Orkney's two future MSYPs announced

Nymeria Drayak and Iain Pretswell will take over the reigns as Orkney’s Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs) from early next year.

Between them, they will put inclusivity, an anti-bullying culture, access to services and environmental issues high on their agendas over their two years serving Orkney’s young people.

They will start their roles as MSYPs on 1st February 2024, taking over from current MSYP Kaydence Drayak who remains in the seat until then.

There was no MSYP vote count in Orkney this year as part of the national election process, as Nymeria and Iain were uncontested.

However, Cheryl Rafferty, OIC's Youth Services team leader within the Council's Community Learning, Development and Employability service, says Orkney has two representatives with passions and causes often cited by young people:

"The Scottish Youth Parliament provides a national platform for young people to discuss issues important to them and to help highlight where rural communities face specific challenges and differences.

“SYP members have been hugely influential in some key changes in the last few years, including votes for 16-year-olds in Scotland, equal marriage for the LBGQTI community, and improved public transport services for Scotland’s young people such as reduced fares, increased accessibility for disabled passengers, and higher bus standards.

“I look forward to working with our new MSYPs to them to help them channel their passion and energy within their roles as MSYPs and bring about they change they want to see.”

Ian Pretswell, 17, from South Ronaldsay, says the main motivator for him in getting involved with the Scottish Youth Parliament and standing to become an MSYP was the need to ‘help start change and make others feel heard’. He explains: “Starting new dialogues is imperative, as is continuing to participate in ones which impact younger generations the most. The opportunity to improve the lives of those around me is something which would be fulfilling.”

Iain campaigned on the basis of three keys issues:

• Issue 1: Anti-Bullying in Orkney
• Issue 2: United Nations Rights of The Child awareness
• Issue 3: Environmental Law - Accountability in relation to the environment

Nymeria Drayak, 15, from South Ronaldsay, says the issues she stood for are ones she is ‘passionate and enthusiastic’ about, and confident she can contribute to: “I have been part of the Orkney Youth Forum since 2021 which has given me skills to create change in a way that includes young people. I believe I have the skills and the experience needed to be a fabulous MSYP and represent the young people in Orkney.”

Nymeria named her three keys issues during the campaigning stage as:

• Issue 1: Raising awareness of accessibility issues in Orkney
• Issue 2: Healthcare provision such as Paediatricians and Orthodontists
• Issue 3: Inclusive education

Councillor Gwenda Shearer is Chair of the Council’s Education, Leisure and Housing committee: “There’s no doubt we are living through immense change and ongoing hardships for many in our community, and young people’s voices must be heard when it comes to truly making progress.

“I’d urge our two new MSYPs to grasp this opportunity and make good use of the platform they’ve been awarded to challenge all decision makers, local and national, and help ensure change is for the better for our young people.”

Cheryl adds: “The announcement of Scotland’s new MSYPs was delayed a week, due to technical difficulties with votes cast from mobile devices. However as there was no vote in Orkney, we’re not impacted and so we can announce the county’s MSYP elects now. We’ll be working with Iain and Nymeria to support them ahead of their formal start date in February and prepare them for their new roles.”