Young people from across northern Scotland meet at alliance event

Seven young people from Orkney joined peers from seven other council areas across northern Scotland recently to talk about issues affecting them.

High on the list for discussion at the Northern Alliance Youth Event held at UHI Inverness campus were mental health, climate change, education, and the shape of youth participation and inclusion of young people in decision making locally, regionally and nationally.

The Northern Alliance is a ‘regional collaboration’ between eight local authorities across the North and West of Scotland who hold a shared vision to make a difference to the lives of children and young people.

The Orkney contingent met up with peers from Moray, Western Isles, Highland, Shetland, Argyll and Bute, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen council areas.

Staff from the Council’s Community Learning and Development team and Connect were also there to help capture key ideas and challenges highlighted at the event.

Shannon Kane was one of the young people at the event, representing Orkney Youth Café: “It was a very enjoyable experience and a great opportunity to hear what has been happening across authorities in the Northern Alliance, and to meet new people.”

Shannon was joined by Emily Winters, Maya Tams-Gray, Rhiannon O’Hagan, Mac Cook, Thomas Foreman and Archie Donaldson.

Cheryl Rafferty, Community Learning and Development Officer for Orkney Islands Council, also attended the event: “It was excellent to be able to work alongside colleagues and young people across the Northern Alliance to network and talk about how the Northern Alliance can move forward in addressing youth participation across the region.”

Find out more about the Northern Alliance on their twitter feed @NAllianceScot.