Youth Archives - Page 8 of 10

MSYP Slams MSP’s Plans On Road Safety

Jan 112013

With thanks to Kenneth Watt.

Kris Chapman, MSYP for Aberdeen South and North Kincardine has raised numerous concerns over a North East Scotland MSP’s policy which, he says, appears to be aimed at penalising younger drivers.

Mr Chapman highlights that, according Grampian Police, research shows that ‘Young Drivers’ are the holders of only around 10% of all UK driving licences.

In the North East, between 2004 and 2009, the average number of those killed was 44 per year, and the number of those seriously injured was 293. Of that total number, 66% were over the age of 25 and accounted for the majority of the road deaths in the region.

Kris said:

“I encourage Mark McDonald’s work to encourage road safety, but if he really wants to go down the road to better drivers of all age groups, I suggest he makes more of an effort to improve education and less of what seems to be an ill-thought-out attempt to criminalise younger drivers.

“What I have already been highlighting to Scottish Youth Parliament colleagues is the great work that Safe Drive Stay Alive does as a road safety campaign in the North East.

“We need to look at a much more controlled introduction to driving, like we have for motorcyclists who have to go through several stages before being permitted to drive. The way to improve safety is to educate drivers of all ages, not punish them.

“It appears to me – and many of my colleagues – that Mr McDonald is aiming to just criminalise younger drivers.

“The Youth Council has invited Mr McDonald to attend our meeting this month to answer questions on his policy as we feel it is of great concern to us. I hope he can come along to clarify his points.

“Before I can start to take his points on board I need to understand how curfews and bans would be enforced, paid for and implemented, especially with the savage cuts police forces are currently suffering from the Scottish Government.”

Young Politicians Sought For Youth Parliament

Aberdeen City, Information No Responses »

Jan 112013

With thanks to Kenneth Watt.

The Aberdeen City Youth Council is calling for young people interested in making a difference to register their interest in standing in the elections to the Scottish Youth Parliament which are being held in March this year.

Holding office as an MSYP (Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament) lasts for two years and involves four sittings a year on top of around five hours per week of voluntary work in the member’s constituency.

Constituencies mirror those of the Scottish Parliament and there are currently six MSYPS in Aberdeen namely Justin Rheiner (23) and Chris Cromar (18) for Donside, Megan Lukins (18) and Kris Chapman (24) for South and North Kincardine, and Ashleigh O’Connor-Hanlon (18) and Barry Black (17) for Central.

Registration for 14 – 25 year-olds to stand for election as an MSYP is open until end of January and advice on this can be sought from the Aberdeen City Youth Council (ACYC), who will run the elections. All MSYPs are obliged to be members of ACYC as part of their position.

Barry Black, who is chair of the youth council as well as Convenor of the Social Justice Committee of the SYP, said:

“It’s a really rewarding group to be a part of. It builds confidence, lets you work with many different individuals and spend two years choosing how you want to help your area.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the past two years I’ve spent on the SYP and hope that young people in the North East will get involved.

“Whether you like holding representatives to account or want to have more of a say about the issues that affect Aberdeen, the Scottish Youth Parliament has the expertise and support to help you do it.”

Youth Council Speaks Out On Drug Problem

Aberdeen City, News No Responses »

Nov 262012

With thanks to Kenneth Watt

Chair of Aberdeen City Youth Council Barry Black MSYP has recommended the Education, Culture & Sport Committee on Aberdeen City Council approves the creation of a Drugs Youth Worker role.

Barry told Aberdeen Voice:

“Our sister group, GRADE A (Get Real About Drugs Action Aberdeen), has worked tirelessly to improve drugs education in the city and has benefitted immensely from the support of our youth worker.

“An additional Drugs Action worker would make a huge contribution to the already excellent work being done on drugs education in the city. We recommend the committee approve the funding for the position on the grounds of the benefit to young people.”

“We have a significant substance misuse issue with young people in the city and this is an issue that needs to be addressed. We are above the average for substance misuse statistics¹ and a full-time drugs education worker would help to contribute to the fight against drugs abuse in the city.”

¹ Statistical information on substance misuse can be found at http://www.aberdeenshireadp.co.uk/Flexviews/core/assets/adp%20mtg%20may%202010/info_2%20summary%20of%20drug%20misuse%20statistics%20scotland%202009.pdf

5-Year Focus On Education: Youth Council ‘Delighted’

Aberdeen City, News No Responses »

Nov 232012

With thanks to Kenneth Watt

Aberdeen City Youth Council Chair Barry Black MSYP is delighted the Aberdeen City Council administration has outlined education as its focus for the coming five years.

