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Recommendations: HistoricScot Youth Forum

Young Scot and Historic Environment Scotland established the HistoricScot Youth Forum, consisting of 25 young people from a variety of backgrounds across Scotland. The aims of the Forum were to investigate:

  • how to involve young people in the heritage sector

  • how to make the sector more accessible for young people

This report details the recommendations from the HistoricScot Youth Forum, with the hope to help shape opportunities for a diverse and inclusive workforce in the heritage sector and increase young people’s interest and involvement in their local heritage.

You can scroll through a preview of our report, download a full pdf version using the Download button or access a plain text version of our report below.

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YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 1

HistoricScot

Youth Forum

Recommendations and Actions Report

June 2021

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 2

Introduction from the

HistoricScot Youth Forum

Our youth forum was not only established

to investigate how to involve young people

in the heritage sector, but also how to make

the heritage sector more accessible for

young people. We worked with Young Scot

and Historic Environment Scotland to create

recommendations on how to make the heritage

sector more reflective of young people’s

needs and our society. It was particularly

important to us to increase the opportunities

for young people of all backgrounds. We

hope our recommendations will help shape

more opportunities for a diverse and inclusive

workforce in the heritage sector. We also hope

it will enable more young people to become

interested and involved in their local heritage.

Heritage and its conservation has always been a multi-generational issue. However,

in the past, young people have often been excluded from this conversation.

The establishment of the HistoricScot Youth Forum aims to tackle this problem

and actively include young people in the decision-making of what is next for Scotland’s

heritage. After all, even the present will one day be heritage and we owe it to future

generations to preserve it to the best of our ability.

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Meet the Team

Tom, 14, Edinburgh

“My dad saw it being advertised on a

school Facebook and I thought it looked

really fun and interesting, so I decided

to give it a shot, and step outside of

my comfort zone”.

Emily, 22, Edinburgh

“I signed up for the Youth Forum because

I love history and have been a long-term

member of Historic Environment

Scotland. I wanted to help contribute to

their future events/plans and learn more

about the internal running’s of the

organisation”.

Beth, 17, Glasgow

“I wanted to be able to contribute to

future events within HES, as well helping

to bring people into HES sites. This group

also gave me the opportunity to step

outside my comfort zone and talk to

other people around Scotland who are

also interested in History”.

Charlotte, 21, Edinburgh

“I got involved because I love history!

I’ve always loved visiting castles and

other historic sites, so it seemed like a

great way to become more involved in

the industry”.

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Meet the Team

Robyn, 20, South Lanarkshire

“I’m a History undergraduate student

and I’ve always been passionate about

the historic environment. I wanted to

help make it better reflect and engage

young people from diverse communities

in Scotland”.

Luke, 21, West Lothian

“Having worked in the heritage sector I

have seen the barriers that young people

face looking to enter it, therefore I

wanted to share and implement some of

my ideas to help solve these issues”.

Leyla, 23, Fife

“I’m just about to qualify as a history

and modern studies teacher and jumped

at the chance to apply for the project.

I’m very passionate about history and

the environment generally as well as

current affairs”.

Abdullah, 21, Glasgow

“Before COVID hit, I was doing

backpacking trips in the UK and was

intrigued by the different places for

tourism so this opportunity to learn more

about the historic sites and tourism,

while volunteering, was not one I was

going to miss!”.

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Meet the Team

Maia, 19, Orkney

“I got involved as I believe that it is the

right of every child to access local and

national history, and I aim to use my

knowledge and experience from being

disabled to create fully accessible

historical areas”.

Catriona, 13, Edinburgh

“I got involved with the project because

I love history and heritage! I want more

people to get involved and excited about

it, particularly young people. The project

was also a great opportunity to meet

more people who share my passion and

develop my skills and knowledge

of the sector”.

Alice, 23, Stirling

“My Masters research concentrated on

how the tourism industry can employ

new strategies and activities to increase

levels of engagement especially within

younger age groups. I wanted to share

the knowledge and insights I gained

through my research with others and the

HistoricScot Youth Forum provided me

with a perfect opportunity to do so”.

Anjali, 15, Renfrewshire

“I wanted to learn more about the

country I live in and find out what I can do

to make it better. I was also interested to

share my knowledge on the lesser known

parts of our history that were covered up

e.g. The Atlantic Slave Trade and getting

involved in the youth forum allows me to

share my ideas on how HES can change

how we see our past”.

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Meet the Team

Kirsty, 23, Aberdeen

“I got involved in the HES project

because I have previously worked in the

heritage and tourism sector and know

that it has so much to offer young people

but can find that hard to communicate

and realise. I hope that by getting

involved in this project I will have helped

open up HES to be more accessible to

many more young people”.

Joshua, 19, Fife

“I found out about this opportunity from

a friend and I decided to apply because

I have always enjoyed history and how

it affects our lives in the present”.

Orla, 13, Fife

“It has been an amazing time learning

how climate change is affecting our sites

and how a lot of young people don’t

know about it or the sites. I also have

worked with Young Scot before for the

Year of the Young People 2018 and I

loved it so when this came up, I was

so excited”.

Elise, 14, Inverness

“I found out about this project from a

teacher and after my interview I knew I

wanted to be involved! Young Scot and

HES are such great organisations and the

opportunity to work with them both and

potentially make a really positive impact

is one I am very grateful for!”.

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Meet the Team

Megan, 24, North Lanarkshire

“The chance to work on a group project

with other young people and getting

to talk to those already working in

heritage was a huge draw for me. The

collaborative nature of this project really

appealed to me and allowed me to learn

more about Young Scot in the

process too”.

Cameron, 26, South Lanarkshire

“The reason why I chose to apply for

the project is because I knew a little bit

about HES, and I have been to a few

HES sites, but I did not know the History

behind them”.

Cara, 23, Moray

“After moving to Scotland to study

history and archaeology, I fell in love

with Scotland’s heritage and wanted to

contribute to its conservation. It has

been great to be able to express the

opinions of young people and ideas for

the future of Scotland’s heritage sector”.

Marion, 21, Aberdeen

“It was great to work with motivating

people, and although online, I hope

our ideas will contribute to making real

changes for young people’s discovery of

the Scottish national heritage”.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 8

Meet the Team

Chase, 22, Aberdeenshire

“Throughout my time volunteering

with the youth forum, my focus has

shifted to what is available around me

and telling the stories of local history

and heritage rather than a sole focus

on far-off lands”.

