Young Roots

Young Roots Awards 2006/07

Over the past four years the Heritage Lottery Fund has awarded almost one million pounds to young peoples projects. In the 2006 / 2007 twelve awards were made to a wide variety young people led heritage projects, across Scotland. Click here to view a summary of these most recent awards.

YOUTHLINK SCOTLAND AND YOUNG ROOTS

Young Roots is a grant programme set up by the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) to help local youth organisations increase the involvement of young people in projects which promote the heritage of the United Kingdom. Young Roots is a 4-year programme with the potential to generate investment in the youth work sector of over 1.5 million over 4 years. The ultimate aim is for the Young Roots programme to become imbedded in the heritage lottery process.

Young Roots is a national programme funded through the HLF. The National Youth Agency (NYA) has been given responsibility to roll out this programme on a UK-wide basis. YouthLink Scotland has been licensed by the NYA to develop the Young Roots programme in Scotland.

Why is YouthLink Scotland involved in Young Roots?

The Young Roots programme invests in youth work by helping youth work organisations to develop a heritage aspect to their work. The Young Roots programme increases the capacity of youth work by providing funding to carry out youth work programmes which focus on heritage issues. Young Roots also enhances the role of youth work organisations by encouraging them to work in partnership with agencies they would not normally come into contact with such as heritage organisations.

Young Roots is aimed at organisations which already work with young people such as youth and community groups, youth associations and clubs. By targeting these groups, the Young Roots programme can reach young people who may not have been involved in heritage before.

The youth work programmes which receive funding are based on young people being involved at all levels of the programme, from the development of the project and the application for funding process through to the management of the funding when it has been approved.

What can Young Roots offer young people?

Involvement in the Young Roots programme enables young people to learn new skills, to gain invaluable experience of developing and managing cultural projects and for communities to observe their young people make a positive contribution to the communities in which they live.

Young Roots also increases the number of opportunities available to young people to improve their understanding of the past, and of the issues faced by previous generations. By raising interest in these areas Young Roots can assist young people to develop the knowledge and understanding they will need to help them to face the issues of today. It also provides a unique opportunity for young people to tackle sensitive issues such as sectarianism in a proactive manner, and to raise their profiles within their communities. By doing so, Young Roots gives young people an opportunity to contribute to the culture and heritage of future generations.

Advantages to heritage organisations

The Young Roots programme exposes heritage issues to a wider community. It also increases the involvement of young people in cultural activities and, where this experience is positive, helps to promote their lasting interest in culture and in their heritage.

Download Heritage Lottery Fund Fact Sheet.

For further information please contact Adrian Gibaut, Youth Roots Co-ordinator (Scotland) by e-mail on adriang@hlf.org.uk or by telephoning 0131 240 1590.