Youngsters have set out a series of recommendations to help make Scotland a more inclusive place
A youth campaign group has called for schools to be rated on how they deal with equality issues.
A new report written by young people from minority ethnic groups has set out their ideas for how Scotland can advance race equality, tackle racism, and address the barriers that prevent people from minority ethnic communities from realising their potential.
Written by the Fairer Future Panel, who have been supported by Young Scot, the Young People’s Ideas for Race Equality in Scotland reportincludes 40 ideas for the Scottish Government and others to act upon.
The proposals include calls for Education Scotland inspections to include a check of race equality policy and processes, and for trade unions to ensure support is accessible to ethnic minorities.
Other suggestions include a charter for race equality, training for youth workers to help youngsters learn how to report hate crime and promoting the Young Scot National Entitlement Card to refugees in multiple languages.
Fairer Future panel member Sam Nadeem from Renfrewshire, said: “Race equality is important to me because I want Scotland to be a place where everyone is welcome and where no one is being discriminated against because of the colour of their skin or where they are from.
“The most important thing to improve race equality in Scotland is to educate people and to talk about race equality. If the government acts on our recommendations and ideas it would go a great way to helping to improve race equality in Scotland and to make Scotland a more fair, equal and inclusive country.”
Members of the group met with equalities secretary Angela Constance to present their ideas and discuss the report.
“The report provides essential insights into the experiences of minority ethnic young people in Scotland, and I was impressed by the honesty and passion of all those who contributed,” said Constance.
“We have made much progress in addressing inequality and creating a fairer Scotland, and we want to do much more to support minority ethnic young people to overcome the disadvantages and barriers they face. I will consider all the ideas for change in this report, as should others, as we need all in society to work together if we are truly to tackle inequality in Scotland.”
Following the publication of the report, the Scottish Government agreed to extend the Fairer Future Panel’s work. A secondary project will start in the new year and will involve 20 new young volunteers – including asylum seekers and refugees – to further investigate and take forward the plans laid out in the report.
