Introduction

Looking Forward Not Back was funded over two years 2014-2016 through the Scottish Government’s ‘Tackling Sectarianism’ programme to examine the nature of the contribution youth work can make to tackling sectarianism. Over the last two years YouthLink Scotland has worked with 98 young people from 10 youth groups across Scotland and engaged approximately 1840 community members in dialogue about sectarianism.  The following pages will provide an overview of year 1 and 2 and provide links to the resources created.

Looking Forward Not Back – Year 2

Background

In 2015/16, using a youth work approach, 27 young people from five communities across Scotland were supported by youth workers and YouthLink Scotland to conduct research in their communities on sectarianism. To support this process, each of the organisations was provide

The projects included:d with a small grant and a structured support programme on youth-led research. Young researchers were supported to work towards the Participative Democracy Certificate as a means of providing structure to their learning and recognition for their contribution. The PDC (SCQF level 5) includes 20 notional learning hours, which can take between 12 and 16 weeks to complete and is externally verified by YouthLink Scotland.  The award recognised young people’s research skills, group work skills, leadership skills, and decision-making approaches. 

• Youth Learning Services in South Lanarkshire
• Tollcross YMCA
• Govan Youth Information Project
• Falkirk Council Community Learning and Development
• Stewartry Council of Voluntary Service

To hear directly from the youth groups, watch this short video:

Report

The final report for Looking Forward Not Back is now available. This report, which is endorsed by University of Dundee, examines the question 'What Contribution can Youth Work make to Tackling Sectarianism?'.

Toolkit

The toolkit from year one ‘Supporting Young People to Take Action on Sectarianism’ has been revised based on the learning from the two years.

It is presented as a guide for other organisations and practitioners who would like to work with young people to support youth action on sectarianism. 

National Symposium

On 16^th June over 70 youth work practitioners and policy makers attended the symposium at Scottish Parliament co-hosted by YouthLink Scotland, Christina McKelvie MSP and Alison Harris MSP.  Contributions were led by YouthLink Scotland and the young people and practitioners involved in the “Looking Forward Not Back”. The symposium provided an opportunity to consider the contribution that youth work and young people can make to tacking sectarianism and to discuss the findings of the research carried out by young people on sectarianism in their communities.

Year 1

The Looking Forward Not Back project in 2014/2015 involved six groups of young people and youth workers from different areas of Scotland that had identified sectarianism as an issue for them and their communities. Each of the projects developed a youth work programme that involved learning about sectarianism and taking action in their communities to help highlight or address the issue.

The projects also worked with YouthLink Scotland to evaluate the impact of their work as they went along. Each project received a small grant to support their work and had access to a programme of support from YouthLink Scotland. Together, the young people involved in the projects engaged approximately 1360 community members in dialogue about sectarianism. The majority of people they spoke to felt it was very positive to hear about sectarianism from the perspective of young people and that they had learned something they would discuss with others.

The projects included:

Dumfries and Galloway Council

Youth Action Cumbernauld and Kilsyth (YACK)

Young Persons Services, East Renfrewshire Council

Bellshill and Mossend YMCA, North Lanarkshire

Stirling Council Youth Services

South Lanarkshire Council, Youth Learning Services

Toolkit

To share the learning from the Looking Forward Not Back projects a toolkit has been created. This toolkit serves as a "how to" guide for other organisations and practitioners who would like to work with young people to support youth action on sectarianism. Download the toolkit below:

 

 

Report

A final report, Exploring the Contribution of a Youth Work Approach to Tackling Sectarianism, is also available. The report, which is endorsed by the University of Dundee, outlines the evidence created by Looking Forward Not Back in the contribution of youth work in tackling intra-Christian sectarianism. The report can be downloaded and read below:

 

National Conference

Looking Forward Not Back culminated in a national conference. The six local projects showcased their work on sectarianism and discussed the impact that this had in their communities with other youth work practitioners and policy makers, including the Minister for Community Safety and Legal Affairs, Paul Wheelhouse MSP.

 Here is the video of the highlights from the conference:

 

What next in 2015/16?

For Looking Forward Not Back year two, we are currently working with five projects based in Glasgow, South Lanarkshire, Dumfries and Galloway and Falkirk to further extend our evidence of the contribution youth work can make in tackling sectarianism.

Read more about Looking Forward Not Back and the local projects on the following pages. Here you will find information on the local projects; watch films of each of the projects and see some of the resources they have created.

If you would like more information on Looking Forward Not Back please contact Amy Goulding at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 0131 313 2488.

Dumfries and Galloway Council

The young people from this project used what they had learned about sectarianism to develop an interactive drama based workshop which they delivered to their peers as part of a local summer festival for young people and in local schools. The workshop was designed to raise awareness of the impact sectarianism can have on family relationships and the divisions it can cause between young people. The group took a very democratic approach to evaluating their workshops, asking the young people who had participated to vote, using real polling booths, on whether they believed sectarianism was an issue for young people in Dumfries and Galloway prior to watching the drama and then again after it. 

Youth Action Cumbernauld and Kilsyth (YACK)

 

The young people involved in this group created a short film about sporting rivalry between young people which descends into verbal and physical fighting and begins to impact on school and community life. The film was a central feature of the schools-based workshops run by the group. After much debate, the YACK group decided not to use sectarian language in the DVD and instead to talk about “eagles” and “snakes”. This was to ensure the schools would allow them to deliver the workshop in an educational setting. Removing the language created the opportunity to see the absurdity of sectarianism and bigotry and highlighted division, violence, bullying and safety as the real issues to be explored. It also allowed participants to explore the subject without the distraction of offensive or emotive sectarian terms.

View the film they made here:

 

Young Persons Services, East Renfrewshire Council

The young people involved in this group came from two schools, one non-denominational and the other denominational. The group designed a peer education programme based on their own learning to take to feeder schools and first year groups in high schools. They used digital recorders to record the stories of the children and young people who took part in the school-based workshops and created a podcast which was played on local radio at various times over a week, ensuring that different age groups and audiences heard about their work. The radio station also hosted an open day, inviting community members to meet and chat with the peer educators.

Bellshill and Mossend YMCA, North Lanarkshire

The young people involved in this project created a series of posters to explore what sectarianism means to them and the impact that it has on community life. They wanted to know what other people in their community thought about the issue of sectarianism so they created a pop-up gallery to display their posters in a local supermarket, using the images to engage shoppers in discussions about sectarianism in the community. Following the engagement with the community the young people redesigned their posters to incorporate wider community views and experiences. They then created a set of canvases with the support of a community artist and displayed these to the public.

Stirling Council Youth Services

The young people involved in the Stirling project were an established peer-assisted learning group supported by local youth services. They designed and delivered workshops to inform their peers and the wider community about the nature and impact of sectarianism. They devised an interactive life-size board game (called The Thin Grey Line) in which participants become the game “pieces” and moved around the board by answering “truth” or “myth” to questions related to sectarianism. The group delivered their workshops at a local summer youth event, in local high schools, at a coffee morning and in the local shopping centre.

To find out more about The Thin Grey Line click here http://www.stirlingtgl.com/

South Lanarkshire Council, Youth Learning Services

This project involved young people from three different areas and different religious backgrounds. The group developed and participated in a challenging learning programme designed to challenge their understanding of, and attitudes to, sectarianism. The young people designed a mural with a professional artist to reflect what they had learned about sectarianism and to share their vision of, and hope for, an integrated community. They also created a hard-hitting short film on sectarianism which they showed at a series of community events.

View the film they made here:

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