Hannah, 22, West Lothian

“I’ve always had an interest in History

and I’m currently studying Heritage and

Tourism at University. I grew up visiting

Historic Scotland sites with my family.

They’re such a big part of my life and

it’s always sad when people see them as

boring, irrelevant or simply don’t have an

interest in them. I wanted to volunteer

my time to this project to help introduce

and build on new ideas to help these

sites appeal more to my generation. Plus

It’s always a bonus to make new friends.”

Over the course of the HistoricScot Youth

Forum project, 31 young people contributed

aged between 13-26 years old. Of those 31

young people, 19 identified as female, 11

identified as male and one identified as

non-binary. Six of the young people identified

as LGBT; four young people came from BAME

backgrounds; six young people stated that

they identified as disabled; and two young

people came from SIMD 1 and 2 areas.

The young people came from 15 local

authorities across Scotland: Aberdeen City,

Aberdeenshire, Dundee, Edinburgh, Fife,

Glasgow, Highland, Moray, North Ayrshire,

North Lanarkshire, Orkney, Renfrewshire,

South Lanarkshire, Stirling, and West Lothian.

Julien, 20, Edinburgh

“I have had a real passion for history for

as long as I can remember and saw

historical reenactment for the first time

at a year old. As part of that, over the

years I visited historical sites all over

Scotland and when the opportunity came

up to be a volunteer working with the

organisation that manages so many of

these wonderful places, I decided to

apply. So far it has been an eye opening

experience, and I have really enjoyed

meeting and working with other like

minded people.”

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Background

About the partnership

Young Scot has been working in partnership

with Historic Environment Scotland (HES)

to support the organisation to widen the

engagement, participation, and involvement

of young people from a range of backgrounds

and experiences in their delivery activity and

decision-making. Throughout the partnership,

HES have been committed to co-design as a

model for including the views, perspectives

and experiences of young people in realising

their strategic vision.

Our 24-month national partnership between

HES and Young Scot established a national

Historic Environment Youth Forum of 25

young people aged 11-25 from a variety of

representative and relevant backgrounds and

experiences across Scotland.

Through the Young Scot YSHive Process,

the group have been collaborating with HES

and the heritage sector to contribute to

the strategic priorities of Our Place in Time

(Scotland’s historic environment strategy),

the objectives of the 2018 Year of Young

People and its legacy, the Historic Environment

Scotland 2019-22 Corporate Plan, and the

Scottish Government’s commitment to

widening engagement, participation and

involvement of individuals and communities,

including young people.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 10

HistoricScot Youth Forum Activity

In January 2020 the HistoricScot Youth Forum

were able to hold an initial meeting in person

and meet with the Historic Environment

Scotland team members. We were able to gain

insight into the ‘behind-the-scenes’ of the

heritage sector. This helped us to identify 100

questions, which became the foundation for

our research and discussions.

Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, we were able

to continue working online and meet with more

members of HES. We were introduced to the

existing work HES has done to engage young

people, hearing more about what is currently

taking place and the opportunities coming up.

During multiple meetings with the Directors

and the Senior Management Team, our

questions were explored further. We had some

engaging discussions about our ideas and the

issues we had identified. After our questions

had been explored with the HES team, we

wanted to know more about what other young

people thought about the heritage sector. We

created a series of Instagram questions and

a detailed survey to hear more from other

young people in Scotland. The activities were

successfully delivered, and the results helped

us to gain a better understanding of young

people in Scotland’s concerns.

In December 2020 we established three

working groups to further develop our

ideas. These are: Community and Schools,

Volunteering and Work and HES Sites.

Each working group have also come up with

recommendations for the Website. We have

been working within our working groups to

create recommendations and actions based

on our discussions, which we think will help

HES with the engagement of young people

and support young people to engage with the

heritage sector.

Over the past 18 months, we have had

plenty of long Zoom meetings, thorough

break-out room discussions, and interesting

presentations from HES. They have all helped

to shape our recommendations and actions for

the future of Scotland’s heritage.

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What the Youth Forum have

been up to

workshops

with HES staff

9

Survey responses from

young people

140

Group meetings

10+

1000+

Hours

volunteered

Working group

meetings

9

Instagram polls

4

National survey

1

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 12

Survey Summary

The survey designed and delivered by the HistoricScot Youth Forum, hosted on

www.young.scot, received almost 140 responses from young people across Scotland.

The young people who took part in the survey

covered a wide age range, from 12 to 25

years old. More than half (66%) respondents

identified as female, with 28% identifying

as male and 3% as non-binary. When asked

which ethnic group or background they

identified as, 80% identified as white Scottish

or white British, and a further 14% identifying

as from minority ethnic backgrounds. 18% of

respondents identified that they considered

themselves disabled.

When asked whether they or a member

of their family was a member of Historic

Environment Scotland, 67% of respondents

reported they were not members, however,

35% indicated that they were interested in

becoming a member. In addition, 62% of

respondents also reported that they had not

done anything at school about HES or the

historic environment. Despite this, 82% of

respondents stated that they had an interest in

visiting historic sites in Scotland. The majority

(69%) of respondents said that historic sites

were interesting to them because they wanted

to explore Scotland. A further 69% stated that

historic sites were interesting and enjoyable to

them because they are interested in history.

Young people who were not

interested in visiting historic

sites said it was because they

were “boring”, were “too far

to travel” or because “they

had seen bad reviews”.

Over half of respondents

(57%) stated that they would

be interested in exploring

historic sites in Scotland

online through interactive

digital maps and models.

Respondents stated that

interactive activities, events

and open days would make

them more likely to visit

a historic site, as well as

discounts on admission or

opportunities for free visits.

Nearly three quarters of respondents (73%)

had never considered a career in the historic

environment before. The jobs that respondents

were the most interested in discovering

were telling stories at historic sites, visitor

experience at sites and site preservation.

Nearly half of respondents (48%) reported

wanting to visit a historic site but not being

able to due to lack of public transport. A quarter

of disabled respondents reported wanting to

visit a historic site but being unable to due to

their disability. This was particularly true of

wheelchair users and those with autism.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 13

Theme: Community

and Schools

For most young people, school is the first time they will engage with heritage and

the historic environment. From our experiences, if you engage with the historic

environment during education, you are more likely to engage in your adult life.

As part of this, we felt strongly about the emphasis on engagement with people

from all backgrounds. By being inclusive and incorporating everyone, the history

we make, and the heritage we remember now, will be a better one.

