Soapbox: Happy birthday SYP - Jordan Linden MSYP

The Scottish Youth Parliament has a short but proud history of campaigning for change since its inception in June 1999, one day before the re-convening of our Scottish Parliament.

Our birthday - 30th June - was celebrated last fortnight as we turned sixteen. It’s fitting that we reflect and celebrate our sixteen years in the same year that Votes at 16, our longest running campaign, was made a reality for all future Scottish elections. 

We felt there would be no better way to celebrate it than to launch the consultation for our 2016-2021 manifesto, Lead the Way. Our previous manifesto consultation resulted in a staggering 42,804 responses, but we are thinking even bigger this time. 

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As the new chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament, I am ambitious for our amazing organisation. Through the hard work and determination of our incredible Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs), newly elected for their two-year term in March, we aim to deliver one of the largest ever consultation and engagement exercises with young people that Scotland, and hopefully the rest of the United Kingdom, has ever seen. 

If you’ll indulge me for a moment, I want to briefly reflect on the many proud achievements of the Scottish Youth Parliament over our short but eventful existence. 

From our role in campaigning for equal marriage, shining a beacon for equality and fairness for the future, to our instrumental role in delivering the vote for 16 and 17 years old in the Scottish Independence Referendum, where we truly engaged young people in a national discussion, to our campaign ‘Care. Fair. Share’ which secured significant policy changes for Scotland’s inspirational young carers. We have done so much but we look to the future with more to do.

However, the whole point of the Scottish Youth Parliament is that it isn’t about what I want; it’s about how we continue to ensure the voices of all young people are heard by Scotland’s decision makers. Our Lead the Way manifesto consultation is the first stop on the way to achieving future success.

Jordan Linden MSYP is the newly elected chair of the Scottish Youth Parliament