Celia Tennant writes about our obligations to young people for Holyrood magazine
Scotland does not belong to you. It does not belong to me. It doesn’t belong to politicians, public servants, business leaders or entrepreneurs.
Scotland belongs to our young people, our children and their children yet to come.
We are just caretakers. It is our job to build a country, and a society, our children and young people deserve.
That means a society that is fair and equal, where poverty is an anomaly not an inevitability. It means an economy that works for everyone, in which people’s ambitions are matched by opportunity and reward.
The Scotland we return to our children must look back at sexism, racism, ableism, homophobia and transphobia as embarrassments of the past. We must create a society that values everyone as human beings, recognising and respecting them for their skills, talents and aspirations.
The communities our children grow up in must be safe and loving, where everyone’s voices are heard and listened to. Where shaping the future is everyone’s business.
But these things are not plans for the future. If we want to build this society, we need to do it now. And we need to start with those most in need. By helping those at the greatest disadvantage, we can build a better Scotland for all of us.
We need to support our young people to gain confidence, build resilience and learn skills today so that the challenges they face to do not persist tomorrow. We need to support our youngest children to grow, learn and develop in a way which ensures their health and wellbeing, opens up their minds to learning and gives them joy.
We have an opportunity – all of us, charities, businesses, government and communities – to build this Scotland today.
In many areas we are well on our way, but with uncertainty swirling around us, we must not stop now. We owe it to our children.
This piece appeared in Holyrood magazine on January 19th 2019
Building Collaboration Fund
[THIS FUND HAS NOW CLOSED]
We are excited to be managing the assessment of applications to a new £100,000 ‘Building Collaboration Fund’. Applications open on 4th February 2019, with grants of up to £25,000 available for groups of third sector partners working in collaboration, to improve the social care they provide.
The Fund is a joint initiative of the Coalition of Care and support Providers in Scotland (CCPS) and Scottish Government to support the development of collaborations in the social care sector. It is recognised that effective collaboration helps social care organisations provide better care and support. This is because when groups of organisations come together to improve their offering to the people they collectively serve, those services tend to be more personalised.
The fund is an important learning programme. In addition to grant funding, successful applicants will participate in a series of workshops. The workshops will look at how to overcome some of the barriers and challenges they may face as they collaborate. Knowledge from the different collaborative models and approaches will then be shared, to help inform future collaborations in social care.
All interested applicants can speak with CCPS before they apply. See http://www.ccpscotland.org/hot-topics/collaboration/building-collaboration-fund/ for more information– or contact Emma or Dee to discuss your idea. Dee.Fraser@ccpscotland.org. Emma.Donnelly@ccpscotland.org – (0131) 475 2676.
Applications must be submitted to us online http://sgiz.mobi/s3/Building-Collaboration-Fund-application-form-v2 by 5pm 18th March 2019.