Young people asked for their views on future of the isles

Young people will be asked for their views on the future of the isles at the Shetland Youth Voice group on Monday.

More than 30 people aged between 12 and 25 representing schools and other organisations across Shetland will attend the event, where they will discuss a range of issues they feel may affect young people today and in the future. 

The group will also take part in workshops and presentations delivered by councillors and Shetland’s members of the Scottish Youth Parliament on a range of matters including “Our Islands Our Future” and this year’s independence referendum which will be open to 16 year olds for the first time.

Shetland Youth Voice wants to make sure young people’s needs are met within council services as well as giving young people ownership on issues which affect them, and to develop skills for learning, life and work.

The launch at the Janet Courtney Hostel will mark the start of the group’s work this year – which will see representatives meet at regular intervals to discuss various topics before feeding their views back to elected officials and community planning organisations.

While Shetland Youth Voice has been established for almost a decade, the emphasis this year is to include representatives from outside schools, such as the North Atlantic Fisheries College, Shetland College and the Bridges Project – an SIC service for young people aged 15 to 19, helping them return to education, training and/or employment.