YouthLink Scotland, as the national youth work agency, supports and contributes to a wide range of networks across the youth work sector covering local authorities and voluntary organisations.
We support and facilitate the creation of networks, provide information, share good practice and influence national and local developments. YouthLink Scotland's work in promoting and developing networks includes the following:
The Members Network which brings together the youth work managers within local authorities and voluntary organisations. Seminar meetings are held 4 times per year. This key youth work grouping has discussed a range of issues including: Dialogue Youth, Scottish Youth Parliament, Child Protection, ACPOS Youth Strategy, Sexual Health Strategy, Sport 21 and local youth (work) strategies within community planning. A key feature of these seminars is an input from a member organisation on a current initiative/development within its youth work programme.
VOCOG (Voluntary Organisations Chief Officers Group)
The network support to voluntary organisations is provided by facilitating four meetings a year plus a residential for the chief officers of the national voluntary youth organisations. Information on key strategic developments is shared and discussed by the network and specific concerns of the voluntary youth sector are raised in this forum.
YouthLink Scotland has currently 46 national voluntary youth organisation members. For further membership details click here.
The Policy Forum supports policy development by YouthLink Scotland, enabling wide-ranging discussion within its meetings and across YouthLink's membership. Through the Forum, YouthLink Scotland reviews and promotes research, keeps abreast of international and national good practice, influences national policy and encourages good practice through published papers and other sources. The overall aim of the Policy Forum is to support the development of coherent youth policy and the Forum meets 5 times a year.
The Child Protection Group is a sub-group of the Policy Forum, involving expertise form both voluntary and local authority sectors and key bodies such as CRBS and SCVO. It keeps a watching brief on parliamentary legislation and Scottish Executive initiatives in the whole area of child protection to the benefit of our members.
Training Network
An e-network of professionals involed in the development and delivery of youth work training opportunities. To register for the Training Network contact Gillian Lithgow on glithgow@youthlink.co.uk.
Detached Youth Work Network
Detached Youth Workers have the opportunity to network through an e-discussion forum available here. YouthLink Scotland and its members in partnership with the Scotland's Commissioner for Children and Young People have also run annual events for detached youth workers. For further information contact Tim Frew on tfrew@youthlink.co.uk.
YouthLink Scotland supports the youth work element of the Community Learning and Development Managers (CLDMs) group and is in attendance at their meetings throughout the year. All 32 local authorities are members of YouthLink Scotland.
BME email network
On 14 February YouthLink Scotland held its first seminar on work with young people from BME backgrounds. The seminar attracted a wide range of organisations including those that are not members of YouthLink. The aim of the seminar was to bring together youth work organisations from across Scotland who engage young people from black and minority ethnic (BME) communities in their work.
We looked at common challenges to working with young people and discussed successful approaches that have been adopted. There was a presentation on the Building the Strengths Within Project which focussed on sharing learning experiences around young people from BME backgrounds who self harm. The seminar also provided a great opportunity for networking. Those present looked at possible next steps including being able to keep in touch via an email contact list.
For further information or if you would like your name added to the email distribution list please contact Ian Hay. Email: ihay@youthlink.co.uk
YouthLink Scotland can also signpost you to a range of other networks including:
Scottish Peer Education Network
Scottish Youth Housing Network
BEMIS
LGBT Youth Scotland