Being Young Is not a Crime – Scottish Youth Parliament sitting March 2009, Dunfermline
A group of young people from the Highlands went down to the Scottish Youth Parliament Sitting which took place on Saturday 14 - Sunday15 March 2009 in Dunfermline. The theme for the sitting was ‘Being Young is not a Crime’.
This was the last sitting for elected MSYPs for the Highland area, Phi Macdonald, Inverness, Gillian Slider, Ullapool, and Jessica Sweeney, Beauly, who have all been very active MSYPs and have worked hard through the last 2 years of the parliament.
Four other young people who are interested in standing for SYP were also given the opportunity to go down to the sitting. Magnus Monahan from Dornoch, Esther Richards from Scourie, Siobhan McCulloch from Ullapool, and Fraser Thomson from Cromarty all got the chance to see what the SYP and their sittings are all about. The group were involved in planning a session in a local shopping centre where young people from SYP offered older people cups of tea and a chat about being young and old.
Magnus Monaghan from Dornoch, said: “I thought the weekend sparked many interesting debates. The campaign of ‘being young is not a crime’ is an excellent idea and I’m sure it will be a great success.”
Esther Richards from Scourie said “S.Y.P is very active and they actually do things rather than just talk about doing things. The sitting was friendly with a wide range of things to do in it. There are lots of dedicated people involved. I thought it was worthwhile going to and I will stand for election.”
Siobhan McCulloch from Ullapool said: “I think S.Y.P. is a good idea and should be continued as it gets young people involved in their community and also teaches them skills they will need in later life. Things like speaking in front of a large group of people with confidence.”
Fraser Thomson from Cromarty said: “S.Y.P is very good because you get to meet different people who get you motivated and its great banter. I had a fantastic weekend and now plan to stand as an MSYP”.
Highland Council Youth Development Officer for Ullapool, Yvonne Boa has been supporting young people in SYP for the last 2 years. She said: “It has been great working with Gillian, Phi and Jessica and getting to know them and I hope they will stay in touch and come to some sittings in the future. Also well done for Gillian Slider,who was the previous Highland Youth Convener, on gaining an award to ‘The Fellowship of SYP’ for all her hard work.”