The Scottish Youth Project 2 works as the second level of EPIC Assist Charity Scotland’s boys’ and girls’ projects, which have been run successfully in various locations across Scotland since 2017. The decision to develop the new project followed several requests from participants and partners in the boys’ and girls’ projects.
The new project intends to focus on the same areas as in the level 1 version, namely healthy eating, physical exercise, self-esteem and the development of communication skills. However, there will be a deeper and more advanced focus than in level 1, allowing the participants to build on and further develop their skills. Each session will revolve around discussions and activities which will make the participants think about and engage with the topics addressed.
The Scottish Youth Project 2.0 seeks to involve the youth participants with developing the project content and with delivering the sessions to a larger extent than in the original boys’ and girls’ projects. One young person from the local community will participate in the planning meetings which will take place before and during the project. Furthermore, one new youth participant will assist in constructing and leading the sessions each week. This will take the peer-to-peer mentoring focus of EPIC’s boys’ and girls’ projects to a new level.
The pilot edition of the Scottish Youth Project 2 will take place in Tranent, East Lothian, in collaboration with the football club Tranent Colts. Planning meetings and the production of project content are underway and the pilot project will be completed by Autumn 2020.
