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17 February 2025
The Presiding Officer is visiting Barrhead and Clydebank in the West Scotland region this month to meet local people to talk about their Scottish Parliament.
The visits continue a series of events in each of the eight Scottish parliamentary regions to mark the Scottish Parliament’s 25th anniversary. The events are to hear people’s reflections on the Parliament and to understand more about what they want from their Parliament in the future. They will also reflect on 25 years of devolution and the impact of the Parliament on local communities.
Taking place on Monday 24 February, the visits has been set up in collaboration with local community groups and projects including Dunterlie Action Group and West Dunbartonshire Youth Council. Both events involve ‘getting to know you’ activities between the local community and the Parliament.
The first part of the visit will see the Presiding Officer and West Scotland MSPs visit the Dunterlie Resource Centre. The visit will be hosted by Dunterlie Action Group and local community groups and is an opportunity to hear about what’s happening in the area.
In the evening, the Presiding Officer and MSPs have been invited along to a celebration at Clydebank Town Hall. As part of the visit, West Dunbartonshire Youth Council Equalities Committee want to showcase local projects and activities through a range of interactive stalls.
Speaking ahead of the visit, Presiding Officer Rt Hon Alison Johnstone MSP said:
“I’m excited to continue our visits across Scotland to meet with local people and to hear their views on the Parliament and their aspirations for its future. I’ve so far visited five regions across the country from Shetland to Hawick.
“I’m really pleased we’ve partnered with local groups on this visit to Barrhead and Clydebank and I’m looking forward to hearing more about how the Parliament can best represent people in West Scotland and to hear more about the exciting community projects that are taking place here.
“Scotland’s Parliament belongs to its people and it’s vital their voices are heard and help shape the Parliament’s future.”
Rena McGuire from the Dunterlie Action Group said:
“We are excited that the Dunterlie community has been invited to be part of the Scottish Parliament's 25th anniversary celebrations.
“The event will be a great opportunity to celebrate all the amazing work that is being done in the area by local groups and to share Dunterlie Action Group's aims for the future of the centre, and the wider community with those attending from the Parliament.
“It will also be a great chance for local people and groups to find out more about the Parliament and how it works, and how they can help shape their Parliament's future.”
Fergie and Lauren Horner, Chair and Vice Chair from the West Dunbartonshire Youth Council said:
“We are grateful to be given the opportunity to work with the Parliament to plan this event and show off the work people from the community put in to offer opportunities for young people, while also showing off the amazing work that young people in the area contribute to. This offer also allows us to inform more people of issues we think need more recognition and also introduce young people to different resources and programmes offered in the community.
“From this opportunity we would like the hard work that the young people of West Dunbartonshire put in to help support the community to be shown off and ensure they get the recognition they deserve. We hope to inspire change through this event and help inform fellow young individuals of ongoing issues that we are campaigning against.”
The West of Scotland visit is the sixth of eight planned events across Scotland for the Presiding Officer to meet communities to hear about the issues they care about and encourage more people to join in with the work of the Scottish Parliament, as it marks 25 years.
The West Dunbartonshire Youth Council was started in 2019 after the unsuccessful candidates of the MSYP elections still wanted to make a difference in the local community. As a collective they decided to use their passion for making a change into a local youth group that advocates and aids young people in the local authority. Since then the WDYC has grown from the small group it once was into a group of passionate and inspired young individuals.
Since the creation of the WDYC it has led countless successful campaigns throughout West Dunbartonshire including , Shameless Youths, Friends of STEM & Curious in Nature. To help plan these campaigns, runs consultations in the local authority targeting young people aged 11-25.
Linda Peters
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