Highland Youth Local Action Group (YLAG) set to be formed to give young people a greater say in tackling social issues

Young people in the Highlands are being offered the chance to have their voices heard in tackling social issues with the formation of a new group.

The Highland Youth Local Action Group (YLAG) will bring together young people aged 16 to 30 interested in improving opportunities in rural areas..

It will be responsible for setting its own priorities and delivering a Youth Action Fund to support youth projects.

It is expected to distribute £25,000 in its first year.

The YLAG will be formed under the existing Highland Strategic Local Action Group (LAG), which is made up of cross-sector representatives and responsible for allocating the Highland Council’s community-led local development funding.

The first Highland YLAG residential trip will take place at the end of May bringing together prospective members to learn from the experiences of the neighbouring Cairngorms YLAG.

They will then meet online to manage the fund by scoring applications and awarding grant allocations.

Across Scotland, YLAGs have enabled young people to be involved in decision-making and empowered them to tackle pertinent social issues.

The new Highland group will join a national network of YLAGs which have been successful in the Cairngorms, Orkney, Outer Hebrides, Forth Valley, Lomond, Fife and the Borders.

Scotland’s first Rural Youth Action Network Residential took place in Inverness last month when existing groups shared their impact and explored future opportunities for collaboration, including at the European Rural Parliament taking place in Aberdeenshire in autumn.

Those interested in joining Highland YLAG should apply by April 30 to the Highlands and Islands Climate Hub which is helping to launch the project along with Highland Council’s economic regeneration team with funding from the Scottish Government.

Ashleigh Coghill, a graduate apprentice at the Highlands and Islands Climate Hub, said as a young person, the opportunity to form a YLAG in Highland was very exciting.

“Being empowered to tackle local issues through the Youth Action Fund will make progress in improving rural living according to the priorities of young people and attract others to the area to live and work,” Ashleigh commented.

“Being able to meet other young people passionate about rural action, both local to Highland and through the wider Scottish YLAG network, is really positive as well to share our collective ambitions and generate momentum for rural action on a national stage.”

Joan Lawrie, Highlands and Islands Climate Hub chief executive, said it was important to amplify the voices of young people.

“To have support from experienced YLAGs is an invaluable asset for my team too,” she said.

“As a member of the Highland Local Action Group, I’m excited to see the youth group develop a range of new skills which will set them up for their working life.

They’ll learn about lived experiences of young people across Highland and the projects they’ve designed to address issues most important to them.

“While I’ll have a specific interest in any climate action related projects, applications will be welcome from a huge range of projects which bring people together to address local issues and improve their local environment or community.”

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