Volunteering in the Year of Young People

Young people will help create a 10 year plan for volunteering in Scotland.

As part of the Year of Young People, Communities Secretary Angela Constance has confirmed investment of up to £172,380 to develop a National Youth Volunteering Design Team in partnership with ProjectScotland and Young Scot.

Up to 25 young volunteers from a variety of backgrounds across Scotland will lead work to develop recommendations to help the Scottish Government ensure that by 2028, more people volunteer than do not.

Making the announcement at the Gathering 2018, Ms Constance said:

“Volunteering is such a rewarding experience both for the volunteer and for our communities.

“This is an innovative and dynamic approach to increasing volunteering opportunities, especially for young people. Our commitment to equality and diversity underpins our approach to promoting volunteering and we want to increase such opportunities.

“Our Programme for Government promises to be bold in our vision for volunteering and to work with young people to better understand their aims and motivations. There’s no better time to do that than the Year of Young People.”

Dured Alhalabe, Founder of the Amal Project, volunteer from Aberdeenshire, and Young Scot Award winner said:

"Volunteering has been so important to me. Volunteering brings people together, helps to develop new skills and makes our communities stronger. I think it's great that other young people, like me, will have a direct say in developing the new strategy, so we can find new ways to encourage more young people get involved in volunteering."

Background

The 2018 Programme for Government sets out our vision for volunteering.  We want more people to volunteer than do now and to ensure those who do not currently volunteer have increased opportunities to do so.

In response to this commitment, we are working with stakeholders to develop an outcomes framework for volunteering in order to:

• Set out clearly and in once place a coherent and compelling narrative for volunteering;
• Define the key outcomes, and supporting outcomes, desired for volunteering in Scotland over the next 10 years;
• Identify the key data and evidence that will inform, indicate and drive performance at a national and local level;
• Allow debate and decision about the optimal combination of programmes, investments and interventions.

The NYVDT, supported by Project Scotland and Young Scot will ensure young volunteers are at the heart of developing our approach.