Participants visited the Royal Mile to find nearby evidence of cultural and political identity. This was followed by a discussion about their observations and experiences, and the potential stimulus that this activity could provide for pupils.
Click here to view the workshop briefing. Click here to view one group's observations and experiences, accompanied by the photo gallery to the right. |
‘Life in the UK’ - a journey to citizenship. Would you pass the test?
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What strategies can we use to engage and educate young people about politics and parliament?
The Outreach and Education team at Scottish Parliament ran three sessions:
Click here to download key information provided to participants. |
Negotiating
political identity
Facilitated by Lesley Emerson, Queen's University Belfast This workshop provided participants with the opportunity to explore ways in which young people can be engaged in negotiating the political contours of their society. It drew briefly on two initiatives currently operational in post-primary schools in Northern Ireland: ‘Civic Voices’ which engages young people in interviewing civic actors in their community; ‘From Prison to Peace’ which engages young people directly with political ex-prisoners who were involved in the Northern Ireland conflict. These short inputs were used as stimuli to discuss in more general terms ways in which young people can be facilitated in engaging critically with the full spectrum of political views in their communities and assisted in developing their own political identity. |
Young
people, democracy and citizenship
Facilitated by Jamie Dunlop and Gareth Brown, Scottish Youth Parliament The Scottish Youth Parliament is the national youth voice of Scotland, working with over 150 MSYPs in 32 Scottish Local Authorities and various National Voluntary Organisations. This workshop gave participants an insight into the work that the SYP does as an entirely youth-led organisation. The Scottish Youth Parliament engages with 10,000 young people each year on a range of topics including citizenship and democracy. Participants explored the interactive tools that the SYP will be using over the next 12 months to engage with young people on information around the Scottish Independence Referendum. |
Negotiating
individual and collective Identities across Europe through the lens of visual
art
Facilitated by Tony Murphy and Fiona King, National College of Art and Design, Ireland The first part of the workshop presented an overview of the Creative Connections project involving six partner countries in developing ‘connectedness’ and an understanding of European identity between schoolchildren across Europe. Through the Creative Connections website students were enabled to respond to their peers using visual artwork, as a way of expressing emotional and culturally symbolic ideas. The second element of the workshop facilitated the participants in exploring the structure, layout, function and quad blogging capacity of the Creative Connections website as a tool for teaching and learning. |