As the Scottish Youth Parliament marks the first anniversary of the launch of its youth-led manifesto, we’re reflecting on the progress we’ve made over the last year to continue putting young people’s rights at the centre of decision-making in Scotland.
Our Dear Scotland’s Future manifesto was officially launched at our 83rd National Sitting in Glasgow last September and sets out the key issues we’ll campaign on until 2031… gathering the views of around 5,000 young people from across the country!
From education and communities to sustainability, equality and access to rights, the manifesto is divided into five themes – all of which have informed different projects and local work carried out by our MSYPs.
For instance, over the last few months, the Young Rights Champions — a group of MSYPs leading the change in our campaigning work and meaningful participation — met with Education Scotland to discuss the development of the financial literacy curriculum as part of a broader campaign on education reform. The group have met multiple times over this year to inform decisions on qualifications, assessments, changes to the curriculum and how education can better support the unique needs of children and young people.
Making the mental health care system more accessible has also been a top priority, with MSYPs conducting a focus group to better understand young people’s experience of and communications with CAMHS (Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services) about their referrals in order to suggest tangible improvements for local services. They’ve also been working closely with the Scottish Government’s Children and Family Mental Health Team to produce a nationwide resource for keeping young people safe online – some of which can be found in the Mind Yer Time hub here.
and conducted a focus group to better understand young people’s experience of and communications with CAMHS about their referrals, with the aim to suggest tangible improvements for local services.
In our manifesto consultation, young people told us that they need high-quality, fast, and reliable internet to learn, socialise, share, and engage with their lives as expressed in both article 13 and 17 of the UNCRC. That’s why MSYPs sent a letter to Prime Minister Andy Burnham on behalf of more than 150 young people from across Scotland, asking him to reconsider the UK Government’s plan to ban under-16s from social media (which you can listen to here).
SYP Chair Ellie Craig MSYP said:
The proposed social media ban for under-16s is a clear example of why documents like our Dear Scotland’s Future manifesto are so important. They give us a formal way to challenge decision-makers, backed by the views of thousands of young people, while setting out not only the issues they care about most, but also the actions they’re calling for to make sure current and future generations can live meaningful lives.
Through the Transport, Environment and Rural Affairs Committee (TERA), MSYPs have been able to contribute to the Scottish Parliament’s scrutiny of the Scottish Government’s draft Climate Change Plan, offering feedback to make it more comprehensive and reflect the living and lived experiences of children and young people in all parts of Scotland.
Another cohort of MSYPs has been supporting the Scottish Government’s Violence Against Women and Girls Unit with the launch of its public-facing campaign to tackle tech-facilitated violence, misogyny and hate crime. We also responded to the Government’s consultation on protections for girls and women in the justice system, highlighting our manifesto calls to represent and reflect the specific experiences and needs of girls and women and why they deserve standalone legislation to protect them more.
“While we’re extremely proud of everything that’s been accomplished over the past year in each theme of our manifesto, we’re also aware there’s still a lot of work to be done. That’s why we’re continuing to engage with adults in positions of power, both locally and nationally, so that young people can play a consistent role in spaces where decisions about their future are made,” Ellie added.
You can read our Dear Scotland’s Future manifesto here.