Our recommendations for Community and

Schools are not only based on our experiences

but on the view of other young people too,

from the results of our findings through our

digital survey and Instagram poll questions. The

majority (62%) of respondents stated that they

had not done anything at school with or about

HES or the historic environment. Young people

stated they would like more school trips to HES

sites or visits from HES staff as this would make

them more likely to visit a historic site. Nearly

half (47%) of participants found historic sites

interesting or enjoyable because they enjoyed

finding out about their local area and feeling

a connection to their heritage. This shows the

importance of community links for HES.

Our Instagram poll found that 32% of

respondents didn’t feel a connection to historical

places in Scotland. Our survey told us that some

young people instead connected with the history

of marginalised groups, such as women or LGBT

people, with one survey respondent noted

“there is very little history

of LGBT members - even

though it is known that many

significant members of

Scottish history were queer.”

HES’s social media use and platforms were

identified as a real opportunity to engage more

broadly with young people and communities

directly. Many young people use social media

as their primary way to access information from

organisations. This means that if young people

are not already connected to HES platforms,

they may miss out on opportunities, news and

events. We also identified HES website’s as an

opportunity to further engage with young people

in spaces they already use, with opportunities

for sharing information for communities and

schools as part of this. By focusing resources

and recognising this would require public facing

staff capacity in the outreach and learning team,

there are opportunities to expand and make use

of the community and education engagement.

Many of the available resources are aimed at

primary school aged children, with very little

for secondary school aged young people and

older. Without this direct focus, young people’s

awareness of the organisation is an untapped

opportunity, with low levels of awareness about

HES as an organisation in schools, as well as the

sites that they manage. From the experience of

the group, we felt that it isn’t always clear which

sites HES own or maintain, which could be an

opportunity for building awareness and further

engagement. It was clear that with a lack of

awareness there is a reluctance to support and

engage with the organisation as many believe it

is fully publicly funded.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 14

Marginalised Communities

HES as an organisation and in its sites/buildings should reflect the diversity of Scotland’s marginalised

communities and their histories and heritage. It should be a priority for HES to make sites and the

buildings that they manage more overtly reflective of marginalised communities’ histories in Scotland.

Recommendation

Engage in discussions with marginalised communities about how their heritage can be

showcased and represented.

Research about history and heritage should be done with marginalised

communities, not about them, to ensure it is representative and tells their stories

from their perspectives.

HES should look to specifically encourage young people from marginalised

communities to volunteer with HES, creating an inclusive and welcoming

environment, open to learning and change.

There should be a specific effort to create a more diverse HES board that reflects

the diversity of Scotland today, to ensure decisions are being led by those with

lived experience.

Conversations around marginalised communities’ histories in Scotland’s national

history should be encouraged and actively promoted across all work.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 15

Recommendation

Create more marginalised community history resources that can be broadly accessible

for children and young people to connect with their stories.

Resources should be created and disseminated to encourage wider engagement,

revolving around the LGBTQ+ community, ethnic minorities, minority religious

groups etc. in Scotland

Resources specifically around for Black History Month, LGBT History Month etc.

should be created with young people, showcasing their experiences and views

Resources made for a variety of school levels should be created with young

people, providing learning packs for teachers to use around marginalised

histories (including LGBT History Month etc.), to ensure the stories are accurately

represented

HES should support marginalised community histories projects for schools,

providing the space for investigating local links between HES sites and buildings

and marginalised communities; as well as school projects on communities of

colour’s histories in Scotland etc.

There needs to be an increase in broader opportunities for marginalised

communities to get involved and tell their own histories and stories in Scotland.

Recommendation

Prioritise funding and grants for marginalised communities to be supported in getting

more involved with HES in their own communities, led by them directly.

Membership funding should be available for those from marginalised communities,

specifically in deprived areas, to promote engagement and awareness.

Create opportunities for those from marginalised communities to partner with HES

and lead on research and projects led by their communities.

Ensure the preservation of buildings and history of importance for minority

religious groups, representing their stories for future generations.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 16

Recommendation

Promotion and marketing of HES as an organisation to marginalised communities

who aren’t already engaged.

Better publicity of already existing resources and projects involving marginalised

communities, e.g. HES’s digital archives.

Creating targeted events and activities around specific marginalised communities’

histories for all young people to engage in and learn about the variety of the

heritage across Scotland.

Promote HES as an organisation and the opportunities it can provide, rather than

“just a tourist organisation” to better engage a variety of communities, and being

actively transparent about the work HES does.

across all work.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 17

Schools Engagement

HES has a good opportunity to create links with schools local to their sites in order to increase

engagement. Creating strong partnerships with schools is beneficial for both HES and the school.

HES can access a large number of young people by engaging better with schools.

Recommendation

Engage with schools to develop awareness of HES in the classroom.

Ensuring that resources that have already been developed from the Outreach and

Learning team are available to schools, and that links with teachers and schools

locally are created and supported to ensure young people have access to engaging

and relevant information. For example, during a lesson about the battle of Stirling

Bridge, ensuring that links to HES are clear in their management of Stirling Castle.

Raise awareness and create links to local sites that schools could easily visit and

do projects around, ensuring that relationships are maintained and developed to

identified opportunities.

Recommendation

Work directly with schools, history teachers and pupils to get feedback on resources

and opportunities.

When developing resources whether online or physical, working directly with those

engaging with them is vital, both through teaching staff and young people.

Identifying more opportunities to engage directly with school pupils to share

information about career and volunteering opportunities with HES.

Continue to seek young people’s opinions and ideas on the work HES

delivers and resources created.

across all work.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 18

Recommendation

Facilitate school visits to local sites.

Many schools are visiting the same popular sites (e.g. Edinburgh or Stirling

castles), leaving local sites of potential interest aside.

Facilitating school projects linked with local sites can add to the visit and

learning offer.

Mentioning the work of HES for the preservation of the Scottish heritage

during a site visit will increase HES’ reach.

Recommendation

Engage young people by facilitating school or group projects about local sites.

Young people could create a project about a local site, historical period or event

and display their work as part of a temporary exhibition in this site.

This would also help local HES sites to be better known by young people.across all

work.

Recommendation

Engage with schools to talk about career and volunteering opportunities.

Many children do not know about careers in history, cultural heritage, conservation

etc and are not aware of any volunteering opportunities.

Local volunteers could go to schools and present their work with videos/pictures.

