Awards ceremony shines a light on our young people

Over 100 young people couldn’t masquerade their delight this week at being part of a special awards ceremony to mark the end of the Year of Young People 2018, an event co-ordinated by East Ayrshire Council’s Vibrant Communities service.

The awards, held at the Dumfries House Pavilion, celebrated a very busy year in which young people have had a platform to showcase all of their incredible personalities, talents and achievements, and to have their voices heard even more clearly.

The evening had a ‘masquerade ball’ theme and was hosted by Provost Jim Todd and young people’s representative Ryan Chynoweth, while the music was provided by schools’ group Cumnock Ukulele Band.

Award categories on the night included Young Carers’ Champion; Intergenerational Champion; Young Volunteer Champion; Sporting and Physical Activities Champion and Diversity and Inclusion Champion.

Depute Provost Claire Leitch, who is also Children’s Champion, said: “We kicked off the Year of Young People in East Ayrshire with a very vibrant Colour Run followed by a whole range of events involving young people at the heart of their development. There was the first annual hearing of the East Ayrshire Children and Young People’s Cabinet where our young people got engaged in meaningful discussions about Brexit; public transport links and helping our young people to succeed.

“There was also the annual Play Day event which attracted record numbers of around 10,000 children and families; educational roadshows; meetings of the East Ayrshire Junior Sports Council; free lunches and fun at holiday club programmes; two youth conferences which had a focus on children and young people’s rights, and a very successful sitting of the Scottish Youth Parliament in Kilmarnock. It is very fitting that the year’s events ended with this spectacular awards evening which really shone a light on the fantastic achievements of our young people. Congratulations to all of our winners and nominees – we are so proud of each and every one of them.”

Vibrant Communities would like to thank the sponsors of all of the awards on the night.

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