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Plenary, 01 May 2002

01 May 2002 · S1 · Plenary

Item of business

Youth Participation

Craigie, Cathie Lab Cumbernauld and Kilsyth Watch on SPTV

Like other members, I welcome the debate. I acknowledge the minister's commitment to young people. That commitment is not just to young people who are active in their communities or to those who have problems or feel excluded; she has a commitment to all young people.

In my constituency of Cumbernauld and Kilsyth, the majority of young people are active. Although a small group are involved in anti-social activities, all too often all the young people get bad press because of that. Problems exist in many areas because of a wide variety of factors, but we have a responsibility to harness the potential of young people to make positive changes in their lives and in their communities.

It is often suggested that young people's interest in politics does not seem to be as active or widespread as it once was. I question whether that is the case. We seem always to have been trying to get young people involved in politics. The situation is not now so different from when I was young. I was in the minority of people who were involved in politics in their teens. As Scott Barrie and other members said, young people throughout the country are involved in politics, but they are involved in campaigning and community politics. That is the difference.

The big difference between young people now and when many of us were young relates to the point that Cathy Jamieson and Lyndsay McIntosh made about the attitude in the past that young people should be seen and not heard. We have heard about that in the debate. A big change has taken place—young people want to be involved. They want to be heard and they want not only to be heard, but to be listened to, so that they have an opportunity to shape the policies that will affect them. They want to have the power to contribute to policy making. They want to be listened to, so that their voice makes a difference.

North Lanarkshire Council has recognised the need to work with young people and to develop services. It was one of the first local authorities in Scotland to produce a youth strategy. Unlike Duncan Hamilton, who has left the chamber, I believe that we need strategies, not only for young people, but for many different issues. North Lanarkshire Council's strategy was developed in partnership with young people. That was a true partnership; it did not pay lip service to young people. They were involved in shaping the strategy, they have ownership of the document and I am sure that, as time goes on, they will have the confidence to ensure that the strategy is acted on and built on. North Lanarkshire Council recently held its first annual youth conference, which Cathy Jamieson attended and which was a huge success. Other youth events, such as the recent youth voice conference in Cumbernauld College, have given politicians and the people who are involved in delivering youth services a clear indication of what young people want.

Young people want to be involved. They want politicians who are approachable and who make young people a priority. They want the opportunity to make contributions that they value. They also make it clear that they want politicians who listen to them. A point that arose at one of the conferences last week was that politicians talk a good game, but do not always follow up on the tactics on which they expound at meetings.

Robin Harper mentioned school councils for primary schools. Such councils are in action and are happening in my constituency. The youth community forums in the North Lanarkshire Council area are in their early days, but they exist. We must build on those examples of good practice.

I regularly visit schools and youth clubs in Cumbernauld and Kilsyth. One thing that is missing there, which seems to be missing everywhere in Scotland, is a skateboard park. Skateboarding and inline skating are popular sports. In conjunction with the council, I gathered about 16 names of young people who were interested in the development of a skateboard park. We wrote to those 16 young people to ask them to come together to discuss their requirements for the park. To our surprise and great pleasure, 100 young people turned up at the hall. The news of the meeting had spread like wildfire. Instead of skateboarders from only the Kilsyth area, there were skateboarders from throughout Cumbernauld and Kilsyth. They wanted to take part and to shape the development of the park and they did not want anyone to do that for them.

Every MSP has a responsibility to work with young people and to be as accessible as possible. We must communicate with young people in different ways, not through surgeries at the end of the week, but through e-mail, the internet and text messages. We must communicate with young people in their terms. It would help all members if we learned to communicate in those terms.

The Scottish youth parliament is an excellent forum. The members of that parliament from Cumbernauld and Kilsyth and Lanarkshire—I do not know whether any of them are in the public gallery—have been active in encouraging North Lanarkshire Council to develop its youth strategy. In 1995—the days before local authority reorganisation—we spoke about producing a youth strategy. It took a committed councillor, Councillor Jean Jones, to engage with young people and to make the youth strategy happen. I congratulate the members of the Scottish youth parliament, particularly those from Lanarkshire.

I hope that this welcome debate will encourage more young people to be heard and that it will change opinions and encourage more adults to engage with young people at their level.

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Plenary, 01 May 2002

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