Alternatively, this could be mentioned during site visits.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 19

Recommendation

Continue to seek young people’s opinions and suggestions on HES work.

This could be done by organising online polls, receiving feedback from them after

a site visit (What did they enjoy the most? What could have been better? Did they

know HES before? Are they interesting in volunteering in the future?).cwork.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 20

Theme: Volunteering

and Work

Volunteering and Work emerged as a theme due partly to many of our personal aims

to enter employment in the heritage sector, and partly due to volunteering being

one of the most important factors in individuals entering into further employment or

engagement with the sector. The two topics were regularly explored during many

of our discussions, and we identified that there was an opportunity to really make

an impact in this area.

We found out that most people who are

volunteering within the heritage sector were

aged 35 and up, male, non-disabled and from

the least deprived areas of Scotland. We saw

this as an opportunity to get under the skin of

this problem and create recommendations that

would see more diverse representation in those

who take part in heritage volunteering.

Barriers were identified in our discussions,

such as a lack of awareness of the kind of

employment roles HES offers and what people

do in these roles, that the advertising of both

volunteering and paid roles were not always

easy to find. It can often be difficult for young

people to physically get access to HES sites

in order to work or volunteer. This and more

highlights that this is an important theme that

affects young people and their engagement

with heritage. We saw it as something we

should address to discover opportunities to

disrupt the way things are currently done and

to improve on youth engagement for the future.

Our survey aimed to help us understand the

involvement other young people outside our

youth forum have had with HES. We asked the

participants how many had thought about a

career in the heritage sector and which jobs

would appeal to them. The second question

about different jobs allowed multiple answers.

Out of the 125 participants, 27.2% of people

expressed interest in working in the heritage

sector. Some people added their personal

experiences with HES had included school visits

and one person said they had done a university

placement. One participant stated they “[had]

no personal experiences since [they] didn’t

hear about [HES] before looking into possible

jobs.” Other people expressed their concerns

about the lack of opportunities for volunteering:

“I have visited multiple HES

sites and would be very

interested in volunteering

there. So far, I have not found

curatorial opportunities at

any of the HES sites”.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 21

When asked about specific jobs, participants

overwhelmingly showed an interest in the

heritage sector. Research and Curation was

the most popular reply, with 44%. On-site

visitor engagement was voted the second

most appealing job within HES with 40%.

On-site conservation came third with 33.6%.

Interestingly ‘looking after archives or

collections of old objects’ received the exact

same number of votes as on-site conservation.

A total of 29.6% of participants were

interested in school engagement.

While 27.2% had an interest in IT and

administration roles.

A quarter (25.6%) were attracted to

community engagement.

As much as 24% would consider roles in

site promotion and another 16% were

interested in surveying sites.

Only 16.8% stated no interest in the

listed jobs.

Using an Instagram survey, we discovered that

60% of those who answered would consider

working for HES, and we wanted to discover

more ways in which HES can become more

visible to young people in order to engage the

next generation of heritage professionals.

These recommendations we hope will help

improve this.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 22

Volunteering: General

Offering volunteering roles for young people who are passionate for Scotland’s historic environment

provides them opportunities to develop their interpersonal and professional skills, as well as engaging

in the heritage sector from a younger age. The skills and abilities developed from volunteering are

often undervalued due to lack of professional training offered and lack of formal recognition of the

volunteering work, but they provide vital development for young people.

Recommendation

Create an online platform to allow young people to have a profile to have their

personal statements to showcase their skills and have references available from

their volunteer coordinators.

The platform can also be a source to apply for any professional development

trainings when available.

Having access to careers advisors would be very useful for a young person to set

up professional profiles and identify all skills acquired from volunteering.

Recommendation

Introduce targets for number of volunteers who move onto gain permanent

employment contracts within HES, especially for young volunteers.

This will mean volunteers will be encouraged to seek employment at HES or other

heritage, culture and historic site organisations.

This will open up new, easier pathways for young people looking to gain

employment in the heritage sector.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 23

Recommendation

Provide ways for those without access to the internet to gain volunteering roles.

A young person with internet access and another without should have equal

opportunities to get new volunteering roles.

Existing volunteering recruitment methods such as emailing or calling or

submitting a paper application should still be an option for those seeking

volunteering opportunities.

Recommendation

Improve volunteer support.

Work with each young person consistently during their volunteering role to explore

the skills developed and to work on new skills that may be gained from existing

roles or from other volunteering opportunities.

This is vital in allowing them to make the most of the opportunities they have

been involved with.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 24

Volunteering: Promotion and Awareness Raising

Young people may be unaware of some skills attained through different volunteering roles as they

are not listed on the role description or definitions of skills are unclear to them. They may also be

unaware of volunteering roles due to lack of publicity. By advertising these volunteering roles through

a variety of methods, the roles will be more widely available to a more diverse range of young people.

By working directly and consistently with each volunteer and getting to know them and their

skills, more opportunities for development will open up and further connect them with the

historic environment.

Recommendation

Promote existing and new volunteering roles through various methods where young

people already engage.

This could include in the media, in on-site leaflets, or through school and

community partnerships.

Promoting volunteering roles using a variety of engaging visuals, images, video or

podcast can allow an insight into experiences of the volunteering role from existing

volunteers for interested volunteers.

Recommendation

Make use of social media, career fairs, schools and communities to engage with young

people and design new prospective volunteering roles that would be tailored for a

diverse group of young people.

A forum of young people should be created to allow young people to design

volunteering roles that will align with the values and goals of HES while

maximising the skills and talent of young people from a variety of backgrounds.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 25

Recommendation

Work with young people directly to design new volunteering roles within the historic

sector, identifying opportunities that are relevant and engaging to them.

This will allow young people to identify roles and opportunities that are not only

engaging, drawing them into the heritage sector, but will benefit them in their

development.

Working with schools to provide these opportunities can ensure that the skills

gained are transferrable and their time accredited.

Work: Awareness

We believe there is a need to increase awareness of the heritage sector among students and young

people. Young people are often unaware of the variety of jobs the heritage sector offers. Some young

people might actively look for information and available jobs, but there is a lack of general knowledge

about part-time or seasonal positions, as well as roles for students who recently graduated. Young

people should not only be made aware of the availability, but also the possibility of finding work in

the heritage sector. We think that jobs should be advertised with the intention of encouraging

students to apply.

Recommendation

Work with universities to advertise roles.

Get in contact with the careers services of universities to advertise seasonal and

full-time positions. Many universities offer a careers service or careers hub, which

advertises jobs suitable for students regularly.

