Interested in Gaelic and Scots Language representation?
Young Scot’s YSHive is looking for a group of 20 young people aged 11 to 25 to join the Scottish Languages Panel, in two groups, one focused on Scots and one on Gaelic.
Connect with like-minded young people, share ideas and put them to the test! You’ll help shape recommendations and explore new ways to engage young people, while contributing to key Scottish Government policies and commitments.
Panel Information
- For those aged 11-25 (inclusive) living in Scotland
- Travel expenses and food paid for by Young Scot
- We expect you to have experience of speaking and understanding Gaelic and/or Scots, but you are not expected to be fluent speaker of either. All sessions will take place in English.
- You’ll need to attend three sessions between December 2026 and February 2027. All sessions will take place in person at Young Scot’s office in Edinburgh. The first session will be taking place on the 5th of December 2026.
- Receive Young Scot Reward Points for taking part. Don’t have free membership with Young Scot yet? Sign up here and access exclusive rewards and discounts!
- Record your participation as volunteer hours with Saltire Awards
About the Panel so far
We established our first Gaelic and Scots Languages Panel in 2022 to give young people the opportunity to tell the Scottish Government what they think the priorities should be for putting into place Scots Languages commitments.
This included action on schools’ education, the Scottish Languages Bill (2025), the creation of a recognised Gàidhealtachd and a review of Bòrd na Gàidhlig. The panel refined their work on these SG commitments to three key categories to take forward:
- Education and work: Opportunities and gaps in resources that are found in both formal (e.g. school) and informal (e.g. meeting with friends) settings.
- Culture and arts: The use of traditional and youth-friendly media and resources to provide the space to explore and champion the Gaelic and Scots languages.
- Community and society: Being part of existing online and offline communities as well as creating spaces for young people to engage with the Gaelic and Scots languages.
Panel members have previously had the opportunity to engage with experts and decision makers across the sector, and in environments such as the Scottish Parliament, successfully sharing their ideas and ambitions.
What you’ll be doing as a panel member
Over the three sessions, the panel will:
- Identify priority areas – such as the themes above
- Shortlist ideas that have a clear purpose and audience
- Bring ideas to life by creating and testing them with experts and partners
- Develop recommendations led by young people, with expert support to turn them into real action
- Create and test things like digital information, resources and campaigns to get people involved, which can be shared with young people, partners and policymakers
You will also have the chance to get involved in exciting opportunities as part of your volunteering, which may include invites to other events relating to your experiences on the panel. At every session and in-between, you will have dedicated Young Scot staff on hand to support you with your experience.
How to get involved
We are happy to make reasonable adjustments to help you take part based on your needs. All young people are welcome at Young Scot including those with disabilities, neurodiversity, queer young people and ethnic minorities.
We’re keen to collaborate with young people who can sometimes have more barriers to taking part in opportunities like this one due to their personal circumstances. This includes young people of colour/Black young people, disabled young people, young carers, care-experienced young people, and young people who live in low-income households.
This application form is also available as a word document, and we also accept verbal applications made using video or voice recordings. If you need any support with signing up, please contact us at YSHive@young.scot and we’ll be happy to help.
Applications close Friday 20 of November 2026.
Next steps
If we have more applicants than there are spots on the Scottish Languages Panel, we may host a short online Taster and Selection session, to help us decide who to invite to join The Scottish Languages Panel. We will be back in touch towards the closing date if this is the case.
Questions?
Email us at YSHive@young.scot if you have any questions or would like to know more about this project. We’re happy to help!
More information
We’ll ensure this panel is a safe and trusted place for you to participate. We do not accept any form of discrimination or prejudice to anyone on our projects based on your life experience, background, culture, or identity. This includes age, disability, gender identity, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation.