Maureen picks up lifetime award for youth work

Orkney youth worker Maureen Herdman has received the ‘Lifetime Achievement Award for Youth Work’ at the National Youth Work Awards 2018 run by YouthLink Scotland.

Maureen is well known in the community, having worked for 26 years as a youth worker with Orkney Islands Council’s Community Learning and Development (CLD) Team, the last 10 years as Area Youth Worker and as Award Group worker for the Youth Achievement Group running out of Stromness. She also worked for ten years as Area Youth Worker for Orkney with Youth Scotland.

The National Youth Work Awards celebrate youth work and the youth workers who make a difference in the lives of young people every year.

Kerry Spence, Team Leader of the CLD team at the Council: “We originally nominated Maureen for the ‘Community Based Youth Work’ award. We received an email around two weeks before the award saying her application wasn’t successful and would not be progressing to the next stage.

“Little did we know, the panel had taken her application out of the category we put her in for, and placed her in the 'Lifetime Achievement category. We’re absolutely delighted for her and I am sure I reflect the sentiments of all the young people she has worked with over the years when I say it’s a fitting result.”

Maureen says: “I’d like to say a huge thank you to all the young people I have worked with, past, present and future, and also the great many youth workers I have worked with over the years.“This award would not have been possible without you all. If I could, I would give you all an award.

“Also the great team at CLD who have put up with me for so many years! I’m also grateful for my 10 years at Youth Scotland, as Area Youth Worker, which gave me the opportunity to bring some really innovative training and events to Orkney.

“Thank you everyone, I am a lucky person to get an award for something I love doing.”

Maureen is the second member of Orkney’s CLD team to pick up national awards in recent years – last year, Ernie Skea, Community Learning and Development Officer, was awarded a Special Commendation in the ‘Ros Clark Support Worker of the Year’ award at the 2017 Scottish Youth Parliament Awards, for his work with Orkney Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs) and encouraging young people to get involved in the forum.