Scottish Youth Parliament is looking for you!

The Scottish Youth Parliament Elections are between 14th-27th of March 2011. You can vote online with your Young Scot Card at www.glasgowlife.org.uk/young-glasgow. If you need any further information and advice please contact Nicola Boyle or Jim Robertson on 0141 276 1785

 

Vote in your local SYP election – or even stand as a candidate!

SYP elections across Scotland take place in odd years (2011, 2013 etc) generally between March and June, though by-elections may happen outwith this time. MSYPs are elected to represent Scottish Parliamentary constituencies and national voluntary organisations. All young people aged between 14 and 25 are eligible to vote.

Who can be a Member of Scottish Youth Parliament?

If you are aged 14-25 and live in Scotland you are eligible to stand as a candidate, too. If you feel that you have what it takes to represent other young people in your area then this could be your chance.

MSYPs get loads of opportunities, but they also have responsibilities – they are expected to attend our 4 national sittings and where possible, take part in campaigns and generally represent the views of other young people to decision-makers. Though it isn’t standard, we expect the average amount of time an MSYP spends on their work to be about 5 hours a week

More information

Scottish Youth Parliaments Website

 

Updated 14/03/11

 

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Glasgow Provan - 2 to be elected

 

Connor Flynn Manifesto

 

I am a young person form Easterhouse and my name is Connor Flynn. I attend Lochend CHS and I am currently in S4. In my spare time I attend several youth clubs including Youth Access, Young Voices, R.Y.P.I. (Representing Young Peoples Issues),Youth Bank and Young Carers. In Young Voices I write articles on the issues young people face and for Youth Bank I fund projects made by young people. These clubs have helped me gain the skills and information which I can hopefully use to help young people as an MSYP.

 

If I am elected as an MSYP of the proven area I will make a promise to the young people in the proven area to always keep in touch so everyone know what?s going on in there area. There are many ways I intend to keep this promise and one is through Young Voices which I will write articles on the MSYP and other issues that effect young people in there communities.

 

With the help of the leaders of other youth club I can talk to young people about what they want to see in there communities and also listen to the young people because all I want to do is make sure the young people have there say in ALL matters that concern them.

 

Some parents think that having a school dress code stops bulling if one family is poorer than other?s but even if changing the way kids dress in school there will always be kids getting bullied for several other things like hair colour, height, weight and the way they walk.

 

This list is not meant as an excuse, but you get the idea. Yes judging people on what they look like is bad in schools. However making everyone wear the same thing is not going to make the problem disappear. Instead of hiding from the problem why not take it head on. Teach people to accept the odd kid out. Teach your kids not to judge based on what they look like. Kids should be taught to be open to all sorts of people.

I know I would be a good MSYP for the young people of the proven area because of all the reasons above and I would always put the young people before personal gain. Thank you for reading my manifesto and good luck on voting.

14/03/11

 

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Craig Whyteside
Manifesto

I am a young person who lives in Greater Easterhouse and I believe that I am typical of most young people in my area.

 

The ideas I would bring forward are;

• To get across the being young is not a crime
• The lack of youth facilities in the area of Craigend/ Garthamlock
• Getting more discounts in the Glasgow fort that we can use with our Glasgow Young Scot cards

We, as young people, have the right to say what should happen in the big decisions that are being made that affects us. Our Views should be taken seriously and all young people that are living here, whether they were born here or not,. We are the future and we are the ones who will have to live with the changes our government makes now, so we are the ones who need to be heard.

I feel that I would be a good MSYP, as I would put across the views of all young people from my area  Thanks for taking the time to read my manifesto; I hope you will consider voting for me.

 

Craig Whyteside

14/03/11

 

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Keenan Alexander
Manifesto

 

Vote for Keenan Alexander to be your voice in the Scottish Youth Parliament Manifesto 2011-2013
Glasgow Provan is a fantastic constituency with lots of hard working, enthusiastic young people. We’re not without our problems though. I hope that I can work with everyone in Glasgow Provan, to make our community better. If I’m elected as the Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament I will:

• Create an anti knife crime strategy with local young people

 

I will work with community partners and local young people to tackle the causes of knife crime. Knife crime can rip the heart out of a great community. I believe that the young people here are mature enough to tackle the issues head on and come up with an anti Knife Crime Strategy. I want to work with the community to find out what works best in deterring our young people from not only using a knife, but carrying one in the first place. A consultation would be carried out over 6 months and then an event would be held to ensure that decision makers and local service providers know exactly how young people feel on the issues.