Mr Black believes this promise creates a clear mandate for the youth council, the official voice of young people in Aberdeen, to work closely with councillors to ensure that school, college and university pupils are listened to and services tailored to suit the needs of the city’s 12-25 year-olds.

Mr Black told Aberdeen Voice:

“This is fantastic news for young people: there are no further cuts to teachers and a new school is going to be built.

“I will be keen to hear the views of young people on how the new budget can be tailored to their needs in schools and pass these on to our elected members.

“This spells out a clear mandate for us to increase our scrutiny of the administration. This news is very promising and we are delighted that they are taking education seriously.”

Blood In The Mobile: Free Screening At Belmont

Community, Information No Responses »

Nov 232012

Local charity Get Real About Drugs Education Aberdeen (GRADE A) teams up with the Belmont Cinema to deliver a free movie screening at 11am on Saturday 24 November. With thanks to Kenneth Watt.

Danish director Frank Poulsen’s 2010 documentary Blood in the Mobile addresses the issue of conflict minerals by examining illegal cassiterite mining in the North-Kivu province of eastern DR Congo, an industry strongly linked to human rights abuses.

The cassiterite dug out of the illegal mines is, according to Danish corporate monitor organisation Danwatch, primarily purchased as tin by the electronics industry after processing in East Asia. It is then widely used in the manufacture of mobile phones.

Youth councillor Virag Erdei, who sits on both the Aberdeen City Youth Council and its sister group GRADE A:

“As young people we feel very strongly about this issue. Many people of our age group are becoming ill and are dying because of the products we are buying in the Western world.

“I hope this film can educate and inform, as we all have a social and environmental responsibility to change the planet and make it a better place.

“I would like to thank the Belmont for screening the film for us and their support.”

Members of the public are encouraged to come along to the free screening at the Belmont Cinema, Aberdeen at 11am on Saturday 24 November. More information available from Aberdeen City Youth Council website: www.acyc.info

Tennis At Westburn: Latest

Aberdeen City, Sport No Responses »

Nov 192012

The past few days has witnessed more than 80 junior matches being played in the North East. With thanks to Dave Macdermid.

The NESLTA Mini Tennis Red event at Westburn Tennis Centre saw the players split into four groups, the top two players from each progressing to a knockout draw.

Alford’s Ewan Smith was on top form, winning all his group matches.

He went onto win both his quarter and semi-finals easily before defeating Rubislaw’s Benjamin Hine 10-4 in an excellent final.

District Coach Vikki Paterson said,

“It was great to see so many new red players entering this event. Out of the 22 players, we had eight who were playing for the first time.”

This month’s orange event provided a great final with Cameron Jappy (Rubislaw) recovering from a first set loss to Ewan Smith to win the final 2-7, 7-2, 7-3.

In the Green event Cults youngster Angus Edward continued to impress, winning the event 4-2 in a final against Rubislaw’s Jamie Connel. Alford’s Greg Smith beat Harrsha Pradeep Kumar (Cults) in the 3rd and 4th place playoff.

Vikki said,

“This has been a really busy weekend of tennis with many good matches. The standard of tennis was really good and the improvement in the players has been great”

Next month the North East will host the annual North of Scotland Inter County District Competition, the North East U8, U9 and U10 teams will battle it out against Tayside, Highlands and Central.

City Schools Fail To Embrace Curriculum For Excellence

Aberdeen City, Articles, News No Responses »

Nov 162012

With thanks to Kenneth Watt.

The Aberdeen City Youth Council says that schools’ communication must be improved before the Curriculum for Excellence can be achieved.

The Youth Council’s forum event took place on Saturday 10th November. It hosted over twenty youth groups and charities, as well as councillors, MSPs and MPs. This ‘Showcase Event’ aimed to highlight issues facing young people in the city and set the agenda for the Youth Council’s year ahead.

A question and answer session held with Councillors Jenny Laing and Ross Thomson, the Convenor and Vice-Convenor of the Education, Culture & Sport committee, allowed the 70-strong audience to quiz the pair.

Topics covered included future school provision, reviews taking place and how the committee is planning on listening to the views of young people in decisions it makes.

One issue highlighted by young people was that communication in schools can be incredibly poor, with head-teachers reluctant to allow pupils to go to events such as the Showcase for fear of ‘showing up’ flaws in their school. The Youth Council also discovered that only a handful of schools have a pupil council, something which the audience unanimously agreed should be compulsory.

Barry Black, chair, said:

“With schools adopting the Curriculum for Excellence over the next year, it strikes us as worrying that few schools will distribute invitations to charity events, or information on youth groups that can help schools in the city.”

