Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Reception honours youngsters’ success
Valued contributions
North Lanarkshire’s provost, Jean Jones, welcomed guests to a special reception to celebrate Year of Young People success stories.
Hundreds attended the gathering at Motherwell’s civic centre to highlight the achievements of youngsters across the region, valuing their contribution to communities and creating new opportunities for them to enjoy.
Provost Jones said: “The Year of Young People has seen an increase in participation of youngsters attending events and contributing to their local communities by volunteering their time.
“In North Lanarkshire we recruited more than 20 Year of Young People ambassadors to support the programme of activities locally.
“The ambassadors have secured several thousand pounds of funding to put on some amazing youth events and activities throughout the year, such as the Riggfest outdoor learning festival which took place in July in Palacerigg Country Park – attracting over 200 young people.”
One ambassador named Lucy, from Coatbridge, said: “The Year of Young People has been the most amazing opportunity of my life. This has opened up so many doors for me and has broadened my horizons.
“It was amazing to be able to have the chance to showcase the outstanding work that young people in North Lanarkshire, and Scotland do.
“I have presented and spoken to large groups all over the country, organised music festivals and volunteered at awesome events such as the European Championships.”
Provost Jones added: “We are keen to ensure a lasting legacy and I know that work is underway to develop ideas to take forward into 2019.”