Introduction

Three young men from Street Games Brechin came along to take part in Young Placechangers training.

Young Placechangers project in a nutshell

The Young Placechangers decided to hold an event in their community, at which, as well as doing an activity, they could also hear the voices of other young people.  In September (seven months following initial training); and after much hard work, and successfully involving lots of other people in the community, they hosted Brechin’s first outdoor cinema!

The event was attended by over 200 children, young people and adults.  The group also used flip chart and post it notes to get people’s views (mainly from young people) on what they wanted in the area. The event was a great success and a huge boost of confidence for the Street Games young placechangers.

From 3 young people initially to an event attracting over 200 local people.

‘I gained the skills of being a confident leader coaching games for young people. How to plan out sessions correctly to improve skills but also have fun, making everyone feel part of a team. I learned that it’s alright for them to open up, I certainly learned how to open up’.

‘I think we all felt proud, I most certainly did - because of young placechangers we managed to gather new team leaders and set up an event for over 200 people to have a good time. If it wasn’t for young placechangers giving me confidence, I’m not sure we could have done it’.

‘I felt more confident to take the lead, and to look at new games that I could run (I knew I could before but made me more confident).  Nice that other people see that we are actually nice people’.

Community Placemaking and the Place Standard

The young people were really engaged and inspired by the training to think about how they could use some of the tools and knowledge gained to think about their own hometown and how they could influence services and activities for young people there. The group had discussed how they felt about their town throughout the training session and how some of the tools brought to light how they could help influence positive change and potentially make things happen!  And from a Jo, the Youth Worker

‘I would like to personally thank you and the fellow projects for offering my young people this opportunity. Things like this is what makes young ones feel supported and that someone believes in them - for a couple of burly 18-year-olds that is gold!’ 

Next steps and new partnerships

The group have learned about working as a part of team, communicating with lots of people, being confident about speaking to people that they wouldn’t normally approach, plus ofcourse skills that go into organising such an event.

The group used this back in their community to help gather ideas for services for young people.  They confirmed that there was nowhere for young people to go in the town centre and using some the tools from the training helped them to consolidate their thinking and put it into practical action. The group then went on to successfully campaign and gain premises in the town centre for a youth space. Unfortunately, this had to be closed during the pandemic as they could not keep the space running. But they are hopeful that they can do more in the future. 

Find out more More Young Placechangers case studies

---

greenspace scotland engages and empowers young people through the Young Placechangers programme.

Young Placechangers puts young people in the lead role – bringing together the wider community to look at local spaces and plan improvements. The Young Placechangers programme has used a co-production approach to develop and pilot a training and support programme enabling young people to transform both the place they live, their relationship to it and the wider community.

Young Placechangers