Studying Gaelic and digital media at the University of Glasgow, while working part-time, Alastair is a massive Eurovision fan and an F1 fan. He shares the impact that creating content in Gaelic for Young Scot had on him and his passion for making a difference.

My mum sent me the opportunity to join the Gaelic and Scots Language Panel and I thought it’d be a great opportunity for me to make a difference. I was ready to get outside my comfort zone and do something a bit different.

It was really good to get involved in various opportunities throughout the past year that I wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. Speaking at the #YSFest about social media and content creation has been really interesting. My experiences with Young Scot helped me learn to start saying yes to opportunities and stop second-guessing myself. I learned more about myself and that I can push myself and do these things.

I got a chance to create content for the Young Scot social media channels – I’ve never done anything like that for my TikTok before. It was nice to see how I could share my experience of going to F1 in Italy in Gaelic. It felt like I was living the dream of my 10-year-old self of being a vlogger.

What really stands out to me from my time on the Gaelic and Scots Language Panel is meeting the Education Secretary, Shirley-Anne Somerville. It was amazing to actually be listened to and taken seriously by a person in a position of power. I was able to talk about my experience of learning Gaelic in school – it’s nice to have our voices heard because I feel like often, in Gaelic policy making, they forget that young people are very heavily involved and our voices should be heard. If it’s something you’re passionate about, volunteering with Young Scot is one of the best things you can do.

Passionate about volunteering and soon to be an undergraduate studying French and Politics in Edinburgh, Michael, who enjoys going for walks and being outdoors, shares the impact that volunteering with Young Scot and the free travel scheme has had on him.

I was curious about the volunteering projects at Young Scot and decided to have a go at joining the #YouthVIP project. I’ve volunteered before and thought I’d have ideas to contribute. I found the experience really valuable. Not only is there a wide variety of people of different ages, with different life experiences from all over Scotland, but there was a focus on working towards a goal and having an outcome. Getting to plan the #YouthVIP Summit was really valuable, as well as a way for me to work on my digital teamwork. My favourite part was getting to meet and work with a wide range of people. For example, hearing from people in the Highlands and their difficulties accessing volunteering opportunities which was really interesting.

The free bus travel scheme is really good! Getting a bus to my school is quite diffi cult and expensive. I had to pay the adult fee for about six months before the free bus travel scheme came in and it was extortionate! The scheme has also enabled me to go on longer distance trips – the great thing about it is you can turn up at the bus station and go pretty much anywhere! I’ve visited Dundee quite a lot more than I would have without it. I do some volunteering in Stirling which is quite a trek from where I am but because of the Young Scot National Entitlement Card (NEC) and the free bus travel, I can get up there for free.

It’s also useful because the card links in with other transport things as well – I’m quite bad with my phone and let it run out of battery, so I found out that I can put my train ticket on my NEC and then just tap my Young Scot NEC and it works. It helps when you’re trying to run between trains. I go to Edinburgh semi-regularly and the 30% train ticket discount makes a huge difference, it adds up to a big difference if you’re doing it for a decent chunk of time.

Young people should definitely sign up for opportunities with Young Scot. I’d say that working with Young Scot is probably the most unique way you can volunteer - compared to a charity shop for example. You’ll get a chance to come to Edinburgh and meet other volunteers and you’ll end up doing something quite fun! It’s something that you can’t do anywhere else.

Art, anime and languages enthusiast Robyn is passionate about championing equality and diversity. They speak about their experiences on the #HistoricScot Youth Leadership Panel and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Panel (DEI).

I’m interested in heritage and history – and with a desire to study history at university, I wanted to get more experience in the area. I knew about Historic Environment Scotland (HES) and the opportunity sounded right up my street.

We had a residential in person as part of the project which I really enjoyed. It was great to be in a room with other young people and get to talk about a topic we’re all interested in. We also got to go to the HES offi ces, which was really cool to see. I also got to go and take part in a press photo opportunity in Edinburgh at Calton Hill – it was super windy and I’ve never been involved in anything like that before but really enjoyed it! The images came out looking really good and it was cool seeing them promoted on social media.

