Young people fighting for their rights

Young people often find themselves on the receiving end of bad press, accused of a lack of interest in the community or politics. VICTORIA RAIMES talks to four who have taken a stand and are making their voices heard for themselves and others in the community and further afield

Tom Sparks

Tom, 18, from Fairmilehead, is a speaker and advocate for Amnesty International. He aims to teach young people about their human rights and highlight global issues relating to them. He plans to study law at Durham University from September and is a member of the Scottish Youth Parliament.

"I've always been interested in talking about human rights and the law, but I got heavily involved with Amnesty in 2005 when somebody in the year above set a group up at school.

"Today I am a regular school speaker, which means I go into different schools to talk about human rights issues. I'm particularly interested in Guantanamo Bay and illegal detention. The last speech I gave was at my old school, James Gillespie's High, talking about human trafficking.

"I think it's incredibly important that young people know all about their human rights and how to maintain them. Young people can be treated differently if the person is under the impression that they will cause trouble, but I think this is often very short- sighted.

A tiny minority are out to make a nuisance of themselves, but they're often the only ones that get highlighted.

"I don't think I have as much trouble as a lot of teens – amusingly I think my English accent makes me seem like I'm a 'good' one – but I have had incidents where somebody older has eyed me up and crossed the road. I find that extremely upsetting.

"Personally, I feel the lack of respect some people seem to have for younger people is then adopted by the younger people in a vice versa sense. The solution might seem simple but it takes a lot of work, raising awareness about the reality of the situation."

Dean Loughton

Dean, 21, from Muirhouse, wanted to speak up but he had nowhere to get his voice heard. His solution? Create his own conference.

"From about 2005, I've been speaking to people in my local area about what we would like to see and develop through the Pilton Youth and Children's Project, but hardly anything ever got done.

"In particular we had gripes with school meals – something that my friend Caryn Lumsden has been dedicated to changing – because they were tasteless, unhealthy and ugly. We also had issues with education, jobs, youth spaces in the community and street lighting – it's no wonder that elderly people were threatened by our presence when we were lurking in dark corners.

"So I decided to organise a Look Who's Talking Now conference, at Murrayfield Stadium, where young people in North Edinburgh could air their views. It took about a year to organise, but it was worth the wait because over 150 local teens and residents and a number of politicians showed up.

"Lots of people spoke out and several local organisations, such as the Pilton Partnership, helped us to make some progress. We feel it bridged the gap of the misunderstandings held by the elderly and youths to a degree.

"Now we're travelling around schools in places such as Royston, Broughton and Granton to encourage pupils to speak out too. Without making our points we're not going to achieve anything."

Jordan Irvine

Jordan, 20, from Muirhouse, didn't like the way adults viewed teens in his local community. So he decided to highlight that younger people are not bad through a dramatic play that looked at the different stereotypes that exist in society. It was shown at the Edinburgh Fridge last July. Jordan is also chair of the North Edinburgh Forum.

"I've heard some teenagers have had very bad experiences in my local area. They were perceived as 'hoodies' or a 'gang' but the reality couldn't have been further from the truth. It is this kind of negative perception that I was trying to quash with a play.

"It was called Barrie, Radge and Mingin', which means 'Good, Mad and Horrible' and it delved into issues that a lot of kids in the area had with things such as drugs, rubbish-ridden streets and excessive dog waste.

"Despite our concerns, we found that a lot of the time we weren't taken seriously. The stereotype suggests we're out to cause trouble but a large amount of the community are harmless teens who care about the area they live in.

"So we decided to get this message across in a dramatic way. We set up a play at North Edinburgh Arts Centre that was different to most as we took the audience inside and outside to give a realistic map of our lives. We also set the different groups in society – the older generation, police and so-called hoodies – in clusters around the hall and we let the audience view everybody's perspective, which pointed out a lot of the misunderstandings.

"Altogether, we got about 120 people through the doors and we got a lot of positive feedback. I think people found it refreshing to get a different perspective.

"I can understand why older members of the community might be wary of teens, but more often than not the stigma is unfair. I hope the play made that clear.

"A teenager walking down the road is far more likely to help an elderly woman than take her purse. That's the message we want to get across."

Khristina Radhi

Khristina, 18, a pupil at Royal High School, is a Sports Ambassador for Edinburgh Leisure. She champions all sorts of different activities for teenagers to encourage an active and healthy lifestyle.

"I've always been into sports, mainly football and athletics, but a lot of people, especially girls, don't seem to follow my pattern. So when one of the PE teachers at my school said they were looking for people to ambassador sport, I was keen to get involved. I went away for a couple of days with a friend to meet other people keen on the project and get a bit of training.

"Since then I have been promoting sports in Edinburgh, starting with my school, but it's going to get bigger.

"Currently we are travelling to primary schools such as Blackhall and Clermiston. There aren't enough people involved in physical activities, so we're trying to match people up with sports they are suited to and put across the idea that girls can be involved in all sports.

"I'm not sure why it is, but girls often don't seem as committed to physical hobbies, so we're trying to change this attitude. My job is about raising awareness of the benefits of sport and encouraging people to give them a go. If somebody wants to join a volleyball club, we'll find one."

FIND YOUR VOICE

NOBODY ever listens to me! Why am I always ignored? How come they don't take us seriously?

Young Scots often complain that their voices go unheard. It is true that youths can get a bad press. But a conference organised by the Evening News hopes to turn the tables and give teens the confidence and power to speak up.

To tie in with the general election, we are supporting the Gathering at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre for 14-18-year-olds, on 18 February, between 2-4pm.

It gives young people the chance to put forward their questions and air their concerns to a host of political names, including John Loughton, Big Brother winner and former chairman of the Scottish Youth Parliament, Iain Gray MSP and leader of the Scottish Labour Party, Robin Harper MSP and co-convener of the Scottish Green Party, and Nico Juetten, parliamentary officer for Scotland's Commissioner for Children & Young People.

Reserve your place for free by contacting [email protected] or tel:[phone].