WM2U inspires young people to lead change with “Hope-Hack” event
Young people aged 14 to 24 from across East Ayrshire have been inspired to initiate positive change within their local community through the East Ayrshire Hope Hack event held earlier this month
The event, held in partnership with WM2U, Hope Collective and East Ayrshire Health and Social Care Partnership, took place on the 12th of June 2023 in Kilmarnock’s Ayrshire College.
The session, which was fully hosted by two local young people, Jasmin Abdisalan aden and Ryan Duffy, was kicked off with a warm welcome from the ScranVan, a social enterprise project that offers young people valuable training opportunities whilst also giving back to their local communities. We were also treated to amazing coffee from a local social enterprise Hasta Barista.
Following this, young people formed discussion groups to dissect a range of topics that directly impacted them, including education, employability, youth activity, violence reduction and physical and mental wellness. Discussions focused on young people's views of these topics and how local supports could be improved.
Young people were then given the opportunity to pitch their bright ideas to a panel of local community change makes, including Louise Macdonald, Director General Communities Scottish Government, Eddie Fraser, CEO at East Ayrshire Council,Craig McArthur, Director EAHSCP, Blair Millar, Head of Housing and Communities and
Faroque Hussain Chief Superintendent of Police Scotland.
Guests were additionally treated to an afternoon of entertainment provided by Turn The Tables, a social enterprise project that supports those who have experienced homelessness through workshops that build mental health resilience through a holistic approach to wellbeing.
Young people were able to test their DJ skills while also witnessing how Turn The Tables is helping those experiencing homelessness take back control of their lives and the dance floor.
Award-winning global youth leader and CEO of global leadership organisation Dare2Lead, John Loughton, provided a keynote address for the event, highlighting the power of young people leading change in their own communities.
Fiona Bain of What Matters to You said: “This event was the perfect example of how we can directly involve the people who matter most - those who are impacted - in decisions made around public sector resource allocation and service delivery.
“A massive well done to all the young people who got involved with the event - the ideas presented within the session were top notch and we now begin the task of developing these ideas so that we can help enable change which young people want to see regarding things that matter most to them.”
To find out more about upcoming WM2U events please visit our website or other social media channels