Acting on Youth Participation

This Youth Scotland report examines the vital role that young voices play in shaping their communities and the decisions that affect them.

The cover headline reads 'Acting on Youth Participation: How Youth Scotland’s vital work provides support and training for community-based youth work' A young person smiles, holding a poster with climate action illustrations and calls to action on sticky notes

How Youth Scotland’s vital work supports young people to shape the decisions that affect them

This report examines the vital role that young voices play in shaping their communities and the decisions that affect them.

Youth work has always instinctively supported young people as peers, creating safe environments where their perspectives are valued and their contributions recognised.

Youth Scotland believes young people are not just future leaders; they are equal citizens and valued contributors to our society today. Their insights can drive meaningful change and innovation, bringing fresh perspectives to existing challenges.

I even learned more about myself, like personal development, more skills... and friends I met. It really gave me a boost, it made me feel great about myself, to know I was feeling heard.

Youth Scotland Young Grantmaker

As we explore the various case-studies, models and frameworks of participation highlighted in this report, we will discuss the compelling reasons for involving young people in decision-making processes.

I think everything that was decided did come from the young people, they were the decision makers in the process. And I think that is credit to the whole programme, because they felt comfortable enough and confident enough that they could put forward their opinion and have these discussions. I think overall it was definitely entirely young person led, they felt the ownership.

Youth worker, Glas-glow Up (Young Grantmakers) project

The insights from this report are not just a call to action – they are a roadmap for the continuing journey of supporting young people to shape their futures and their communities around them.

Read the report

You can download the full Acting on Youth Participation report below, including the context, the role of Youth Scotland, conclusions and supporting case studies.

Acting on Youth Participation
PDF, 4 MB
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