More than 1000 young people involved in The Wood Foundation’s Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) will celebrate their achievements
The biggest annual gathering of pupils from across Scotland is set to take place in Perth later this month.
More than 1000 young people involved in The Wood Foundation’s Youth and Philanthropy Initiative (YPI) will celebrate their achievements at the Perth Concert Hall.
They will be joined by a further 200 delegates from education, third and public sectors for an afternoon of inspirational talks, performances and music.
Jonathan Christie, deputy UK director of the Wood Foundation, said: “The YPI National Event is a celebration like no other. It’s a chance to showcase best practice, inspire next steps, applaud achievement and raise awareness.
“This year’s theme is Generation Change. The world is changing at an incredible pace and those who are, and will be, impacted most are our young people. Empowering, representing, listening and responding to the voice of this generation is important for now and the future to foster local and global communities committed to the betterment of social, environmental and economic issues. We hope our speakers and performers on the day inspire young people to think about the role they have to play in creating the communities of the future.”
The event’s keynote speakers are social justice and human rights campaigner Amal Azzudin and social entrepreneur Alan Mahon. Entertainment will be provided by Edinburgh singer-songwriter Callum Beattie.
More than 15 schools will also take to the stage to represent the issues they secured YPI grants for and share what they have achieved through the programme this academic year, as well as challenging their peers to consider how they will continue their own philanthropy.
Azzudin was one of the Glasgow Girls in her school years who campaigned on behalf of classmates facing asylum issues. She has continued to be an advocate and activist and now works in the third sector.
She said: “I am really excited and looking forward to being part of the YPI event. I believe that it is vital for young people to have a safe space where they can engage, discuss and share ideas regarding issues that they care about. Young people have the ability, courage and bravery to create positive change for themselves and others. They just need the opportunity, platform and determination to do so.”
The active citizenship programme was introduced to Scotland in 2008 by The Wood Foundation. Since then, almost £4m has been awarded to grassroots, social service charities championed by young people. In the region of 175,000 young people have been empowered and the programme is currently active in 250 Scottish secondary schools.
This year alone, more than 30,000 young people have taken part in YPI with £750,000 being shared among hundreds of charities in each of Scotland’s 32 local authority regions. An entire year group in a school take part. The young people are tasked with researching issues impacting their communities, identifying local charities and creating impactful, creative and convincing presentations. One group from each school will secure £3000 for the charity of their choice.
The event takes place on Wednesday 19 June.
