The European Week of Regions and Cities is an exciting annual event where local government representatives meet to discuss good practice and create opportunities for collegiate working across Europe. This year I had the pleasure of attending the international conference in Brussels on behalf of Scotland representing a delegation of Young Elected Politicians – or YEPs – who spoke on behalf of Europe’s vibrant political youth representation. 

The YEP’s delegation to the European Parliament consisted of 106 elected representatives, such as Councillors and Deputy-Mayors of regions, and are under the age of 40. Such is the imbalance of power against the representation of young people, that to be born in the late 1970’s is still considered young when we have activists like Greta Thunberg and Malala Yousafzai revitalising our political landscapes.

The event allowed for creative discussions to take place including the role of local authorities in tackling the declared climate change emergency by European leaders such as Nicola Sturgeon. Attending gatherings like these are imperative to tackling global issues as governments should not continue to be naïve in making the assumption that they have all the answers. Reinventing the wheel to tackle every major global issue is not the answer to saving this planet.

During my participation in the European Parliament workshops, I was glad to learn innovative methods that I as a Councillor for Cumbernauld can adopt to do my part in making the world a cleaner place. Ideas such as creating local initiatives where every child within my local area can plant a tree or starting a cooperative of businesses and local people to fund their own turbines and use the excess profit from the production of electricity to support the community. These simple ideas require a great deal of planning at times for one representative or group to implement, but collaborating with these ideas alongside our European neighbours allows for us to grow as partners in creating a cleaner world for our children and for ourselves.

A more nuanced point should be considered during Scotland’s participation at events like these – creating social partnerships and understanding. My colleagues who attended the event from Scotland with me did wonders for representing a positive image of our nation to the rest of Europe. Cllr Kirsteen Currie, Highland Council, addressed the plenary of the European Parliament on Scotland’s positive contribution to Europe. Cllr Jordan Linden, North Lanarkshire Council, had the chance to debate a Liberal Democrat Councillor from England on Scotland’s mandate for Independence and the need for Boris Johnson to hear Scotland’s voice within the Brexit negotiations – on Spanish TV.

These interactions at an international conference, engaging with the bright new leaders of European nations, will show dividends as these young elected politicians return home to speak of their new friends from Scotland. Scotland must continue to engage with the international community as we seek to further establish our mark on the world as a global leader for equality, fairness and leading a socially just nation for a green future.

This article was originally published in the Scots Independent (Nov 2019)