The DEI Panel is still in its early days, but it’s been amazing to be in a room with other young people with different lived experiences, all of whom want to make a difference. It’s nice to have that diversity in a room, but also have many similarities at the same time. Often, you’re the only marginalised young person in a room, but to have a group of people who are all in the same position is really nice.

Volunteering at Young Scot has made me feel really empowered and able to speak up more and say what I’m thinking. Especially with the #HistoricScot panel – HES is such a big organisation and they have all these historic sites and money, so they’re intimidating, but I felt really empowered by Young Scot to just say what I think and give my opinions. That’s something that stuck with me outside of volunteering, to be confident and speak up when something’s not right – to be that voice and point things out. I really value the support from the Young Scot staff, because it’s not something I got anywhere else, and the other connections I’ve built with other volunteers. I really cannot understate how much of a difference it made.

The experiences strengthened my interest in history and even youth engagement – making sure that young people are involved in decisionmaking. It also opened a lot of doors for me – the volunteering experience on my CV was what got me the current internship with Samaritans, but I also got other opportunities, like I travelled to Poland with the British Council for free – things like that I’d have never got without Young Scot.

A music lover and a saxophone player, Grace speaks about her experiences as a #YSHive volunteer on the Young Person’s Guarantee Youth Leadership Panel member and Free Bikes Panel.

I signed up for the volunteering experience with Young Scot because I was interested in amplifying young people’s opinions on issues – I thought that I wanted to go into working in the government or third sector. Being part of the different panels helped me realise that I don’t have to worry about being specific in what I want to do yet, I feel like I have time to still explore my options and don’t feel as pressured as I did. Through the volunteering experience, I gained invaluable insight and experiences that will hopefully benefit my future aspirations but also gained a passion for challenging other people’s biased views and speaking up for young people. Now that I’ve narrowed down what I’m passionate about, I’m open to more opportunities – it’s not about defining the specific job yet, but I know what to look for now.

I really loved taking part in the #YSFest as I was there representing #YSHive volunteers. When I came back home, I was still buzzing – it was an incredible experience. Everyone was listening to what I had to say, it meant a lot to me. I gained confidence because I had to speak in front of a room full of people I didn’t know. People came up to me after to ask me questions and wanted to know more about my experiences and that was like, “okay, wow, this is cool!”

I’ve had other similar opportunities before through Young Scot, which I’d never have been able to do otherwise. I’d definitely say to other young people to go for it and sign up for opportunities with Young Scot. Everyone is so nice, and for the panel, you do what you can, and there has never been a time when I spoke to one of the staff when I couldn’t make it and they made me feel bad about it. Everyone is super understanding and kind. It’s not a school environment, it gives you independence and a flavour of what the real world is like.

Currently working in hospitality, Osama enjoys going for walks in his spare time and has a passion for fighting against inequality and injustice. He has been volunteering with Young Scot for five years and shares his experiences of volunteering and creating content.

I’m currently on the Young Person’s Guarantee Youth Leadership Panel and the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Panel. I was diagnosed with autism in 2018 and volunteering with Young Scot has really helped me with my confidence and to feel more at ease working with others in a team. Before volunteering with Young Scot, I was extremely shy, but my experiences here helped me get more confident with public speaking and my ability to be independent. Through my volunteering, I got to travel and see more of Scotland, like Stirling, Dundee and Edinburgh.

I’m very passionate about speaking up against Islamophobia, so I wanted to share my own experiences with it and how it impacted me. It might seem like being called a ‘terrorist’ in school are just words, but they can have real long-term effects on young people’s mental health. I feel like more needs to be done about Islamophobia in schools to make it a safer and more encouraging environment for Muslims and those perceived as Muslims to thrive in education in Scotland. I’ve helped to share my experiences by creating content for the Young Scot social media channels as well as writing a blog for the website.

I feel like all of my experiences with Young Scot have been positive, meeting all these different people and getting to meet decision-makers, it’s been an amazing journey that I’m grateful for. I definitely recommend that other young people get involved with Young Scot. It’s worthwhile, I got something very different that I’d have anywhere else – you get all these experiences, make friends – I even got my sister involved and encouraged her to sign up for a volunteering opportunity!