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ISSUES: Citizenship
Chapter 2: Active citizenship
How can I get involved in campaigning?
Information on how you can
join a campaign or start your
own!
If you feel strongly about an issue
(whether it’s in school, your club or
your area) and want to do something
about it, there will probably already
be a group dedicated to the issue that
you could join. If there isn’t see if any
of your friends or family feel the same
way. There may also be a local youth
group or council in your area that
you could join to raise the issue and
people’s awareness. If not, you could
start your own group or Youth Council
and try to get people interested.
There’s other things you can do to
raise awareness like: put up posters;
ask around; hand out fliers; design
your own website. It’s all about
getting people thinking.
There are people around to help
– start with your local youth/
community workers. Phone the local
council to find out details about your
nearest project/office.
Starting a petition
Gathering other people’s support
from your community is a good way
to get weight behind your campaign.
Start a petition collecting signatures
and addresses written next to your
statement and your name, as the
petitioner. This can be submitted at
all levels of government, whether
it’s to your local council, Scottish
Parliament, central government or
European Parliament.
The contents of the petition could
be a matter of public concern, e.g.
pollution in a river, or of a more
individual interest. Thepetitionshould
be submitted to the relevant level of
government with responsibility for
that topic. It should not relate to any
current court proceedings.
Each level of government has
guidelines about what is acceptable
and will advise on this. Don’t
underestimate this as a tool for change
as it really can make a difference, as
well as generally raising awareness.
Direct action
You may feel that you are acting more
directly by marching or becoming
involved in a protest, demonstration
or sit-in. These forms of protest
do get some profile in the media.
However, the law says the protest or
demonstration organiser must apply
to the local council for permission
to do this. Some organisations are
exempt from this procedure – write to
your council to find out if your group
is on their list.
It is important to be able to protest
in the right manner and make sure
you are not breaking the law – e.g.
trespassing, breach of the peace.
You don’t want your cause to be
discredited because of your actions.
Use the media
Use the media to highlight your cause.
This is a very useful and powerful tool
in generating awareness and support
for your cause if used wisely. You want
to get the media on your side.
When writing to the press, address
any letters to ‘The Editor’, give your
name and address, and hopefully
your letter will be printed. Go that
step further and think seriously about
persuasive press releases, set up
contacts, and be nice so reporters
come back to you again and again.
Use
short
snappy
headlines
emphasising the ‘who, what, where,
why, how’ behind your project. Write
to national newspapers, your local
newspaper, your school magazine,
the Young Scot magazine, or the
Young Scot website.
Consider local radio too, as this form
of media can reach many people
instantly, and its power can be
underestimated.
Using the Internet
With web pages within everyone’s
reach, an effective campaign can be
carried out from your own sitting
room via the Internet.
You can use a specially designed
site to gauge public feeling, gather
comments and survey visitors, or
use your social networking sites
(e.g Facebook or Twitter) to gather
support. Then you need to pass on
your findings to the relevant decision-
makers. You could also broadcast live
on the web, or contribute to radio
stations.
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The above information is reprinted
with kind permission from Young
Scot. Please visit young.scot for
further information.
© Young Scot 2017
