Thumbs up for Big Ideas 2024!

Familiar favourites and fresh ideas at the biggest weekend in youth work

Big Ideas Weekend 2024 blended firm favourite traditions with brand-new adventures to deliver the best event yet! From 24 – 25 August, over 220 young people and youth workers came together at Stirling University to build skills, make friends, find confidence and get inspired.

For many delegates, this weekend was packed with firsts: their first residential, their first time on a university campus, their first whirlwind Big Ideas. For others, it was all about finally coming back: a long-awaited chance to reconnect with friends from last year or even to return as a youth worker after years of enjoying the event as a young person.

The magic of these two days captured everyone, and from the first bounce of the opening icebreaker to the roll of the red carpet at the closing ceremony, the energy and excitement of the weekend never flagged.

What is Big Ideas?

As Youth Scotland’s flagship annual event, Big Ideas is a two-day residential that celebrates the power of community-based youth work with the people who make it possible. The weekend offers one suite of skill-building workshops for young people and one for youth workers, and creates opportunities for delegates from all across Scotland to connect, learn and have fun together.

This year marked the 5th Big Ideas event and featured more than 20 unique workshops, including sessions on parkour, graffiti and DJing for young people and on special effects make-up, violence prevention, rhythmic drumming and climate action for youth workers.

See the weekend’s highlights!

Want to relive the magic? Check out our socials to see the milestone moments for Big Ideas 2024:

• Weekend Welcome
• Workshops for young people
• Workshops for youth workers
• 90th Birthday Celebration
• Event Challenge
• Hi5 Awards Ceremony

Until next time…

As we eagerly look forward to Big Ideas 2025, we want to take a moment to say a tremendous thank you to everyone who made this year’s event so unforgettable: the youth workers, volunteers and young people who joined us as this year’s delegates; all our workshop facilitators; Mr. Graeme Dey, Minister for Higher and Further Education, Minister for Veterans for an inspiring video message; all the organisations who offered advice and support at this year’s Youth Work Marketplace, including Scottish Children’s Lottery, Creative Scotland, LGBT Youth Scotland and The National Lottery Community Fund; the team at Stirling University; and of course, to the Scottish Government and CashBack for Communities for their continued support, without which, Big Ideas wouldn’t be possible.