These jobs include summer and part-time positions, but also full-time positions

for recent graduates. The universities’ careers services will also benefit from this

exchange because it will broaden their service and support their students.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 26

Recommendation

Increase local advertisements on sites.

Advertise opportunities on information boards at sites with clear instructions on

how to apply. It would also be beneficial to state the availability of the positions to

students, so they will feel encouraged to apply as well.

Clear instructions on the application process will also support this.

Recommendation

Increase presence at careers fairs to directly engage with young people.

Promote directly to young people via careers fairs. Especially showing the variety

of jobs available in the heritage sector will encourage young people.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 27

Work: Application Process

Improve the ease of access when applying for a job or volunteering post and increase awareness

about these positions. Many volunteers in the forum have stated that finding job opportunities

within HES is very difficult. Applicants are expected to look through the HES website in order to find

the relevant pages. It is also an intimidating process for younger people who are coming into an

employment sector where those who are employed are often very knowledgeable and of a different

generation. They may not have the right references and the application forms are often detailed and

word heavy. It is also assumed that the workforce for HES is majority white, cisgender, heterosexual,

and middle class. This makes those who are in the LGBTQ+ community or of ethnic minority

backgrounds feel like they may not fit in in the organisation. In addition, there is a low awareness of

opportunities and information is usually found out by knowing someone who already works for the

organisation. There is an aim to increase the number of young volunteers and create new exciting

opportunities that are unique to HES.

Recommendation

Increase awareness by using social media platforms and notice boards at sites.

Create adverts for positions and post them on sites such as TikTok, Snapchat,

Instagram, and Facebook.

Create notice boards at sites with posters explaining what opportunities are

available. This allows all young people to access information, even if they do not

own their own laptop or have an internet connection at home.

Recommendation

Establish an impartial point of contact for young people considering applying for

positions within HES.

Employ someone who will be a direct link for young people. They will offer

guidance and explain the whole application process.

They will provide non-judgemental advice and answers to any and all questions

young people have, including rewording certain parts of the job description,

offering help with completing the application form, and being a supportive ear for

those looking to get into the sector.

They should be aware of the issues faced by those who are from ethnic minority

backgrounds, the LGBTQ+ community, and those with disabilities. They should be

aware of all issues related to equality and inclusion.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 28

Recommendation

Give more weight to personal statements during recruitment process.

Young people often won’t have referees related to the field, and they also may be

inexperienced, this doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t be appropriate for the job and

work hard in what they do.

More focus should be put on a young person’s passion for the organisation

and the job.

This will allow applicants from a wide range of backgrounds and age groups.

Recommendation

Increase the variety of roles available.

Create positions that are interesting and exciting. Offer the opportunity for young

people to become tour guides and give a fresh viewpoint at the sites.

Create links with local re-enactment groups, such as Historia Normannis, to teach

history in a different way. These would be engaging and unique opportunities that

would appeal to a variety of young people.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 29

Work: Employment Practices

It is vital for young people that HES look to aim to increase long term contracts for younger workers

and increase the diversity of positions available. Often, positions available to young people are

seasonal and unstable for long term employment. HES should look to offer progression routes from

volunteer positions to show that careers within HES are possible. This would hopefully improve the

experiences of volunteer employees and increase the variety of opportunities available to encourage

a more diverse workforce.

Recommendation

Improve progression routes within the organisation.

Offer follow on volunteer roles that build on the skills of the last role the volunteer

took part in.

Create certificates and accreditation that show the transferable skills gained in

the positions and regularly offer paid positions within the relevant sectors that the

volunteer was involved in.

Recommendation

Allow location changes for jobs.

Offer transfers to different sites, and placements at different locations. This would

allow the worker to decide what site is right for them and allow them to develop

their experiences and insights for their future careers.

It would also give them the opportunity to travel while working which would act as

an incentive for young people to see more locations across Scotland.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 30

Recommendation

Increase the number of paid contracts available.

Set a target for how many new paid contracts are given out year.

A portion of these should be offered to young people and those who volunteer.

This will act as an incentive and entice young people to engage with the

organisation as it will show that career progression is possible.

Recommendation

Improve the experience of new employees.

Create a buddy scheme where new employees are matched to those who are

more experienced and have been a part of the organisation for longer. This

would act like on the job shadowing, allowing young employees to develop their

knowledge and be supported in the crucial early stages of their career.

This would allow a volunteer or paid employee to gain skills on the job and would

decrease the need for applicants to have previous niche experience for roles.

This would also build up a stronger and more learned workforce for future projects

that require workers and improve communications between disciplines.

Recommendation

Improve transportation for employees.

Transportation is often a key issue for young people and plays a massive role in

their ability to take up opportunities. Offering driving lessons or cycle to work

schemes for employees would provide support to allow them to make the most of

opportunities HES has to offer.

Alternatively, give a travel bursary to employees for rural or low-income

backgrounds to assist with commuting to and from work.

This will enable a more diverse workforce from a broader area.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 31

Theme: HES Sites

HES sites should be an interesting and engaging place for all. Our heritage should be

available to us in an accessible way. While HES has made their sites great places for

families and other demographics, we feel that there are more opportunities to engage

with young people specifically. In a changing world, it’s more important than ever

to feel connected to your history and heritage is relevant and valuable to all young

people in Scotland, with travel and experiencing the world around them something

that is hugely important to young people.

In the survey conducted by the HistoricScot

Forum, we found that 81% of young people

who participated would be interested in

visiting a historic site. Almost half (48%) of

respondents had wanted to visit a historic site

but had been unable to due to lack of public

transport. When asked why they find historic

sites interesting or enjoyable 68% said it

was because they were interested in history,

and 71% said it gave them an opportunity to

explore Scotland. Young people said that they

would find a historic site more enjoyable if they

were more tech based or if they held more

events, such as re-enactments. Over a quarter

(26%) of respondents reported being unable to

fully access a historic site that they have visited

due to lack of provision for their disability.

One respondent noted that

“they [historic sites] are so

difficult for wheelchair users

to navigate.” This is also true

of neurodivergent young

people, with a respondent

noting “I am autistic and

sometimes we’ve had to

avoid going in places as it is

just too busy, especially in

the holiday”.

Our recommendations aim to improve the

participation of young people at historic sites by

creating an engaging experience for all through

interesting activities and the use of technology.

