In 2021 Young islanders took part in the pilot project: The Young Islanders Challenge.
Working in partnership with the Scottish Government and the National Islands Plan, Youth Scotland’s Young Islanders Challenge was created to represent the views and opinions of young people living and growing up in Scotland’s island communities.
This laid the foundations for the Young Islanders Network.
The aim of the Network is to build on the success of the Young Islanders Challenge and ensure that the voices of young islanders are heard.
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Young Islanders Network
The Young Islanders Network will become a community which joins young people together from all the islands, sharing their voices, views and experiences.
A key commitment in the National Islands Plan is that young people from all our islands will be consulted in the implementation of the Plan.
The contributions from the Young Islanders Network will ensure that the interests and priorities of Young Islanders are carefully considered and reflected in the development of the Islands Plan.
The YIN is not intended to supersede or replace any existing youth organisations and networks already operating in our island communities. Its role will be to help build on these and facilitate engagement and collaboration across our islands.
The Young Islander Champions will be invited to;
- Take part in community challenges.
- Develop their leadership skills.
- Lead on social action changes in their community.
The young people and the Youth workers who support them will be able to access Place2B and Y2B peer mental health training. We recognise from the discussions during the Pilot project that Young Islanders feel that their mental health and support in their own area is important to them.
We are currently working with youth hubs across the islands to showcase the activities of the Young Islanders Network to the whole of Scotland.
Young Islanders have said that they would like opportunities to meet face to face and to see what life is like on other islands. Through a series of local, inter-island and mainland-based events the Young Islanders will be able to come together to get to know each other and share their experiences and views on island life.
The Young Islanders will look at their hopes and aspirations for the Network and they will co-develop a plan to take the Network to the next stages in the development.
