Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Success at national youth work awards
Airdrie woman Beth-Anne Logan was rewarded for her work with youth advocacy group Today Not Tomorrow (TNT) as she was named the winner of the youth participation category at the national youth work awards.
She was among the founders of the group, giving a voice to care-experienced young people to ensure they can influence the decisions affecting them.
They secured funding from the Life Changes trust to establish a “champions’board”in North Lanarkshire, gaining support from the council.
Beth-Anne came through the care system herself and was nominated for the awards event – run by YouthLink Scotland – by council employee Liz Fergus.
She said:“I was absolutely overwhelmed to be nominated, and even more overwhelmed and delighted to actually win.
“I’m incredibly lucky to be able to work alongside so many amazing young people in TNT who are committed to raising the profile of care-experienced people in North Lanarkshire and who are determined to change the care system for the better.”
Beth-Anne is also a North Lanarkshire ambassador for the current year of young people; and is a board member of Children’s Hearings Scotland, one of the youngest appointees to a non-departmental public body.
Meanwhile, the 11 young members of the #TransplantStories team covering last summer’s British Transplant Games in North Lanarkshire were runners up in the digital youth work category at the awards.
Drawn from schools, employability hubs and modern apprenticeships, they teamed up with the University of the West of Scotland and the council’s community learning and development team for the three-month project, learning online journalism, social media, podcasting and video editing.
They reported on all aspects of the four-day Games, which attracted hundreds of competitors from across Britain, gaining Saltire and Dynamic Youth awards for their contributions.