• Work with local young people to identify a solution to University funding

Over the last few months we’ve seen a lot of angry young people protesting about university tuition fees. The Scottish Government is working to establish a “Scottish solution” to the problem. I want to consult with the young people of Glasgow Provan on what they think this should be. It’s a very important issue and one which isn’t going away any time soon. It’s essential that young people are consulted properly and I will make sure this happens.

• Establish a Youth Volunteers Group

Volunteering is so important. Many young people across the constituency have so much to offer and I believe that the benefits of taking part in a volunteering programme would be fantastic. I would establish a database that contains the details of all the young people in the constituency who are interested in volunteering. I will then work to identify opportunities specifically related to the interests of the young people and support them in obtaining a place. Of course, the ideal situation would be that young people would be able to find paid work. However, with so few employment opportunities, it’s important that young people who are out of work use their time effectively.

I will work on many more issues and projects over my term, if I’m elected. However, these three issues will be what drive my work over the two years. I will meet regularly with local youth groups and hold surgeries, both online and in person (if required.) As you can see, most of my work is consultative so I’m counting on the young people of Glasgow Provan to work with me to ensure that I represent them to the best of my ability. I already have the experience as an elected Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament and I believe I’m the best person to represent the young people of Glasgow Provan on a national and international platform. I hope you will put your trust in my ability and vote for Keenan Alexander!

 

Keenan Alexander

14/03/11

 

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Glasgow Shettleston - 2 to be elected

 

DAVID STEWART MANIFESTO

I am a young person from the Dalmarnock area of Glasgow East I believe I am a great representative of young people from my area.

I believe my interpersonal skills such as good listener, communicator means I will be able to put young people’s views to decision makers to influence them in the interest of my constituency.

The ideas I would bring are:

• To lower youth unemployment figures and get young people out of the (NEET) Not in Employment, Education Training category.

• Raise awareness of great achievements young people make within my area at a national level to tackle intergenerational stereotyping Scotland wide.

• To tackle many issues that face young people within my constituency such as poverty, bullying, territorialism, substance misuse by insuring the youth provision and services ate sustainable and young person led.

I strongly feel that Young People have a right to have their views/opinions heard and influence decisions that affect them at a national level. Our views should be valued greatly as we are the future leaders and so we should be able to mould the future of Scotland’s society.

As a MSYP I would ensure that all young people from my constituency from all backgrounds are represented as a whole on a national platform and their views/opinions/feelings on issues arte represented fairly and consistently.

I feel that training and skills I have received through my further education Princes Trust Get Into Youth Work, PDA Youth Work and SVQ Community Development enable me to work with young people from all over Glasgow East and these courses plus voluntary work has helped me make many community work contacts which will help me engage with young people across my constituency area. I propose to tackle some of these issues above by holding regular surgeries and working with youth groups in my area. Facilitating debates and training with my support worker.

David Stewart

14/03/11

 

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Youth Facilities in the East End
David Weir Manifesto

 

Youth Facilities in the east end of Glasgow is good is some areas but areas like Baillieston do have any I feel this is really unfair and all area should have similar facilities. Youth people need a place to no matter what area they live in.

Stuff for people with special needs is not that good we don’t have many place to go, the area called Baillieston has nothing we used to have a sports centre but now we don’t have anything the sports centre is well run down even the outside is bad, it closed quite recently, I have spoken to the to my friends and family before about getting some stuff in my area. Garrowhill also does not have any facilities they only have the public parks or other areas to go to where they don’t have any stuff organised so does Swinton not have anything.

Glasgow east end has a lot of youth and some of them have special needs and they don’t have anything to do and they are bored at night and go out, or go to main stream clubs.
Having a place to go as a young person can help with social development and increase community participation skills. I attend a club called Representing Young People’s Issues and we try to work with adult organisations to listen to young people views and involve young people in any new developments in the local area and I would like to see more of this and young people sitting on the local committees that make decisions on what money gets spent on.

