Ayrshire College students take part in ECO-UNESCO Youth Summit
Students from Ayrshire College's Introduction to Social Sciences course were represented at the ECO-UNESCO's annual Environmental Youth Summmit 'The Heat is On', which took place on Sunday 23 May.
The Kilmarnock and Kilwinning-based students had been working with Marie McNulty, Business Development Lead Officer (Deputy Manager) at the Galloway and Southern Ayrshire Biosphere, in the run-up to the event and the showcase ceremony held on Tuesday 25 May.
Throughout their course and their involvement in 'The Heat is On', the students have been taking part in workshops and working on action plans for how to create environmental change in their local communities.
At the Environmental Youth Summit, the student groups had the opportunity to present their action plans to a panel of policy makers, gaining valuable feedback from them before they put their plans into action.
As well as hearing from a range of experts on environmental issues and how to influence policy makers, the Ayrshire College students had the opportunity to learn about the environmental issues impacting groups from other countries, with young people from Ireland and Catalonia also represented.
At the showcase ceremony, the Youth Summiteers were treated to a tremendous showcase of entertainment, including a performance of an Ayrshire College student's new single. JOG, who is HND Music student Gerald James, entertained the ECO-UNESCO crowd with his single 'Feather'.
Multi-instrumentalist JOG is an upcoming musician signed to Ayrshire College's Sun Turtle Records label, who has earned rave reviews for his music and last year performed at Glasgow's famous King Tut's Wah Wah Hut.
Colin Ross, Curriculum Manager for Social Sciences at Ayrshire College, said: "Our students have undoubtedly benefitted from being involved in this rich cultural exchange and have developed their knowledge about the heritage and culture of each country and locality.
"We're thankful that the restrictions did not stop the international summit happening. Throughout the year our young people have been learning from so many experts on how to influence environmental policy, and it's been a privilege for our students to be involved in this event."
28 May 2021
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