MSYP Trip to Shetland

Care Experienced MSYPs Hit the Ground Running in Shetland

Heather – WC?S MSYP Support worker

I had the honour of accompanying Charles and Oisín on their very first trip as new Members of the Scottish Youth Parliament (MSYPs) for Who Cares? Scotland, and what a fitting start for it to have been at the Festival in Care in Shetland.

Despite the best efforts of Storm Eunice, we made it safely there on a tiny plane, and were greeted warmly by the #SHETLANDCREW. Having seen the amazing work they’ve put into their group over the years, as well as how they’ve built and developed the Festival of Care, it was really powerful to see this first hand in Shetland, and I know that it made a huge impact on all the visitors who attended.

We can’t thank the #SHETLANDCREW enough for being such fantastic hosts, for involving us in important conversations at the Care Convention, and for setting our MSYPs up with loads of inspiring actions that they are eager to take forward with Scottish Youth Parliament! We hope we can visit again in the near future!

Heather

Oisín

Attending the Festival of Care was a fantastic way to kick-start our roles as MSYPs - making sure that those in faraway rural areas are being heard and listened to has always been important to me, so going to Shetland was a must!

Meeting the #SHETLANDCREW was just amazing! Learning about the sense of community and the importance of the relationships between them was aweinspiring. The hard work the #SHETLANDCREW have been doing is simply amazing, through this hard work they created a compelling book called ‘Take a walk in my shoes’, a book filled with love, truth and light, a book about home and belonging, but most of all a book that we can all connect with.

My favourite part of the whole trip was not only getting to see how high the waves were but getting to know the amazing young people and learning about their life on the Shetland Islands.

Charles

I had the amazing privilege to attend the third Festival of Care held in Lerwick, Shetland, for three days along with Oisín and Heather. It was a privilege meeting the members of the #SHETLANDCREW who are fighting tirelessly for the recognition of their rights as Care Experienced young people.

We had the opportunity to attend the part of the festival called the Care Convention where we met professionals from public office, the public sector, and other civil society groups. Together with the #SHETLANDCREW, we all worked to develop a set of recommendations which would be reviewed by the various stakeholders present in Shetland. These recommendations would greatly improve the lives of Care Experienced young people in Shetland and bolster relationships with Corporate Parents.

In our free time, we explored Lerwick and had the opportunity to meet the Shetland MSYPs who briefed us on Shetland slang, as well as what it’s like to be a young person in Shetland.

I was moved by the work that the #SHETLANDCREW were doing and I believe that they can lead Shetland to a place where Care Experienced people can be treated with equality, respect and love.

Oisin Charles