Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament have voted to select their three new national campaigns for the next two years.
The new campaigns are:
- Increase mental health training and education.
- Invest in and protect youth work services.
- End gender-based violence.
Throughout the consultation, which was led by SYP’s Members, over 4000 young people engaged with our decision-making process to tell us what their priorities are and the change they would like to see. Young people took part in the consultation through online surveys, social media, schools and youth groups.
“SYP has been working hard for years on these three issues, and I’m delighted that after hearing from young people across Scotland, they are now our key priorities. They deserve to be at the top of the agenda in government and beyond, and I can’t wait to get started on making this happen!”
Olivia Brown MSYP, the SYP Board member with a remit for policy
All of the campaigns selected come from youth-led policy passed by Members and from SYP’s most recent manifesto from the run-up to the last Holyrood election, ‘From Scotland’s Young People’.
Campaign Delivery Groups will now be formed where Members will go on to design and deliver each of the three campaigns. Young people will shape and narrow the scope of each campaign and how we can have a tangible impact as part of the wider conversation.
Maya McCrae MSYP, Convener of SYP’s Health, Wellbeing and Sport Committee said:
“Mental health & wellbeing has long been recognised as a priority for young people. However, there’s still lots of work to be done. I hope that with the help of Scotland’s young people, we can work together to solve these underlying issues.”
“Issues surrounding access to youth work services are becoming more and more prominent across the country, due to budget cuts throughout government. Youth work services are a vital tool in the protection and development of young people, especially as we recover from the pandemic.”
– Alannah Logue MSYP, Convener of SYP’s Culture and Media Committee
Skye Allan MSYP, Convener of SYP’s Equality, Human Rights and Social Security Committee said:
“Young people are especially vulnerable to gender-based violence which makes them feel unsafe and unsupported in their communities as well as having a long-term effect on their physical and mental health throughout their lives.”
These four new national campaigns will run up until the end of 2025 and follow last term’s campaigns on the right to food, the climate crisis, treating drug-related harm as a public health issue and educational attainment.
