Friday 20 August
Festival of Politics Young People’s Day
In association with the UK and Dunfermline Carnegie Trusts.
An invited audience will participate in the Young People’s Day. There will be a limited number of tickets for the Hear Me! event available to the public.

The Environment: Politics or Peace?
10.00 (12.00) Queen Anne High School, Dunfermline FREE

This event offers an invited audience of young people in Fife the opportunity to explore some of the dilemmas we all face when economic and technological progress creates threats to the environment, to communities and to natural habitats. How and why do people decide to move from passive opposition to environmental campaigning and even civil disobedience? Specialists in the field will present local and international case studies and young people will challenge them in debate, present their own issues and vote, using an electronic voting system. Chaired By Ken MacDonald.

Where Do Young People Get Their Political News?
11.00 (12.00) Committee Room 1 FREE

With newspaper sales declining and readership growing ever older, where do young people obtain information about, and discuss politics? Have blogs and social networks become the political forums of choice for the under 25s? This lively and interactive event will pit ‘old’ against ‘new’ media in deciding which is most relevant in forming young people’s political perspectives. Join Michael Rafferty, Director, Citizenship and Education Programme, Hansard Society and other panelists.

Young People and Conflict
11.00 (12.00) Committee Room 3 FREE

With many thousands of young people living through armed conflicts, and with the consequences of it, what are the impacts of such exposure to violence, and what can be done to help address its consequences? Join Nick Hutching, Policy Assistant - War Child, and John Watson, Amnesty International as they discuss how conflict impacts young people and the current situation in conflict-affected fragile states: the approach War Child takes, and what young people in the UK can do.

Hear Me!
14.00 (15.30) Main Chamber FREE* (limited availability)

What are the burning issues amongst young people in Scotland today? This event – Chaired by Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, Tam Baillie – provides young people from across Scotland with an opportunity to get on a soapbox, and propose a ‘2 minute manifesto’ identifying what would most change their lives for the better. Issues identified by young people as being most important will be fed into the Commissioner’s “A Right Blether” consultation.
In association with Scotland’s Commissioner for Children and Young People, Rotary Club of Dunfermline Carnegie and the Scottish Youth Parliament.
Book Hear Me! online

*Tickets available in advance (subject to a booking fee) or on the day