Amplify - Supporting Youth Voice

Amplify – Supporting Youth Voice is a large-scale youth participation programme

Amplify is a three-year, Scotland-wide, large-scale Youth Participation programme funded by The National Lottery Community Fund (UK Fund). It builds on Youth Scotland’s experience of supporting youth voice and aims to increase young people’s involvement in decisions that affect their lives, communities and services.

Thanks to National Lottery players, Youth Scotland has received more than £1.5 million over three years from The National Lottery Community Fund, the largest community funder in the UK. The funding will be used to embed the voices of young people in community decision-making.

This comes from The UK Fund, one of The National Lottery Community Fund’s first significant commitments as part of its new strategy, ‘It starts with community’, funding projects that support communities to come together – one of the funder’s four key missions.

The project will support young people, youth workers and wider community stakeholders to embed youth voice into decision-making and community life.

Key Aims

• Empower young people to develop the skills and confidence to come to the table, use their voices and have them heard.
• Support youth workers and volunteers to strengthen youth participation practices.
• Engage local businesses, public bodies, and community members to actively listen to and involve young people.
• Share learnings and best practice across UK Nation partners (UK Youth, Youth Cymru, Youth Action NI, Youth Work Ireland)
• Create systemic change so youth participation becomes the norm in decision-making.

Main Strands of Delivery

iLead Training Pathway

• Based on our existing staged iLead training programme (Engage, Empower, Advance).
• Builds young people’s skills in participation, communication and leadership.
• Accredited through Youth Scotland Awards (SCQF Levels 3–7).

Youth-led Social Action Projects (Inspire)

• Young people plan, design and pitch for resources to deliver community projects.
• “Dragons’ Den” style pitch panels include councillors, local businesses and community members.
• Projects aim to have intergenerational and community-wide impact.

Worker Training & Support

• Training for youth workers and volunteers.
• Update and expand both training and resources to build confidence and capacity across the workforce.

Community & Stakeholder Engagement

• Training and support for local businesses, public bodies, and other organisations.
• Encourages young people’s involvement in boards, recruitment, and service design.

Why It Matters

Amplify is designed to shift power and culture, ensuring young people are not only heard but influence decisions in their communities. This holistic approach will embed youth voice into everyday services and systems, creating long-term, positive change.