Ambitious young people celebrated at first Scotland House showcase

The inaugural event at Scotland House on Sunday, 20th July showcased the ambition of young people in Scotland through an art exhibition. The afternoon celebrated over 800 young people who participated in Commonwealth Games projects run by The Duke of Edinburgh’s (DofE) Award in Scotland this year.

To help young people achieve their aspirations in their community, the DofE partnered with Dumfries and Galloway Council to host the Commonwealth Youth Summit from 6 to 9 June in Dumfries. The Summit, which gave over 200 young people from across the Commonwealth leadership training, was remembered at Sunday’s celebration with a video montage of the weekend. Chair of the Community and Customer Services committee, Councillor Tom McAughtrie was presented with a commemorative group photo from the Summit.

As well as the Summit event, Dumfries and Galloway Council hosted their Commonwealth guests for the week following the Summit, giving them the opportunity to visit projects across the region and attractions throughout Scotland. During this time, bonds were made between the young people and the volunteer host families and these will last for many years to come. Some of the Sri Lankan guests have already made plans to return after exams in August and invitations have been extended to us from both Ghana and Australia.

Councillor Tom McAughtrie, said “It was with great pleasure that I accepted the gift recognising the tremendous success of the Commonwealth Youth Summit. Despite the many challenges facing our Council, we are fully committed to supporting our young people to be the best they can. An event like the Commonwealth Youth Summit was a rare and unique opportunity for young people to come together from across the world to live together as one community, learning from each other and building relationships and networks.

Dumfries and Galloway are incredibly proud to have had the support of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards and The Holywood Trust and the outstanding commitment of our staff and volunteers all of which made the Summit the best youth work event Scotland has seen and a fabulous legacy for our young people.”

The Legacy 2014 projects celebrated at the event were made possible with support from the Celebrate Fund.

-Ends-

Photograph attached – photo shows Cllr Tom McAughtrie receiving a commemorative group photo from the Summit from Emma McNally (in her Girls Brigade uniform) who attended the Summit.

Dumfries and Galloway MP Russell Brown joined Cancer Research UK scientists in Parliament recently to find out more about the charity’s inspiring new plan to accelerate progress and help save more lives in Scotland.

Russell was there to find out the part he could play in helping to achieve Cancer Research UK’s ambition that within 20 years three in four of all cancer patients diagnosed will survive at least ten years.

He had the opportunity to participate in interactive experiments with cancer researchers, learning about the biology of cancer and cutting-edge work to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.

There have been major advances in the fight against cancer over the last 40 years and Cancer Research UK’s work has been at the heart of that progress.

Two in four people diagnosed with cancer today in the UK will survive their disease for at least ten years, compared to just one in four in the early 1970s.

But despite the successes, Cancer Research UK believes much more can be done to help more people in Scotland and across the UK beat cancer sooner.

Russell found out about what the Government can do to improve early diagnosis and ensure that all patients get the best treatment possible.

Russell Brown said: “Like most people locally, cancer is something that has touched my family and there are almost a thousand cases of cancer in Dumfries and Galloway a year. That’s why I want to see more done to beat this terrible disease and therefore wholeheartedly support Cancer Research UK’s aim to improve survival through the earlier diagnosis of cancer and greater access to the best treatment possible. The good news is that there have been significant steps forward for cancer patients. More people are surviving the disease and living longer and Cancer Research UK’s work has been at the heart of this progress. ”

Sara Osborne, Head of Policy at Cancer Research UK said: “It’s great to have Russell Brown’s support to highlight the vital role MPs and their constituents can play in helping to tackle all cancers.

“We must not underestimate the devastating impact that cancer has on the lives of those with a cancer diagnosis and their families.

“As more people are diagnosed with the disease, it’s essential that we speed up our progress. We know that early diagnosis and access to the best possible treatments saves lives. We need the public and MPs to get behind us and help make our ambition possible. In the next two decades we can, and will, transform the outlook for cancer patients.”

For more information on how to get involved in Cancer Research UK’s campaigning work, visit cruk.org/campaigns.

ITV Border takes Referendum debate to Stranraer

ITV Border chose Stranraer as the venue for the first in a series of three Referendum debates. A fully crewed outside broadcast unit transformed part of the North West Castle Hotel into a studio for the event. The audience had been hand-picked from the local area to give a good cross-section of people and to represent a balance of Yes, No and Undecided voters.

They were invited to put their questions to four panellists – Richard Arkless from the Business For Scotland group; Russell Brown, Labour MP for Dumfries and Galloway; Alex Fergusson, Conservative MP for Galloway and west Dumfries and Christine Grahame, SNP MP for Midlothian South, Tweeddale and Lauderdale.

The debate proved lively and at times heated, with a number of concerns raised about the future of Stranraer following the closure of the ferry terminal. Immigration and border control, currency and the economy were also high on the agenda. Retired policeman Trevor Harrison asked the panel if they could name one economic benefit to an independent Scotland. Full-time carer Jennifer Caldwell wanted to know if the No side could guarantee the UK would remain in the European Union.

However the warmest applause of the night went to 18 year old Caitlin McDowell, who’s a former member of the Scottish youth parliament. She cut right to the heart of the matter with her question ‘As someone who is trying to advise young people to vote in the referendum, where would the panel suggest they go for accurate information and not just hot air!’

Michaela Byrne who is Head of News and Programmes for ITV Border and Tyne Tees said ‘We felt it was very important to take one of our referendum debates to Stranraer as the town is the second biggest population centre in Dumfries and Galloway.’

Political Editor Peter McMahon who chaired the debate, said the discussion had been of a very high calibre with a broad range of questions and opinions.

The two remaining referendum debates are to be recorded in Dumfries on August 25 and Hawick on September 8.