A Youth Voice Network for Scotland

October 2023-2026

On behalf of the Electoral Commission, Children in Scotland is running the Youth Voice Network for Scotland. This group is working to increase the knowledge and understanding of democracy and politics amongst young people, while supporting consistency in political education.

The project is running from October 2023 until 2026, with the group meeting around four times per year. The group review programmes created by the Electoral Commission and presenting new ideas for projects they develop. The group will create resources for  the UK Parliament general election and the 2026 Scottish Parliament election.

June 2025: Recruiting new members 

From June to September 2025, we’re open to applications from young people aged 12 – 18 who are keen to share their views about what would help encourage more young people to participate in local and national democracy. 

The group meets during online and in-person sessions where members can meet new people, develop new skills and help make a difference in encouraging more young people to participate in Scotland’s democracy.  

Our current members have shared some of the qualities that would make a good addition to the group.  

“You should have open mind and be to hear out other opinions and points of views”.  

“Being able to commit to sessions as much as you can.” 

“Be a welcoming and friendly person who is keen to share their view on things that matter!” 

 How to apply 

If you want to apply to join the Youth Voice Network group, you can –

• Complete this application form 

• Send an email with your name, age and why you would like to join the group – this can be in drawing, video or audio format! 

If you’re aged 12 to 18, live in Scotland and are keen to find out more then download our information sheet. 

2024 General Election 

Members of the group created fantastic resources encouraging people to register to vote in the upcoming general election ahead of the registration deadline on 11:59pm on 18th June:

ED-YVN-animation-voter-reg-deadline (1)

Welcome To Your Vote Week 2025

The Youth Voice Network for Scotland helped to celebrate and raise awareness of the Welcome To Your Vote Week campaign 2025 which encourages young people across the UK to get involved and learn about voting and democracy.

The Youth Voice Network helped to set the theme for this year’s campaign – ‘Get Informed and Get Involved’. The theme encouraged young people to seek out information from reliable sources about how to vote and who you want to vote for.

Members of the Youth Voice Network helped to develop social media content, school posters and lesson plans to support Welcome To Your Vote Week.

Meeting Alison Thewliss

To mark Welcome To Your Vote week, the Youth Voice Network arranged an online meeting with former MP for Glasgow Central, Alison Thewlis.

The group asked Alison questions about what it’s like being an MP, the role of young people in elected politics and why accessible and reliable information is important to all voters in the UK.

We then created this blog reflecting on the session and Alison’s responses to our questions.

For more information on the project, please contact Parisa Shirazi on pshirazi@childreninscotland.org.uk