“The fact that we had to go to the Acting Director for Education to get a reply from some schools for an event designed to listen to the concerns of pupils struck us as absurd.”

“How can schools embrace the Curriculum for Excellence if they’re not allowed to develop themselves outside of the classroom?”

Bypass Decision A Path For Success

Aberdeen City, Articles, News 1 Response »

Oct 182012

With thanks to Kenneth Watt.

A Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament says that Tuesday’s supreme court ruling gives the green light for next generation’s economic success.
Barry Black MSYP, the chair of the Aberdeen City Youth Council, said that future generations of Aberdonians have a better economic future guaranteed with the approval of the AWPR bypass route.

Barry said:

“It has been a long wait but I can speak for the majority of young people who are keen to see the region’s transport improved and make clear that we are glad of the decision made by the courts.

“It is key for the success of future generations that we have a viable and sound road infrastructure network in place. Renewable energies will make up a significant sector in Aberdeen’s future employment market and good transport links are vital for this to succeed.

“For young people in the region – and their children and grandchildren – the AWPR will be a blessing and provide a 21st century roads system for the North East that is so necessary.”

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Referendum Vote For 16 And 17 Year Olds

Aberdeen City, Opinion 1 Response »

Oct 152012

A Local Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament praises the decision to extend the franchise to vote in the independence referendum to 16 and 17 year olds. With thanks to Kenneth Watt.

Barry Black, chair of the Aberdeen City Youth Council and member of the Scottish Youth Parliament for Aberdeen Central, today praised the decision by the UK and Scottish governments to extend the voting franchise in the 2014 independence referendum to 16 and 17 year olds.
The Scottish Youth Parliament has spent a number of years focussing on campaigning for extending voting rights to younger ages and Barry, who has been on the SYP for three years, has been a key figure in this campaign and witnessed the growing recognition of reasons why those under 18 should be ‘trusted’ with the vote.

Making it clear that the focus now is to engage the city’s youth Barry said:

“Today’s news is fantastic for young people across Scotland and represents a successful campaign from the youth parliament. I am delighted at the decision by both governments to extend the franchise and am confident that the decision made is for the better. Across the nation, young people will be instrumental in deciding the future of our membership of the UK.

“This is a great opportunity to engage young people in politics, especially those who have previously lost interest in politicians or have felt left down by the system. Independence will dominate the news over the next couple of years and the ACYC will be focussing on involving Aberdeen’s youth so that they can make an informed choice when it comes to the referendum in 2014.”

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Youth Council Vice Chair Condemns Underage Drinking

Aberdeen City, Opinion No Responses »

Oct 112012

The vice chair of Aberdeen City Youth Council (ACYC), the official voice of young people in Aberdeen, has condemned city centre clubs where underage drinking has allegedly taken place and is to write to local politicians encouraging discussion over current age limit policies. With thanks to Kenneth Watt.

The Pearl Lounge and other premises in Aberdeen city centre have had their licences suspended this week due to allegations of underage drinking.

Commenting that these recent cases of underage drinking in city centre premises show why youngsters need to be better educated on responsible drinking Struan King (pictured), who was appointed vice-chair of ACYC last month, said:

“Underage drinking is a serious issue, and the legal drinking age is there for a reason. We need to look at what is happening in society and how decision-makers are catering for cultural changes. “

Mr King, who is also writing to politicians in the north-east urging them to consider better alcohol and drugs education following the problems with youngsters being exposed, went on to say:

“Decision makers need to think seriously about the message young people are receiving and how to further responsible drinking education. Many see getting in to clubs and bars underage as a challenge and, unfortunately, some are succeeding. With little experience or knowledge of their limits of the substance it’s very dangerous as we saw last week with a group of girls – some aged 14 – being allowed in to Prohibition Bar and then being taken to hospital.”

“It’s disgraceful that premises are failing to ID customers and that they are exploiting vulnerable teenagers, many of whom have only just started secondary school. This needs to stop and I praise the licensing committee for revoking licences this week.”

“As vice-chair of the youth council I hear frequently of people drinking underage and it upsets me that firms are being irresponsible and allowing children in to their pubs and clubs.”

Barry Black, chair of the youth council and Member of the Scottish Youth Parliament, who released survey results on underage drinking in the north east in April of this year, said:

“I support Struan in his call for change and am keen to investigate new methods of alcohol education in schools. This is an area of discussion I will continue to encourage within the organisation, especially after the shocking results from my survey were released earlier this year. Youngsters going out underage do not know their limits and are incredibly vulnerable.”

Youth councillor Kenneth Watt added:

“You only need to look at the clubs’ Facebook photos to see how many under-agers are drinking there frequently.”

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