‘JULY saw the arrival of the Scottish Youth Parliament’s National Sitting and Annual General Meeting which, this year, took place in Shetland. Unfortunately I couldn’t make it to this particular sitting due to school commitments, however, I think it is fair to say that members of the Scottish Youth Parliament from up and down the country made the most of the opportunity to engage with their constituents and represent them at this national level.

MSYPs are continuously working hard all year round, and the voice of Scotland’s young people is increasingly heard and making an impact across the country as a result. The July sitting is most definitely evidence of that.

Amongst the impassioned speeches and debates, one Fife MSYP had success in receiving support from the Parliament for her motion which proposed that smoking in cars carrying children should be banned in order to protect our current and future generation. Many young people are concerned about the impact that secondary smoke has on their health and this is an issue that my local youth forum, Cardenden Youth Assembly, have taken up in the past. So congratulations go out to Nicola for doing so well.

Another motion which received support from the Parliament was the proposal that “Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE) should have a minimum national standard to ensure that all young people are equipped with real life skills which prepare them to become successful citizens. The motion goes on to propose that the Curriculum for Excellence should include mandatory guidelines on subjects and areas related to PSHE.” These motions have now been adopted into SYP policy.

The Annual General Meeting also saw the arrival of a new board. The Youth Parliament is a youth led organisation and, as such, members of the Youth Parliament had the opportunity to put themselves forward for various positions including Trustee, Vice Chair and Chair of the organisation. I would like to congratulate all the members who were successful and, in particular, welcome our new figure head, Louise Cameron, who will adopt the role of chair over the coming year. (Well done Louise!) More locally, I have been involved in our area’s summer programme. Young people from across Cowdenbeath and Cardenden have been joining up and sharing new and exciting experiences including team building challenges at Fordell Firs, outdoor sports at Lochore Meadows, including mountain biking and kayaking, and various fun activities at our local youth drop-ins. It’s always good to see young people overcoming fears and achieving things they would never have thought they could.

I’m looking forward to joining back up with Cardenden Youth Assembly after the holidays and encouraging and supporting young people who are eligible to vote in the upcoming referendum to get registered. We’re hoping to do this whilst incorporating the Aye Nae Mibbe project from the SYP, Aye Naw Mibbe is a project designed to help ensure that young people have access to impartial information, such as how to register to vote, and will be able to keep young people up to date with opportunities to engage in the debate with upcoming events.

The main objective of the project is to remove barriers to engagement by ensuring young people have access to sources of impartial information and have the opportunities to meaningfully engage with, and shape, democratic debate. Therefore, moving forward, I would like to encourage all young people eligible to vote to make sure they’re registered to do so! Thank you’.