We also aim to tell the full story of Scotland’s

history with the inclusion of voices that have

not been typically heard in the past.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 32

Gamification

We want to create a more engaging visitor experience for young people at HES Sites. Getting young

people to engage with heritage can be difficult. What is more, we often feel forgotten in the historical

and heritage sector, with certain age groups that feel more forgotten than others. We have identified

gamification as a tool that could be employed across sites to encourage youth engagement across

multiple age ranges due to its adaptable and wide sweeping qualities. Gamification techniques are

already applied in multiple sectors, namely education. Gamification at the broadest level can be

defined as the use of game design elements in non-game contexts (heritage and tourism).

We believe this will greatly improve HES sites.

Recommendation

Increase presence of AR (augmented reality) technologies at HES sites.

Review all sites to comprehend the level of data coverage at sites to facilitate AR

implementation.

Utilise sites with strong data coverage to pilot AR activities and engagement

opportunities.

At unstaffed HES sites, or where there is weak data coverage, utilise partnerships

more broadly to increase data connectivity in rural areas to increase accessibility.

Identify stories that can be creatively adapted to fully harness AR technologies.

Certain stories are better interpreted through AR mechanisms than others. It is

important to find ways for these stories to be youth orientated and allow young

people to understand their social standings and responsibilities during

other time periods.

Recommendation

Create opportunity for community engagement with gamification.

Engage with local communities to gather stories being told in the area. Employ

gamification techniques in any campaigns to get the stories of young people.

They have their own stories to tell, provide ways in which these can related

back to heritage stories.

Gamification presents opportunity for heritage experiences to be co-created.

No one experience would be the same. This enables both young and older

people to enjoy HES sites together.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 33

Recommendation

Utilise gamification throughout heritage experience.

Before - Gamification has strong links to information acquisition. Employing

gamification strategies in marketing campaigns presents both an informative and

engaging platform for young people to consider visiting HES Sites

During – The hedonic and socialization benefits of gamification, helps to enhance

the experience and create long-lasting connections, aiding in the development of a

relationship between HES and young people.

After – Gamification also presents the opportunity for a creative way to encourage

Word of Mouth awareness building surrounding HES sites.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 34

Offer a mixture of physical

and digital options

depending on the specific

ideas. Physical and Digital

options allow for better

accessibility.

Picture trails

for Instagram

Re-enactments

(Both conducted

by professionals

and co-created

with communities

and schools)

Doors open

days

and behind

the scenes

tours

Night/after dark

tours, tell a new

story of the site

in the dark.

Famous events

maps – Create

your own timeline

of Scotland

using HES Sites

More about where

famous events took

place or things

were filmed

Filming Locations

– Create your

own film idea/

storyboard

Picture pointers

on the ground for

good photo

opportunities

Interactive

Maps

Community-led

tours

Concerts and

performances

from local acts,

Competitions

and Quizzes

Treasure Hunts

(potentially across

multiple sites)

Interactive points

with phones/QR

codes

Gamification Ideas

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 35

Interpretation Accessibility

There is currently a lack of informative video-form content at HES sites that is accessible to deaf,

hard of hearing, dyslexic young people, and people with auditory processing disorders, etc. Access

to this type of content allows for information to be fully accessible and inclusive for everyone, thus

broadening the demographic of visitors and encouraging further diverse engagement with the

heritage sector.

Recommendation

Increase prevalence of interpretation accessibility across the work of HES, ensuring

this is easily accessible and clear that it is available.

e.g. Braille, Dyslexia-friendly fonts, Autism-friendly spaces.

Ensure all videos have captions and are audio-described.

Wherever possible, implement dyslexia-friendly fonts.

Implement BSL tours.

Incorporate basic BSL signs for others to learn around sites.

Recommendation

Recommendation: Improve visitor experience for autistic visitors at HES sites.

Ensure quiet, darker spaces are available for visitors with Additional Support

Needs in case they become overstimulated or experience a sensory overload and

need a safe space to decompress.

Have autism friendly days at sites (dimmed lights, less people, less noise etc).

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 36

Physical Accessibility

HES sites and buildings must be accessible to all young people in Scotland, no matter their needs or

background. When they aren’t, this creates a barrier for those with disabilities who want to access the

historic environment. Young people with physical disabilities should not have to miss out on heritage

and historic activities just because of their needs, and there are a number of ways we feel these

barriers could be mitigated.

Recommendation

Implement signage at public transport hubs about onward travel and stops

to visit HES sites.

There should be clear information with routes, e.g. streets that can be walked to

get to the site, to ensure that all young people are able to plan and access

sites equally.

There needs to be an increase in publicity for policies HES has already

implemented (e.g. £1 entry to sites for Young Scot National Entitlement

Cardholders and 10% discount to European Youth Card holders) on social media

platforms, namely TikTok and Instagram, to ensure that young people with

disabilities can be aware of the opportunities and benefit available to them,

ensuring they are able to access them.

Recommendation

Ensure all facilities are fully accessible for all ranges of disabilities.

Working directly with people with a wide range of disabilities to see what change

they wish to see at sites, and what barriers keep them from visiting HES sites,

would allow for each site to tailor their experience in a way that is relevant and

appropriate.

Engaging with charities, organisations and local groups representing physically

disabled young people, would allow HES to hear directly from those experiencing

barriers, about the issues they face and developing solutions together.

Using resources and sites like ‘Euan’s Guide’ which are already available would

support the implementation of the changes necessary to mitigate barriers to

accessibility identified at HES sites.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 37

Social and Cultural Change

It is vitally important to young people in Scotland that HES aim to decolonise sites and create a

wider understanding of the history of Scotland’s marginalised groups, for example, the BAME and

the LGBTQI+ communities. It is our aim to share our country’s unknown histories even if they show

Scotland in a less that positive light, but the reality of our heritage. We are all human and we all make

mistakes even historical figures who we see as picture-perfect. Although only 3.7% of Scotland’s

population represent minority ethnic groups, this doesn’t mean we should ignore their history.

Recommendation

Clearly show every side to our history and heritage.

Create or add to existing plaques on the statues of historical figures to ensure they

are representative of the full story, not just the commonly told information.

It is important to recognise the disagreeable actions of Scotland’s historical figures

but not forget the great things they did for our country, showing the wide breadth

of both.

By adding to a historical information, plaques or statues, in a more cost-effective

way, we can share both sides of their stories educating ourselves and others fully.

Recommendation

Through education and information, allow young people to be more aware of the

cultural changes in our society.

