Young people lead the conversation in Edinburgh 

Earlier this month, young people in Edinburgh brought together members of their local community for a Community Conversation focused on the issues shaping their area.

This was a first of its kind for The Roots Programme and Rekindle – a session shaped and facilitated by young people from two very different schools and attended by a range of local community members from local residents, to councillors, community organisation and other young people. 

The two schools involved, Castle Brae Community Campus and George Watson’s College, were originally paired through a Roots Futures programme and have stayed connected since. In the lead-up, they came together again to take part in training and prepare to facilitate the conversation. Supported by The Roots Programme, with input from Rekindle Programme Coordinator Charli, they played an active role in holding the space and guiding discussion on the day.

What followed was a conversation that brought together people of different ages and backgrounds to reflect on their experiences of the city – what’s working, what isn’t, and what could be different. The presence and leadership of young people helped create an environment where others felt able to contribute openly, without the conversation becoming one-sided or limited to a single perspective and we are really proud of how they delivered the session.

I was very impressed with how comfortable the young people felt in speaking to adults, I know it can be daunting but they did a fantastic job. What stood out to me the most was how the youth thought they were portrayed to adults, that they thought that they tend to get a poor representation by the media (being online all the time, rude, etc) so it was interesting to hear how they are struggling to break that stigma.

– Morgane Perez-Huet

Participants spoke about the value of hearing experiences beyond their own, and the impact of being part of a space where these could be explored honestly. As one attendee shared:

The young people did a fantastic job. It can be intimidating hosting an event full of adults from across the community and many of who were coming along in a professional capacity. What stood out most to me was the comments ‘There isn’t enough for young people to do’ while others challenged this. One of the young people said that they didn’t feel there was enough for girls or those who didn’t want to do sport. It would be great to have a better understanding of what is out there, and if young people feel they can access it or not.

– Catherine Fyfe

These conversations are a reminder that when space is created with care, people are willing to engage with complexity – and that young people have a meaningful role to play in shaping how those conversations happen.

Illustrated minutes and a short report will be shared by the Roots Programme in the coming weeks.