Youth Facilities are poor in my opinion and there are not a lot of them in the east end I would get more of them and more sports courts

 

David Weir

14/03/11

 

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Graeme Allan Manifesto

 

Of all issues that face young people today, education is a strand that unites us all. But it is no longer the availability of education in Scotland that’s the issue (as it is with many other developing countries) but the quality of the system and does it utilise our potential  and what opportunities does it provide to young people. In this piece we will quickly look at some of the issues surrounding our education system and what threats and opportunities we have for the future.

We must first tackle the culture of underachievement that propagates through many schools where the attitude of wanting to be the best and aspire, is prevented (instead of aided by) by the need to fit in with our peers. One of the key pillars in enhancing social mobility and maximising the potential of our young people is to tackle antisocial behaviour and encourage all to see education as an opportunity for a greater quality of life and to remove the idea of joining the criminal under classes as an attractive option. Aspiration and role modelling are very closely associated. If a person has a role model they wish to aspire to they will work to that. But this only comes by being in contact with such people and being able to do so. For many young people at the poorest schools, staying on beyond the compulsory school age will put them above average, getting to university an achievement rightly celebrated. Having a positive role model can be considered quite rare, but it is this difference in expectation that is telling of the state of social mobility within a schools population.  As a society we should provide the role models for young people to aspire to.

The education system is arguably the best driver of social mobility it can take anyone from anywhere on the social ladder give them the tools and raise them up the ladder to compete with their peers, but this meritocracy can only occur where young people are limited not by the ability of their school to get the most out of them. Many of our schools in the poorest performing areas have cut back on the number of advanced higher classes and as places to university become more competitive and look of the better qualified candidates it will be the young people that have the ability but not the support that will be left as unproven and consigned to a second rate experience.

 

Should we fail to maximise the abilities of our young people, face not only segments of society being lost and disempowered to change their own circumstances but whole generations of young people that don’t aspire to be the best they can be, engage with society and politics to better themselves and their community or even to just find a job. Ultimately nations are the sum of their subjects, and we need a healthy society that can compete in an ever more demanding international world, where manufacturing has given way to the knowledge economy, making sure we recruit and inspire the next generation of talent from all of society must be this country’s goal if we are to create and ensure a future for our young people that is better than today.

 

Graeme Allan

14/03/11

 

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John Kennedy
Manifesto
My passion

 

I would like to discuss a topic I feel very strongly about which is the Commonwealth Apprenticeship Initiative and career planning.

I feel there are a lot of misconceptions around about the Commonwealth Apprenticeships.  Young people feel the apprenticeships are not actually real and feel they were forwarded on to interviews with very little if any preparation.  They feel because of this they did not realise the importance of the apprenticeships and on occasions did not have a basic if any understanding of the process.

 

My own experience of the Commonwealth Apprenticeship Initiative was a very similar one as described above.  My teacher asked me if I wanted to leave school then gave me my options which included apprenticeships, college, staying on at school or unemployment.  I also got a referral to a careers officer and was given a form for a construction course at my local college.  I completed the form not really sure of the course content.  Meanwhile I went along to my first interview for the Commonwealth Apprenticeships.  I never secured an apprenticeship.

 

I feel annoyed because I did not really know what I was going along to an interview for and for that reason I did not see it as very important.  If I had realised I would have tried to find out more about the apprenticeship I was interested in and I may have got more help with interview techniques.  My friends and class mates felt the same.  Most seen the first interview with the teachers as time out of class and one of my class mates actually chose agriculture as an apprenticeship yet didn’t even know what agriculture was.   I feel this pretty much sums up young people’s understanding of the importance, the process and what the apprenticeships are. 

 

This brings me on to the subject of career planning.  Young people feel like one minute they are in school learning and before you know it we are asked all of a sudden what we plan to do when we leave school.  I know that we do have careers officers in school and on occasion teachers talk to us about this stuff but I feel that it obviously isn’t important enough in school otherwise my career choice would not have been a lucky one which I stumbled upon or most of my ex classmates wouldn’t be unemployed or in a training course that they do not enjoy. This brings me back to my own experience again.  I started the college course at my local college and lasted a month.  I enjoyed many aspects of the course however my health began to suffer and I began having asthma attacks.  Again I feel this was something I should have considered before beginning such a course.

 

I would like more information, more advice, more importance placed on career planning and career choices in schools and parents included as much as possible.  After all these people are with us every day and the people we look to for advice and help.

 

John Kennedy

14/03/11

 

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