Social media is a great way to educate young people. Tik Tok is a great and

engage tool to teach about the lesser known actions and decisions of Scotland’s

historical figures.

It is vital to engage directly with minority groups about how represented they feel

in Scotland’s history, hearing their stories and views, as well as looking at more

recent movements such as the Black Lives Matter movement.

Provide a platform for different minority groups to tell their stories, for example,

the Windrush Generation. This would be very helpful for young people who are

part of these minority groups to learn about their history and their ancestors.

Podcasts, Instagram lives and even speaking in schools would be a great way to

share stories create by and with young people.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 38

Recommendation

Hold specific events and activities to celebrate the history of minority groups.

With June being Pride month, there is an opportunity for HES to do more at their

sites directly, holding specific events teaching people about Scotland’s LGBTQI+

historical and present figures.

Although this can be done for specific key dates, it is vital these take place

throughout the year for different minority groups, and do not have to be confined

to a specific month or date.

Recommendation

Create new exhibitions and identify spaces focusing on different minority

groups’ heritage.

Although it is of vital importance to hold a variety of events and activities, this

would be a more permanent option, demonstrating the value placed on diverse

history, and allowing exhibitions to tour across Scotland, sharing the variety of

stories. For example, the Sugar Sheds in Greenock could demonstrate the role

of Scotland in the Atlantic Slave Trade.

Research must be led by minority groups and experts in the field to ensure the

stories, histories, spaces and places were representative and relevant to all

marginalised communities in Scotland.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 39

Theme: Website

One of the key opportunities to better engage young people identified throughout

the project was an improvement to the website and everything this provides. It is

well known that young people predominantly find their information online today,

more than ever during times of the COVID-19 pandemic. For a young person who is

interested in visiting a HES site or finding work in the heritage sector, it is likely that

they will visit HES’ website as the first port of call. Whilst the website features a lot of

great information, we feel it could be improved to help with access and make it easier

for young people to navigate.

Community and Schools

We believe that there is a significant potential to improve the ‘Learn’ section of the HES website.

Although the resources themselves are engaging, there is a lack of attention given to the sections

layout. We were inspired by the educational resources of other historical organisations and museums

from which HES could also benefit from. For example, the Make and Create section gathers a list of

links for PDF files. For a children-friendly environment, pictures and colours could be added to the

page. Therefore, this new kids’ hub would mainly focus on the layout of the current page, to make

it more user-friendly and accessible. Although we expect that this work would be substantial, we

strongly believe that HES could be better known and increase the engagement with young people

online. Developing learning resources in a new visually attractive way would have a greater impact

on young people’s learning experience.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 40

Recommendation

Create a children and young people’s hub.

Improvements on the current platform:

The learning resources could be more accessible for children and young people as

they are currently directed to a parent or a teacher rather than to young people

themselves. This is less engaging for young people to access.

By directing information to young people and engaging them in the conversations,

engagement and awareness of the sector can be raised as well as dispelling the

stigma that heritage is for the older generations.

New resources or opportunities that could be offered:

Young people need to be identified as a specific target audience of the Learning

section, creating information with young people that is relevant to their lives and

interests, tying this into potential school activities that could be embedded into

their learning.

The platform must be discoverable by all young people, anytime, anywhere so

raising awareness is vital.

There is an opportunity to increase the number of young people who learn about

history by providing fun and engaging activities as part of the platform which can

be made use of both in an educational environment and in their own time.

By increasing the engagement and interest of young people in history and

heritage in Scotland, we can help to increase the number of future volunteers and

employees, putting HES on young people’s radar.

What the hub could look like:

Clearly dividing the resources at the welcoming page into three sections: Primary

(age 3-11); Secondary age (11 to 16); and Post-16 for the age 16+.

Visuals are vital to engaging both children and young people, so the platform must

ensure that there is balance of text and images. As well as adding vivid colours

being essential!.

Easy and visible headings that catch attention will allow young people to navigate

the platform more easily.

Developing interactive games and quizzes to explore Scottish history and HES

sites according to the visitor’s age, that can be used to engage children and young

people through schools’ activities as well as local interests.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 41

Volunteering and Work

To aid in the recruitment of young volunteers and workers to HES, HES should aim to create a userfriendly

platform for prospective applicants and current staff to access information regarding work

and volunteering available at HES. The platform will provide visibility of both work and volunteering

opportunities, training resources and networking opportunities within the HES organisation and wider

heritage sector for both volunteers and employees.

Recommendation

Publicise available volunteering and employment roles within HES clearly on the

website.

Each role advertisement would be supported by more details if available, such

as video of experience from current young people involved in the role and a FAQ

section for each role advertised.

Recommendation

Create online profiles for both volunteers and employees so that networking

opportunities can be formed between employees and volunteers.

This platform would also allow new employees and volunteers to find mentor

pairing at the beginning of their roles so that young people can adjust to new

working conditions easily, tying into the buddy system previously described.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 42

Recommendation

Create an online platform for applying for volunteering opportunities and tracking

volunteering progress.

It will also allow a person to set up individual profiles that contain their personal

statement, skills portfolio and references from coordinators to support career

progression especially for volunteering to employment for young people.

The platform will contain resources on available continued personal development

training, resources for mental health wellbeing and internal networking forums

for both employees and volunteers.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 43

Recommendation

Use (more) Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality online to engage young people

in HES sites

This is more engaging, fun and interactive and gives young people a simple way

to understand what the real site will look like.

It would be easy to create virtual tours and maps. This could include animated

characters moving around the site, which can be seen through a phone camera.

HES Sites

HES should aim to develop a more engaging external facing website tailored to the interests of

young people, that fully represents the potential of HES sites, as well as adding a virtual experience

to complement and enhance the physical experience. Young people will often look online to find

out about places they want to visit. As the first interaction with HES sites, the website needs to be

accessible for this purpose and have all the necessary information.

Recommendation

More visually engaging content to showcase each of the HES Sites specifically and

what might be involved in their visit.

This will also be more engaging and more exciting for young people, therefore

more attractive and more likely for them to visit sites.

The website should include pictures of sites throughout the year, and colourful

pages that show off the great features of the site.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 44

Recommendation

Add games and quizzes to the website related to HES sites to allow young people to

engage with sites before their visit.

These could be site specific and could be used when visiting or could be more

general to be done at home to build awareness and understanding.

More interactive content would support young people to get involved with HES,

encouraging further engagement with the organisation and opportunities it offers.

