Since May 2025, we have represented Scotland and the Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) in the first UK and Ireland Youth Advisory Group (YAG). The group was established after the first UK–Ireland Leaders’ Summit in March 2025 to ensure that the often-forgotten voices of young people are heard directly by the Prime Minister, Taoiseach, and other key decision-makers.
We’ve also worked with YAG members from Wales, Ireland, Northern Ireland and England to co-design a Youth Forum event hosted in Dublin, bringing together young people from the five nations to collaborate, discuss the main issues affecting young people, and present creative ways to engage with stakeholders.
We were joined by Ben Moore, Ellie Craig, Fatemah Ghanem, Isla Grimes and Megan Travers MSYPs, along with five young people from Youth Scotland. Together, we formed Team Scotland to represent the views of the country’s young people. The event was held in the very grand Iveagh House in Dublin, home to the Taoiseach’s Department of Foreign Affairs.
Apart from co-designing and participating in the Youth Forum, Team Scotland also took part in some sightseeing, indulged in a spice bag, and learned how to play tin whistles!
It was great to connect with other young people from Scotland – and the rest of the UK and Ireland – to share what matters to us most.
A report from the Ireland–UK Youth Forum will be presented to all the Leaders from each jurisdiction at a Leaders’ Summit in March.
We have really enjoyed participating in the Youth Advisory Group, co-designing the event and developing our understanding of youth voice mechanisms across the UK and Ireland. Meeting other young people and amplifying the voices of Scotland’s young people beyond our borders was another highlight of the trip, and we can’t wait for a similar opportunity to come our way in the near future.
