In 2018, Scotland celebrated the Year of Young People (YoYP), with 12 months dedicated to showcasing the talents, voices and contributions of people aged eight to 26. At British Council Scotland we saw an opportunity to bring an international focus to the year and developed a series of related engagement activities and initiatives.
We created new international mobility opportunities for young people in partnership with the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations; and in partnership with Young Scot, we created and delivered ‘GlobeScotters’, a digital engagement campaign driven by our commitment to understand the international aspirations of young people in Scotland and any barriers they perceive. Much of our Globescotters content was created by young people themselves.
We are pleased to share our new report which captures our experiences and learning. As well as presenting an up-to-date overview of research on the importance of internationalism for young people, the report shares the findings of two online surveys we conducted with young people as part of the GlobeScotters campaign. Finally, we offer four recommendations for developing an internationally focused legacy from Scotland’s Year of Young People.
Our overall aim in engaging with the Year was to encourage young people in Scotland to embrace international experiences, connect with other cultures and engage with language learning. Not only do we know that this can bring real benefits to the social, educational and working lives of young people, it can help boost our economy and contribute towards a more outward-looking and globally connected society.
The findings from our surveys suggest that young people in Scotland largely agree. They consider international experience and intercultural understanding to be important; they acknowledge the career benefits of gaining language skills; they express enthusiasm in studying, working and living abroad in the future and, as a generation growing up online, they are acutely aware of the need to communicate with people across the world.
Check out the report to find out more. You can download it below.