Some suggestions could be: Spot the Difference, Guess the Site, Who am I?

(using famous sites) and quizzes with exciting facts instead of dates or names etc.

Recommendation

Timetables on average numbers of visitors per hour per day (at busier sites where

data is easier to collect).

This can help people, especially young people, who wish to avoid crowds, or

people with anxiety, autism etc.

A simple colour-coded timetable that is easy for users, which is regularly

updated, would be best.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 45

Conclusion and Next steps

We hope that our recommendations and ideas in this report start a conversation

at HES about how they can make things better for young people. We want history

and heritage to be accessible to all. We hope to work with HES to implement our

recommendations and to encourage them to keep involving young people in their

planning and work long after our group has ended.

From our experiences and exploration, we felt

there was a perception of the heritage sector

not being diverse and this may put those

from marginalised communities, and more

broadly young people, off joining the sector

or even engaging with it. We felt this adds to

the perception that those who live is more

deprived areas are much less likely to engage

with heritage and history. From the experience

of engaging with the sector, there seemed to

be a disproportionate underrepresentation from

a variety of backgrounds and experiences,

including gender, age, and marginalised

communities, especially at a senior level.

Decision-makers in the sector are often

made up of cisgender, heterosexual, white

representatives, with most being over the age

of 40 or retired. This, reflected in the HES

Board, does not currently reflect the diversity

of Scotland nor its diverse history and heritage.

This doesn’t demonstrate the diversity of the

sector or bring diversity to the organisation.

These barriers need to be overcome to make

the sector more accessible to a wider variety

of young people.

We hope some of our ideas challenge the

stereotypes of history and the historic

environment being “boring” and “no longer

relevant”. Our vision of regular events at sites

with the latest technology telling inclusive

stories of Scotland’s future aims to engage

more young people in a history that is relevant

and interesting to them. By introducing young

people to HES at a younger age through

strong links with schools, a culture of love

and appreciate for history and the historic

environment will prevail across Scotland for

years to come.

We look forward to continuing to engage with

HES and hope that in the near future, our

recommendations are making a real impact

on the heritage sector.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 46

Summary of Recommendations

Community and Schools

Recommendation

Engage in discussions with marginalised communities about how their heritage can be

showcased and represented.

Encourage representation of marginalised communities in decision making at HES, specifically

those currently under-represented groups and from deprived areas.

Provide the open space for discussions on how to better promote marginalised communities’

heritage and history in a way that is relevant and appropriate.

Create more marginalised community history resources that can be broadly accessible for

children and young people to connect with their stories.

Prioritise funding and grants for marginalised communities to be supported in getting more

involved with HES in their own communities, led by them directly.

Promotion and marketing of HES as an organisation to marginalised communities who aren’t

already engaged.

Co-design and create easily accessed online resources for teachers of both primary and secondary

aged pupils, with young people.

Make object handling resources more available for families and schools.

Create an online hub with sections aimed at primary and secondary aged children.

Improve the outreach of educational videos ‘Learn, Create and Play’ on YouTube.

Engage with schools to develop awareness of HES in the classroom.

Work directly with schools, history teachers and pupils to get feedback on resources and

opportunities.

Facilitate school visits to local sites.

Engage young people by facilitating school or group projects about local sites.

Engage with schools to talk about career and volunteering opportunities.

Continue to seek young people’s opinions and suggestions on HES work.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 47

Volunteering and Work

Recommendation

Create an online platform to allow young people to have a profile to have their personal

statements to showcase their skills and have references available from their volunteer

coordinators.

Introduce targets for number of volunteers who move onto gain permanent employment

contracts within HES, especially for young volunteers.

Provide ways for those without access to the internet to gain volunteering roles.

Improve volunteer support.

Promote existing and new volunteering roles through various methods where young people

already engage.

Make use of social media, career fairs, schools and communities to engage with young

people and design new prospective volunteering roles that would be tailored for a diverse

group of young people.

Work with young people directly to design new volunteering roles within the historic sector,

identifying opportunities that are relevant and engaging to them.

Work with universities to advertise roles.

Increase local advertisements on sites.

Increase presence at careers fairs to directly engage with young people.

Increase awareness by using social media platforms and notice boards at sites.

Establish an impartial point of contact for young people considering applying for

positions within HES.

Give more weight to personal statements during recruitment process.

Increase the variety of roles available.

Improve progression routes within the organisation.

Allow location changes for jobs.

Increase the number of paid contracts available.

Improve the experience of new employees.

Improve transportation for employees.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 48

HES Sites

Recommendation

Increase presence of AR (augmented reality) technologies at HES sites.

Create opportunity for community engagement with gamification.

Utilise gamification throughout heritage experience.

Increase prevalence of interpretation accessibility across the work of HES, ensuring this is

easily accessible and clear that it is available.

Improve visitor experience for autistic visitors at HES sites.

Implement signage at public transport hubs about onward travel and stops to visit HES sites.

Ensure all facilities are fully accessible for all ranges of disabilities.

Clearly show every side to our history and heritage.

Through education and information, allow young people to be more aware of the cultural

changes in our society.

Hold specific events and activities to celebrate the history of minority groups.

Create new exhibitions and identify spaces focusing on different minority groups’ heritage.

YSHive – HistoricScot Youth Forum - Recommendations and Actions Report June 2021 PAGE 49

Website

Recommendation

Create a children and young people’s hub.

Publicise available volunteering and employment role within HES clearly on the website.

Create online profiles for both volunteers and employees so that networking opportunities can

be formed between employees and volunteers.

Create an online platform for applying for volunteering opportunities and tracking

volunteering progress.

Use (more) Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality online to engage young people in HES sites.

More visually engaging content to showcase each of the HES Sites specifically and what might

be involved in their visit.

Add games and quizzes to the website related to HES sites to allow young people to engage

with sites before their visit.

Timetables on average numbers of visitors per hour per day (at busier sites where data

is easier to collect).

Contact

For more information about any aspect of the work detailed in the report, please contact:

Allan Lindsay

Participation and Co-design Director

E: allanl@young.scot | T: 0131 313 2488

Toni Andrews

Co-design Manager

E: tonia@young.scot | T: 0131 313 2488

Young Scot Enterprise is a Scottish registered charity (SC029757) and is a company limited by guarantee (202687) with its registered office at:

Caledonian Exchange

19A Canning Street

Edinburgh

EH3 8EG

Get in touch

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0131 313 2488

info@young.scot

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@young.scot

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