Comhairle nan Eilean Siar PRESS RELEASE 18 April 2000 For Use: Immediately

Comhairle nan Eilean Siar will this week hear details of proposals to establish a Western Isles Youth Council, a body aimed at giving young people in the islands more of a say and encouraging young people in active community participation. The Youth Council would also aim to represent the views of young people in the Western Isles at a local, national and international level.

If the Comhairle agrees to the proposal, the next stage would be to hold two residential workshops, one in Lewis or Harris and one in Uist, where representatives of young people would come together to devise proposals for the establishment of the Youth Council.

The Comhairle has carried out extensive research into how other areas of Scotland have set up Youth Councils and speakers from similar organisations would be present at the workshops.

Detailed proposals arising from the workshops would then go back to the Comhairle for approval and funding.

The structure of a Western Isles Youth Council and how it would be made up would be a priority for the workshops as would the proposed constitution, relevant topics for discussion and how the consideration of issues should be structured.

Chairman of the Comhairle's Policy and Resources Committee, Mr. Roddy Murray, said:

"Too often our young people are portrayed in a negative light. The reality is, of course, quite different and I believe that young people have a vital role to play in the development of our communities. They are, after all, tomorrow's communities. Certainly the experience in other local authority areas would seem to suggest that young people are keen to play a fuller role in the issues that affect them. To my mind, that seems a legitimate aspiration and one which the Comhairle will strive to bring about".

Ends

Issued by Nigel Scott
Communications Officer