Join Young Scot's #YSEquity Panel and have your say on our services, making them fairer and more accessible for everyone. Project Information: - 11-18 years old (inclusive) - From April 2024 to March 2025 - Meeting every 6-8 weeks (a mix of online and in-person sessions) - Anywhere in Scotland - Travel costs covered What’s the YSEquity Panel about? Do you use your Young Scot National Entitlement Card to get on the bus, access the leisure centre or enjoy local discounts? Has it sometimes been tricky for you to get involved in things like school trips, sports clubs or art groups? Then this opportunity could be a great place to have your voice heard! We want young people aged 11-18 on our YSEquity Panel to help us improve our Young Scot services so they meet the needs of young people, are accessible to everyone and help tackle stigma. You’ll get the chance to share your experiences with education including any challenges you’ve faced being ready to learn and attending regularly. We’ll also try to offer you opportunities to meet decision makers in Scotland to share your thoughts on these topics too. The Panel will look at things like:   - Young Scot National Entitlement Card - Cost of the School Day - Access to education - Rewards - Local Discounts - Extra-curricular activities - Information content and more… We would love to hear from a wide range of young people right across Scotland – we’re particularly interested to hear from: - young carers - young people who live in a rural area - care-experienced young people - if you get or have had free school meals

This Commission, developed in partnership with Young Scot, SAMH (then the Scottish Association for Mental Health, now Scottish Action for Mental Health), and Scottish Government, looked to identify the key issues facing young people in mental health services. If you were involved, we’d love to hear from you! If not, but you are interested in mental health policy, please still sign-up below. Information 📅 End of July 2024 (exact date TBC) 🎂11-25 inclusive (or over if you were previously involved only) 🗺️ This opportunity is open to previous members of the Youth Commission on Mental Health Services – wherever you now live. For anyone else who is interested, you must be currently living in Scotland. 🎁 Receive 150 Young Scot Reward Points for taking part! About the Youth Commission on Mental Health Services- The Scottish Government published its Mental Health Strategy 2017-27 in March 2017. Following this, the ‘Youth Commission on Mental Health Services Report’ was published in May 2019 following 16 months of work by the ‘Youth Commission’ (made up of young people aged 15-25 at the time of participation, from different backgrounds and experiences across Scotland) supported by partnership work between SAMH, Young Scot and the Scottish Government. Why should I get involved? - Five years on, we want to review progress on the recommendations in the report, particularly in light of changing circumstances for young people; the impact of Covid-19, cost of living crisis and a changing political context. The issues relating to mental health for young people have not gone away, so we hope revisiting the Commission’s work can help identify ongoing, updated priorities for young people in relation to mental health. We will look to engage with this topic in various ways, starting with an in-person session with Young Scot and SAMH staff. Other engagement in this topic might look like gathering views via short online forms and quick thoughts, as well as more in-depth, in-person sessions. You will be supported to engage in policy and communication work together and identify priorities going forward. In addition, SAMH are planning to do more work focused on children and young people’s mental health. We hope this review can help influence some of this work and any necessary next steps. Sign-ups will close on the 22nd of July

Young Scot Hive (YSHive) and Scottish Canals are looking for a small group of young people from across Scotland aged 11-26 to join the Scottish Canals Youth Panel that will help the development of long-term sustainable change within the Scottish Canals network and support the development of Young Person’s Active Travel. Project information 🎂 11- 25 (inclusive) years old 📅 This project will run until March 2025. These are the initial dates: Induction Session – Sunday 4th August 2024 Session 2 – Saturday 2nd November 2024 Session 3 – Saturday 22nd February 2025 🗺️ We are looking for participants from these local authorities; Argyll and Bute, Highlands, East Dunbartonshire, West Dunbartonshire, Glasgow, North Lanarkshire, Falkirk, West Lothian, and Edinburgh, however anyone living in Scotland with an interest in this activity can apply. About the Scottish Canals Youth Panel Scottish Canals (link to website) is the national organisation responsible for looking after Scotland’s canals, their work focuses mainly on maintaining and conserving the canals of Scotland to transform them to play a vital role in Scotland today. This project aims to encourage Young People to engage with the sites maintained by Scottish Canals such as the Falkirk Wheel, The Kelpies, and other sites. This partnership also aims to give Young People the chance to become more involved and aware of Scottish Canals environmental and heritage work and to engage with the co-designing and decision-making processes to shape the work of Scottish Canals. What you'll do as part of the Scottish Canals Youth Panel The Scottish Canals Partnership will work with Scottish Canals and the selected panel to establish ways of working, creating the conditions for young people to effectively engage in decision-making processes within Scottish Canals. A dedicated Young Scot staff member will support you throughout your volunteering experience to: - Work as a panel to understand the way Scottish Canals delivers its work and gain an on the-ground knowledge of how young people are engaged, supported and included. - Establish feedback channels for the Young People’s Panel to inform ongoing developments and decision making within Scottish Canals. - Work with Scottish Canals to deliver activity specifically supporting Active Travel

YouthLink Scotland and Young Scot, supported by The Scottish Government and Volunteering Matters are looking for 10 young people from across Scotland to be part of the YouthVIP Panel. Project information 🎂 11-25 (inclusive) years old 📅 This project will run between July 2024 – March 2025. These are the initial dates: - Recruitment selection Session (Online) – Saturday 27th July 2024 - Induction Session (In Person) – Saturday 3rd August 2024 - Session 1 (In Person) – Saturday 31st August 2024 - Session 2 (TBC) – Saturday 5th October 2024 - Session 3 TBC) – Saturday 18th January 2025 - Session 4 (In Person) – Saturday 1st March 2025 🗺️ We are looking for volunteers from all over Scotland About the Project On this project, the group will work together to help improve volunteering for young people in Scotland. You will be supported by our staff team to embed the recommendations from the previous group, the Youth Volunteering Innovation project (YouthVIP) as well as young people’s voices in existing volunteering structures to truly embedded these within structures, policy, and practice to guarantee lasting change for Scotland’s young people. You will help to guide Young Scot, YouthLink Scotland, Volunteering Matters and Scottish Government in developing volunteering for young people in Scotland. You will ensure the rights and needs of young people are at the heart of this process. What you'll do as part of the YouthVIP Panel: The YouthVIP Panel will work collaboratively with Young Scot, YouthLink Scotland, Volunteering Matters and Scottish Government to deliver on the recommendations of the previous panel. Dedicated staff members from Young Scot, Volunteering Matters and YouthLink Scotland will support you throughout your volunteering experience to: - Design, develop and deliver a National Event building on the success from 2023 to ensure youth volunteering is at the heart of all structures. - Design and develop a national survey to identify gaps, understand perceived barriers and look for examples of good practice across Scotland. - Develop and design the #VolunteeringMakesMe Campaign and build on the momentum of previous campaigns as well linking in with key moments including Volunteers Week and #IWill Week. - Feed into the Youth Volunteering schools resources ensuring it is fit for purpose and accessible for all young people in Scotland. No special knowledge, experience or skills are necessary to take part. We are happy to make reasonable adjustments to enable all young people to take part, and there will be an opportunity when you apply to tell us about any support or adjustments you need to contribute fully.   We are particularly interested to collaborate with young people who are facing barriers due to their personal circumstances including young people from an ethnic minority background, young people who identify as having a disability, young carers, care-experienced young people, young people who live in low-income households and young people who live rural communities.