summary of project

NYAAG, the National Youth Arts Advisory Group, are a group of young people supported by Creative Scotland and Young Scot to provide a youth voice and inform on the policy and provision of Scotland’s national youth arts strategy, Time to Shine.

Media Education worked with the group for two years in a consultancy role. We supported the group to develop their media skills, advocate for their views and opinions on the arts in Scotland, and develop their outreach role.

our approach

Together with the young people, we worked to create a fun and engaging workshop template, designed to get young people thinking about the role of the arts in society. The workshops encourage participating young people to form arguments about what they think about the arts and its role in their lives, and what barriers to access they may face.

We worked with the group to develop their facilitation skills, and to deliver a series of workshops and video consultation activities across Scotland. Our goal was to reach young people who, due to their circumstances, may not ordinarily have the opportunity to have their say.

In two years, the group produced over 30 films and created podcasts which have played on eight community radio stations across Scotland. The statements from young people in the workshops highlight the impact on mental health and wellbeing of cuts to arts provision, and are a powerful testament to the central role the arts play in personal development.