About Us
Who We Are
We are a Scottish charity, founded in 2022, on a mission to empower & amplify the voices of young people in decisions that shape the future of Scotland’s seas. This is an area where youth involvement is too often overlooked.
While beach cleans and school projects play an important role in raising awareness and fostering environmental responsibility, we believe lasting change comes from influencing the system itself through politics, policy, and empowered youth participation.
Our vision is for young people in Scotland, regardless of background or experience, to be empowered to shape how our seas are managed.
Our mission
(i.e. what we do)
We will achieve our vision in three ways:
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Through providing training, resources, and advocacy opportunities, we equip young people to speak up with confidence on the marine issues they care about.
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We directly engage with marine policymakers and stakeholders to ensure that young people's voices are heard. We advocate for policy engagement processes that are accessible to young people, ensuring their ideas and solutions stand alongside those of established sectors.
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We want young people to learn from each other, so we organise events that bring young people together for discussions, idea exchange, inspiration, and mutual support. We also facilitate an online platform to allow young people to connect and collaborate with each other, share resources, and stay up-to-date on current marine policy issues.
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We champion the leadership, vision, and agency of young people, empowering them to influence decisions and drive change.
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We tackle the root causes of the challenges facing our seas, working for lasting change in the systems that govern them.
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We work in partnership with others across the sector to amplify our collective impact.
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We channel our passion for Scotland’s seas into purposeful action, connecting personal commitment with a shared mission for a thriving future.
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We break down barriers to ensure all voices are heard, valuing different identities, experiences, and perspectives to strengthen our work. Read more about our access and inclusion work here.
Our Values
At the heart of our approach is a commitment to the following values:
Young Sea Changers Scotland is wholly committed to ensuring and promoting equality, diversity and inclusion is embedded across our organisation, and to tackling structural inequalities in the marine sector. You can read more about our Equality, Diversity and Inclusion work here.
Our Theory of Change
Our Theory of Change articulates how we envision, plan, and measure the change we aim to achieve:
If you would like to discuss our Theory of Change, please get in touch with us at contact@youthforseas.org.
Our Partnerships
As part of our commitment to collaboration, we are members of the a number of coalitions and partnerships:
Our Funders
We are grateful to our generous funders for supporting our work.
Partner with us
We're passionate about collaboration and are open to opportunities to partner with like-minded organisations on exciting events, activities, and programmes. Don't hesitate to reach out to us for a discussion.
Let's make waves together!