W-WEST & The Plain Truth
- 'Auchterarder Audit'
General
- 'Trade Your Way to the USA'
NOTE: Some of the opportunities mentioned in the Weekly Update may apply only to Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs). Please email francesca.l@syp.org.uk for guidance.
Board and Convener Election Candidates Announced
Over the last few weeks MSYPs have been busy preparing their pitch for why you should vote for them to the SYP Board or as a Subject Committee Convener. All MSYPs will have the chance to vote for your favourite candidates at the SYP AGM on the Sunday of the June Sitting, but if you’d like to know who’s standing and a bit more about them, why not head over to our Board and Convener Elections section by clicking here to find out all you’ll need to know!
You can also find out details of voting on the day. Remember, if you can’t come to the Sitting, you can still cast a vote but you must register your intention to do this in advance. For more details, visit the Board and Convener Elections section by clicking here.
All candidates will get an email heading your way very shortly to tell you about what happens on the day, and all the details you need to know about being a candidate, so watch your inbox for it coming your way!
The early bird catches the Subject Committee place!
You’ll have your chance to sign up for a Subject Committee at the Sitting, but if you just can’t wait, we’re introducing an early bird signup for Subject Committees!
There are ten SYP Subject Committees, which are listed below. Each Committee will have a maximum of 12 places for MSYPs on it and these will be allocated on a first-come-first-served basis – so the quicker you are, the more likely you are to get into the Committee of your choice.
For more about what the Committees do, click here or for which areas they cover, click here.
To take part in the early bird signup, send an email which which Committee you’d like to be part of to Rob Gowans at rob.g@syp.org.uk by 12pm on Thursday 24th June. Convener candidates have been automatically signed up to the Committee they’re running for.
The Committees are:
- Culture and Media
- Education and Lifelong Learning
- Enterprise, Employment and Training
- Equalities
- External Affairs
- Health and Wellbeing
- Justice
- Social Justice
- Sport and Leisure
- Transport, Environment and Rural Affairs
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'Women can't wait'
For the first time in human history, there are over a billion people going to bed hungry every night and poor women make up at least 60% of the worlds hungry. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) promised 'to end poverty' by 2015. With five years to go we know they are badly off track. In September 2010 world leaders will meet at a United Nations (UN) Summit in New York to discuss progress against the MDGs and the commitments world leaders made.
Women all over the world, women work hard to feed their families. They are largely responsible for growing, buying, selling and cooking food, as well as feeding their children and families. World leaders must recognise and support the role women play in the fight against hunger if they are serious about ending poverty. Make your voice heard by signing the Concern worldwide ‘Unheard Voices’ petition today by clicking here.
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‘see me’ Photography Competition
The competition is open to anyone living in Scotland who is interested in taking photographs whether you are a complete beginner, someone with a keen interest or an experienced photographer.
This year's theme is 'Support' and is open to your own interpretation. We all give and receive support as we go about our everyday lives - from family, friends, neighbours, teachers, colleagues and everyone in between. We encourage you to use your imagination and personal experiences as well as the objects and surrounding environment to illustrate the theme and use images to make the links with mental health.
You could be a shutter-click away from being one of this year's prize winners while helping 'see me' to tackle mental health stigma and discrimination, so please have a go at entering and encourage your family and friends to do so too. Check out the full story on how to get involved by clicking here!
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W-WEST & The Plain Truth
W-WEST (Why Waste Everything Smoking Tobacco?) is Scotland’s first pro-choice smoking information movement, led by young people, for young people. The group aims to give young people the facts about smoking and enable them to make informed choices. The group has a fun interactive website http://www.w-west.org.uk/ where young people can find out more about W-WEST, leave messages, find out facts about smoking and the tobacco industry, find local smoking cessation support and watch smoking related videos.
W-WEST are working to raise awareness of how the tobacco industry uses marketing and ‘cool’ packaging to attract young smokers to their brands. The campaign is entitled ‘The Plain Truth’ and W-WEST will be promoting it throughout the Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board area by holding their own events and attending community events.
As part of this campaign, W-WEST has collaborated with Dr. Crawford Moodie from the University of Stirling’s Centre for Tobacco Control Research to carry out a survey aiming to explore young people’s views on this issue. To take part in the survey just click here. The survey will help inform the Scottish Government of the impact that tobacco packaging has on young people.
The survey is aimed at all young people aged 10 – 17, and in return for completing it, young people are offered the chance to enter a prize draw to win an iPod shuffle, X Box or cinema vouchers.
'Auchterarder Audit'
Five years on from the iconic Make Poverty History events and the G8 summit in Gleneagles we know that poverty isn't history but what has changed? Which promises were kept and which weren't? What changed as a result and what still needs to happen? And how can you be part of taking the next steps to end global poverty?
To find out come along to Oxfam Scotland's 'Auchterarder Audit', in the village that was at the heart of the global meeting five years ago. Leading campaigners from Scotland and further afield will lead discussions and workshops on issues such as aid, debt, trade justice and climate change, as well as sending a strong message to this year's G8 in Canada that they will need to keep their Gleneagles promises.
Saturday 26th June, Auchterarder Community Church
To book your place or for more information please contact Sara at scowan@oxfam.org.uk or 0141 285 8874, busses from Edinburgh and Glasgow will be running but places are limited so please book in advance.
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'Trade Your Way to the USA'
'Trade Your Way to the USA' is a brand new show for CBBC in which 14 groups of 3 11-14 year olds compete to become the best traders! Every week two teams will go head to head as they are given a fixed amount of money to purchase items and sell on for a profit. The final two teams will travel to the USA in a bit to be crowned top traders!
Using enterprise, creativity and a good dose of mathematics, 14 groups of three young people will be competing against each other to trade on items they use every day. Whether it's toys, video games or household objects, each group will set out to hunt down a bargain and sell it on for a profit. They'll learn to value each item, considering crucial aspects such as antique value and demand.
To find out more on how to get involved click here.
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