Two members of Orkney’s Youth Local Action Group (YLAG) attended the sixth European Rural Parliament and the inaugural European Rural Youth Parliament, held in October.
Iona Dundas and Jocelyn Downes, attended the three-day event held in Inverurie which saw around 350 delegates from across Europe come together to discuss how to improve life in rural communities.
Jocelyn had never attended an event like the European Rural Parliament (ERP) and said:
Parliament and politics can often be a really overwhelming topic for young people – personally I felt like I maybe didn't have enough to contribute or enough of an opinion on some topics. This week, and being a member of YLAG Orkney, has definitely proved me wrong. Young people's voices should be the loudest voices in the room!
Iona was a member of the Advisory Board which organised the programme for the Youth element of the ERP. They also sat on a panel at the end of the Youth Parliament to feed back to the rest of the “adult” delegates, and received a very warm reception for their comments on real change being possible if decision-makers were willing to take young people seriously. Iona said:
Attending the ERP really highlighted how the key issues we struggle with in Orkney, is a struggle felt across rural Europe. It showed how much actions need to taken and not just spoken about.
The YLAG is supported by OIC’s, Community Led Local Development team and Voluntary Action Orkney. Stuart Allison, OIC's Enterprise Manager and Vice Chair of the Local Action Group and Eilidh Wilkinson, VAO's Youth Development Coordinator attended the event. Eilidh said:
I’m incredibly proud of Iona and Jocelyn – they represented Orkney and the YLAG exceptionally well and made important contributions over the course of this week. I can’t wait to see where they and the YLAG go next!
The YLAG is looking for new members. If you are aged between 16-30 and would like to get involved - please get in touch. There may be a topic of particular interest to you, or you have some ideas on how to make Orkney the best place possible, join the YLAG and help bring about change.
For more information you can find Orkney YLAG on Facebook and Instagram, or email eilidh.wilkinson@vaorkney.org.uk.
