A Right, A Place, A Future
Youth Scotland joined partners from across the country on Wednesday to launch Scotland’s Youth Work Manifesto 2026 – A Right, A Space, A Future, a national call to secure lasting recognition, access and investment for youth work.
The new manifesto, developed collaboratively across the youth work sector, sets out three national commitments to help ensure every young person in Scotland can thrive through access to high-quality youth work:
- A Right – a legal right to youth work for all young people. Enshrine in law every young person’s entitlement to access youth work services, regardless of their postcode, background, or income
- A Space – universal access to spaces for youth work. Guarantee free, fair, and consistent access to public spaces, such as schools, leisure centres, and community venues, for youth work providers
- A Future – sustained and increased investment in youth work. Implement fair funding principles with ring-fenced multi-year funding for youth work at national and local level
Together these commitments make a clear statement: youth work is not a luxury, it is a necessity. Every year, more than half a million young people in Scotland – over 113,000 of them in the Youth Scotland network – engage in safe, supportive youth work. The manifesto argues that recognising this as a right, and embedding it in policy and law, will deliver fairer access, stronger communities and better outcomes for all.
Speaking at the launch, Youth Scotland’s Communications Manager Kevin Turner said:
“This manifesto articulates what we hear every day in community-based youth work. If we say that youth work must build from where young people are, young people need safe community spaces, trusted adults and real opportunities to shape their own futures. Making youth work a right could ensure those opportunities exist in every community, not just some.”
Collaboration across the sector
Youth Scotland is proud to be just one of the organisations to have contributed to the development of the manifesto and to stand alongside them in calling for a Scotland where every young person has A Right, A Place, A Future. Our members and programmes already demonstrate the power of youth work in practice — tackling poverty, supporting wellbeing, improving educational outcomes and strengthening communities.
Our hope is that the manifesto can play a part in articulating the value of a youth work sector, one of Scotland’s greatest assets for young people, ahead of the 2026 Scottish Parliament elections and can be instructive for a new National Youth Work Strategy. It’s a reminder that investing in youth work today is an investment in Scotland’s future — in safer communities, healthier young people and stronger local networks.
To read the full manifesto, A Right, A Place, A Future, visit YouthLink Scotland’s website
#RightSpaceFuture