Scotland Parliamentary Reception: One Month On

Alyson MacKay

April 26, 2023

It's been one month since our Scotland team hosted and presented our asks at the Scottish Parliament (read more about it here).

‍

Teach the Future Scot asks:
ASK 1: Mainstream inclusion of climate justice education across the curriculum
ASK 2: Inclusion of the climate emergency and ecological crisis in teacher education and a new professional teaching qualification
ASK 3: Increased priority for sustainability in school inspections
ASK 4: Educational buildings put at the front of the queue to be retrofitted to net-zero standards

‍

Read our full campaign asks by visiting: https://www.teachthefuture.uk/policy

‍

What've we been up to since?

‍

We had a wee break to recharge from the parliamentary reception
Our whole campaign is organised by student-volunteers, with support from a small team through SOS-UK, so we need to have realistic expectations. We value and encourage our volunteers to take breaks and maintain capacity boundaries.
‍
We've been contacting MSPs and Councillors for support to get our asks actioned by the Scottish Government

Having the support of elected officials is extremely important in turning our asks into policy and action. With a new First Minister and Cabinet in the Scottish Government, we've been organising contact with the most relevant office holders, such as, the Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills (Jenny Gilruth MSP), Cabinet Secretary for Net Zero and Just Transition (Màiri McAllan MSP) and Cabinet Secretary for Social Justice (Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP, who has already expressed support of our asks). You can find out about the full cabinet and ministers on the Scottish Government website. We are also contacting Councillors to gain more regional support and awareness so that we can have a collective implementation of climate justice education.

‍
Set up meetings with groups and individuals to supporting our asks

It's not just politicians and government officials we want to support the campaign! We've been reaching out to colleges, universities, student unions/associations, third sector climate organisations and youth charities. If you are a part of or know of an organisation you think could support our campaign let us or them know, or both! This could even be your own educational institution, workplace or local club.

‍
Developing our next steps

We are always working on adapting the next step of our campaign. Volunteers can sign up to be a part of the campaign all year round! Find out more about how to volunteer and sign up for an onboarding session.

‍

We've got a few of our favourite images from the Parliamentary Reception below

All photo credits to Charli Morachnick Instagram @echoechophotography