Month: April 2018

YOYP 2018

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Year of Young People 2018 is an opportunity for generations to come together and celebrate our nation’s young people.

It is a platform for our young people (8 to 26). It will give them a stronger voice on issues which affect their lives, showcase their ideas and talents, and ultimately, aim to challenge status quo and create a more positive perception of them in society.

Young people’s voices have been at the heart of the Year, since planning started in 2015. After leading an in-depth consultation with hundreds of their peers, they made recommendations on what the top priorities and goals should be.

To take forward these ideas, a group of 35 young people, Communic18, was created. Their role is to influence how the Year will be run, while ensuring young people’s voices are heard and acted upon. In addition, there are more than 500 Ambassadors, who are promoting local activities and creating opportunities in their communities to challenge negative stereotypes of young people.

Activity for the Year is based around six key themes, which were developed by young people and will guide everything done:

Culture

Share and celebrate young people’s talent and contribution to Scottish culture and arts.

Education

Allow young people to have more say in their education and learning.

Enterprise and regeneration

Celebrate young people’s role in innovation, entrepreneurship and the Scottish economy as well as making Scotland a greener and more pleasant place to live.

Equality and discrimination

Recognise the positive impact of young people in Scotland and encourage them to take the lead in challenging all forms of prejudice and discrimination.

Health and wellbeing

Make sure young people have the chance to lead healthy, active lives and understand the importance of mental health and resilience.

Participation

Give young people the chance to influence decisions that affect their lives

 

Over the next few weeks K & M Communities will look at issues affecting young people today, we hope you enjoy.

Want to get involved or know more, visit http://yoyp2018.scot/

 

Area’s natural history is the star in “The Wild North East – Scotland’s Natural Gem”

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A short film highlighting the wonderful wildlife and wild places throughout the north east of Scotland was launched last week.

“The Wild North East – Scotland’s Natural Gem” was commissioned by the North East Scotland Biodiversity Partnership, of which Aberdeenshire Council is an active member and supporter.

The film was the idea of Doug Gooday, one of Aberdeenshire Council’s Rangers, who wanted to create a short film to promote the wonderful wildlife and wild places we are so fortunate to enjoy here.
“As a Council Ranger I’m very privileged to spend a lot of time in the many wild places we have in Aberdeenshire, from the Cairngorms to the Coast,” he said.
“I wanted to inspire others to enjoy these wild places as well, to understand about the services nature provides and the importance of caring for the natural environment for the benefit of ourselves and future generations.”
The new film was produced by the nature media company Scotland: The Big Picture.
The collective specialises in producing high-quality short films which inspire and inform people on the importance of looking after our natural world.
The film was produced with the support of Aberdeenshire Council, Aberdeen City Council, Scottish Natural Heritage, Outdoor and Woodland Learning Scotland, the North East Biodiversity Partnership and Forestry Commission Scotland – Grampian Conservancy.
It was launched on Friday, April 13 at the James Hutton Institute in Aberdeen and is freely available for anyone to use and distribute for education and to promote the natural heritage of our region.
You can see the video on the council’s YouTube channel​.

Using Schools as Community Hubs

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Schools across Scotland should be used as community hubs to deliver a wide range of public services.

That’s the verdict of South Ayrshire Council and its partners following a pilot in north Ayr, which culminated in a community marketplace at Ayr Academy on 23 February.

A range of partners from NHS, Scottish Fire and Rescue service and the voluntary sector worked together to explore how this would work in practice.

Crucially, services were available to everyone living in the area – not just those with children in the schools.

Services provided included money and debt management advice, employability and skills information and advice, health and wellbeing support from school nurses and assistant nurse practitioners. Council Leader, Douglas Campbell, commented on the learning from the pilot,
“It’s been a terrific learning opportunity for all the partners involved and that’s been one of the key outcomes of this week – getting to know more about what each of us has to offer and how we can better link in and signpost to provide a more joined-up service for people.”

Read more at http://thirdforcenews.org.uk/tfn-news/schools-should-be-used-as-community-hubs#im6LrHufaQ4Ga4ce.99