Intercultural Youth Scotland (I.Y.S.)

Intercultural Youth Scotland (IYS) is Scotland’s leading charity for young Black and young people of colour (BPoC) in Scotland. IYS is the only major organisation that is both youth-led and Black and PoC-led with our programmes all having developed from direct consultation with our network of Youth Ambassadors. We are a community, a service and a voice for BPoC young people, providing a safe space and place to nurture the talents. Our services cover a wide range from Youth Work, Education, Employability and Mental health.

Some of our most significant impacts have been within the areas of education, employability and human rights.

• Developing a year-long class on anti-racism, which we are currently delivering in secondary schools across Edinburgh and Glasgow, through our Pro-Black, Anti-Racist Education Programme.
• Supporting countless BPoC children and young people to find community and solidarity, to grow their talents, and to find opportunities, through our Youth Work and Restless Natives Programmes.
• Launching Scotland's only free, fully-funded Mental Health Service for BPoC children and young people.
• Playing a central role in creating youth-led antiracist change in the Scottish Government, through our youth-led reports and as activists in decision-making spaces such as the Young Person's Guarantee and high-level reforms of Scotland's Education and Youth Work sectors.
• Putting BPoC young people at the heart of research with long-lasting impact on Scotland, by supporting our Youth Researchers to co-develop and take a leading role in the National Consultation on Empire, Slavery and Scotland's Museums.

All of our involvement in these processes were crucial in ensuring that young Black and Poc voices were being heard. By continuing to shape, disrupt and improve these  processes, we aim to build a Scotland that is a safe and welcoming place to grow up for Black and PoC young people.