We are Young Scot– the national youth information and citizenship charity for Scotland…
by Elma Murray OBE, Young Scot Chair
It gives me great pleasure to introduce you to our latest strategic plan.
As we begin our next chapter at Young Scot, it would be remiss of me not to reflect on the challenges that face Scotland and our young people as we start our recovery from the pandemic. The impact of the past two years on the lives of young people has been enormous – and the support that we offer them now is more important than ever.
At Young Scot, young people inform, drive and challenge our work. This is part of our agile approach to supporting them and their peers – and they are quite literally the framework within which we operate. As such, it was only right that their lived experience was central to developing this strategy.
To support us, we recruited a group of young volunteers who named themselves #VisionMakers. They engaged with their peers, the sector and our stakeholders – running youth and stakeholder surveys – through to digital engagements and individual interviews. #VisionMakers set our strategic direction and shaped our future objectives – ensuring they reflect the new realities of growing up in Scotland.
From social identity and equality, to wellbeing, mental health, activation of rights, and the climate crisis, both #VisionMakers and young people told us their priorities. This insight will drive our work over the next three years. And to ensure we are agile, we will continue to work in partnership with #VisionMakers so that our focus remains relevant to them throughout the challenging years ahead.
Since the inception of Young Scot in the early 1980s, we have been working tirelessly to fulfil our role as the national youth information and citizenship charity for young people in Scotland. Our experience of providing young people with information, ideas and opportunities – and helping them navigate life’s challenges as they grow up – stands us in good stead as we embark on delivering this ambitious new strategy. However, we cannot do this alone. Partnership working – both locally and nationally – is at the heart of how we work. Please join us on this journey – so that we can collectively support Scotland’s young people to thrive.
We support young people to thrive and make the most of their lives as they grow up.
We do this by providing universal services for young people, combined with targeted and bespoke support to address stigma, inequalities and inaccessibility.
Supporting young people to thrive is a powerful way to provide reassurance in times of challenge, help build confidence and resilience, and to have fun!
Inclusion is at the core of this strategy – and young people rightly challenge us to be accessible for and relevant to all young people from across Scotland. We are working hard to become an explicitly anti-racist organisation
We are doing this by taking a close look at our organisation and identifying what it is we do that contributes to structural racism – and taking action. This work is taking place alongside delivery of our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion strategy.
Our work supports young people to:
“We know that young people cannot flourish without equity, inclusion and access to non-stigmatising services.”
We commit to being:
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Continually working to become a truly anti-racist organisation and sharing our platform with others.
Challenging inequalities, delivering our Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Strategy and ensuring that each young person in Scotland can benefit from our work.
Ensuring that rights of young people are embedded in all of our approaches, reflecting the incorporation of the UNCRC in Scotland.
Building a strong team and inspiring our colleagues to achieve their best for young people.
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Building evidence and insight that guides our decision-making and improves the impact of our programmes on young people’s lives.
Demonstrate how we are contributing to external goals, such as the National Improvement Framework, Sustainable Development Goals and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Communicate our impact using both data and insightful storytelling.
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Developing and nurturing creative, equal, and productive partnerships.
Developing and sustaining strong partnerships with Black- and people of colour-led organisations.
Being open and accountable to young people, partners, funders, supporters and stakeholders.
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Keeping young people at the centre of Young Scot and supporting them to guide our work.
Acting quickly to focus delivery on the areas young people tell us they need the most support.
Keeping ourselves informed with the best external insight and evidence on young people and the issues that impact them.
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Building a sustainable organisation with a focus on climate adaptation and net positive ambitions.
Maintaining and developing our responsible purchasing and procurement approaches.
Creating an environmentally sustainable, supportive and motivating hybrid working environment for our people and volunteers.
Keeping the wellbeing of our staff and volunteers at the forefront of everything we do.
#VisionMakers
At Young Scot, young people inform, drive and challenge our work. This is part of our agile approach to supporting them and their peers – and they are quite literally the framework within which we operate.
As such, it was only right that their lived experience was central to developing this strategy. To support us, we recruited a group of young volunteers who named themselves #VisionMakers.
They engaged with their peers, the sector and our stakeholders – running youth and stakeholder surveys – through to digital engagements and individual interviews. #VisionMakers set our strategic direction and shaped our future objectives – ensuring they reflect the new realities of growing up in Scotland.
Informed
Young people make informed decisions and challenge misinformation
Young people have increased access to high-quality and targeted information.
Young people have more opportunities to be content creators and to develop and produce information.
Young people have more opportunities to develop digital information literacy skills and to challenge misinformation.
Connected
Young people maximise our opportunities, discounts and entitlements to support their wellbeing and improve equity.
Young people have increased awareness of local and national opportunities, discounts and entitlements.
Young people have access to an expanded, improved and accessible range of universal opportunities, discounts and entitlements.
Young people have increased access to improved targeted entitlements.
Empowered
Young people are empowered to exercise their rights as system changers,influence decision-making, and share power both locally and nationally.
Young people have improved access to support and training to become system changers and to connect them to opportunities.
Young people have increased opportunities to express their views and participate in decision-making processes, locally and nationally.
Young people are more confident about being system changers, influencing decision-making and sharing power.
We are a partnership…
We are collaborative by nature and strive to be an honest, transparent and accountable partner to our stakeholders, including young people.
We understand the importance of developing and maintaining strong and ethical connections that positively impact young people in Scotland. We commit to engaging in proactive dialogue with a diverse range of stakeholders, communities, sectors, and influencers to develop partnerships and relationships to meet our objectives, as set out by the #VisionMakers.
We will continue to nurture our strong strategic partnerships that already support the delivery of core services for young people in Scotland and build connections at a local, national and European level to encourage a wider outlook and support youth mobility and opportunities for young people in Scotland.
We fully understand that the local communities and places where young people spend their time can impact opportunities, enjoyment, and future prospects. As such, our critical strategic partnerships with local authorities are integral to us supporting young people to thrive.
