Aberdeen youngsters amplify their voice with launch of Granite City Speaks
Denis Law Legacy Trust has launched a new youth forum which aims to give the young people of Aberdeen a louder voice in the city.
Granite City Speaks was initially founded last summer, in 2021, and has now taken shape to include 11 active participants with representation from Northfield, Mastrick, Torry, Garthdee, Kincorth and the City Centre.
Meetings are held monthly at Robert Gordon University, the home of Streetsport - the Trust’s flagship programme which is run in partnership with the university and has been present in Aberdeen communities since 2006.
As well as varying locations, the group also consists of young people with different backgrounds and occupations. Some are still at school while others are in further education or full-time work, allowing for a diverse range of views to be presented and brought forward for discussion.
Hannah Clews, Streetsport Development Manager at Denis Law Legacy Trust who leads Granite City Speaks (GCS), said: “The formation of GCS was born out us wanting to ensure the young people who attend our Streetsport programmes are listened to more in the city they grow up in.
“Many of them come to us with problems or concerns and we want them to have the ability to amplify their voices so that they themselves are heard, rather than having to rely on others to represent them indirectly.
“The members have shown a lot of commitment and desire and it’s been great to see it progress to the stage where we think GCS can create genuine and influential change for communities and young people in Aberdeen”.
While still learning how to be effective and influential leaders for their community, one of the first GCS tasks was to tackle the conversation around how many young people are described as “vulnerable learners” in school.
Following discussions about how this felt demeaning and somewhat offensive to people who are labelled as such, GCS worked in consultation with Reboot, an Aberdeen Foyer initiative, to understand how they could go about changing the language used at a Council level.
Other actions have included helping the Trust with fundraising ventures, such as the upcoming Kiltwalk, and feeding back to the organisation about how they could improve as a whole, from Streetsport’s carbon footprint to a litter pick initiative and advice in recruitment.
Some other major projects are waiting in the wings until the local elections are complete too, with GCS members keen to take their community’s newly elected councillors head on.
Funding, gratefully sought from the National Lottery Fund, has afforded the group to look the part in new hoodies and also enjoy a team-building day at Go Ape.
Pictured in their new Granite City Speaks hoodies are (L-R): Stacie, Frazier, Tegan, Lewis, Ella, JB, Neave and Ellis. Not able to be there on the day include: JL, Viktorija and Finlay.
Thanks must go to the forum members for their enthusiasm; Carol Logan, a fantastic volunteer for the Trust who helps GCS by minute-taking and much more; and Innovation@RGU’s Innovation Station which has acted as an ideal meeting space.
You can read more about GCS working with Reboot here.
