BB Scottish Youth Parliamentary Elections
Tuesday 6th June 2017For the first time, The Boys’ Brigade in Scotland will elect two Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament to represent BB young people for the next two years.
The Scottish Youth Parliament
The Scottish Youth Parliament (SYP) represents Scotland’s young people. It is made up of democratically elected members, aged 14-25, from all over Scotland. SYP’s vision for Scotland is of a nation that actively listens to and values the meaningful participation of its children and young people. It encourages all of Scotland’s young people to play their part in achieving our vision and provide a national platform for their participation in democracy.
Role of MSYP
BB MSYPs will represent the views of young people aged 14 – 25 from across the organisation. In addition to attending three parliamentary sittings per year, they will help inform young people on a range of issues and particular campaigns, such as Votes at 16 and young people’s mental health.
You can expect to hear more from them in the likes of social media, the website, Gazette and other channels. In addition, they are very likely to attend various events, such as Queen’s Badge courses.
How did the candidates come forward?
Notification about the election had been announced through the BB Gazette, monthly newsletters, YLN update and through other channels. Once interest had been expressed, candidates were asked to complete an ‘expression of interest’ form as well as agreeing to the election code of conduct. Candidates have also attended an information session where they learned about the requirements about becoming an MSYP, key personal attributes and the election process itself.
In preparation for that event, each candidate prepared by outlining what issues would be a priority to them and how they would consult other BB young people.
The only additional criteria was that they were a BB young person aged between 14 and 25 and active within the organisation.
Following the information session, three candidates decided to take the process forward.
Our Candidates
There are three candidates for our election. Please take time to find out more about the candidates. Their candidate profiles are available here.
BB Election
Unlike the majority of the country (which voted earlier this year), the BB election will take place during the whole of this week from 7am on Monday 12th June until 7pm on Sunday 18th June. (Our election is later as the BB has only recently been welcomed as an SYP National Voluntary Organisation.)
Our election will take an ‘electoral college’ format, meaning that each company, senior and young leaders’ section in Scotland will have an ‘elector’. The elector will vote for the candidate based on the views of the young people in their particular age group section. The two candidates with the most votes will be elected to the Scottish Youth Parliament.
(Young Leaders section refers to the BB young leaders aged 18 – 25 in a company.)
Voting will take place online and results will be announced on Monday 19th June at noon.
Every captain or correspondent has been emailed with full voting instructions and a link to be made available to the Elector representing the relevant sections. (This link can also be accessed by emailing niall.rolland@boys-brigade.org.uk )
The voting link will go live from 7am on Monday 12th June and close at 7pm on Sunday 18th June.
It is appreciated that regular BB activities may have stopped now for this session, making it more difficult to consult BB young people. Please consider, however, how best to engage the views of BB members through other communication channels. The candidate profiles and video introductions are available via the website.
Any questions?
Should you wish to find out more about the Scottish Youth Parliament, you can visit its website, or alternatively, call 0131 557 0452.
For questions relating to the BB election, please contact the Election Coordinator, Niall Rolland, by emailing niall.rolland@boys-brigade.org.uk or calling 01324 562008.
