The first workshop of the afternoon was Engagment for impact: effectively engaging our children and young people.
Speakers came in from Young Edinburgh Action (YEA) to speak to us about their organisation and the positive impact it has had in the city of Edinburgh.
They started their presentation with a video (which I will link for you to watch), they then went on to tell us about their work that we saw in the video.
The organisation works in partnership with the council and follows a three step process. The process begins with an annual gathering as well as going to schools to gather as many opinions as possible, they proceed to split into research groups on various topics that come up from the gathering and the process comes to a close with a sit down discussion between the members of YEA and members of the Edinburgh City Council.
As a result of this they have impacted the City of Edinburgh council policy and worked with the Scottish Youth Parliament.
As a 16 year old, I feel like every area should have something like YEA set up. Having a youth voice is so important as young people are the future and in Edinburgh the young people are listened to and involved in the decision making process and are on a much more level platform with council members. There is a strong relationship between the youth community and the adults thus increasing the youth engagement.
Isn’t it great to know that YEA have had an impact on council policy Hazel? Thanks for the blog and reflecting on your opinion on the importance of youth voice.