Blueprint shows heritage how to hook young people

A group of young people have created a report for the heritage sector showing how to pique their peers’ interest in Scotland’s history, culture and natural beauty.

The report has been published ahead of Heritage Awareness Day which takes place on Friday 6 October.

Commissioned by Scotland’s largest conservation charity the National Trust for Scotland, the Young Scot Heritage Blueprint group examined how to encourage more young people to explore and engage with Scotland’s heritage. Their findings were presented at the charity’s 2017 Annual General Meeting in Dundee last Saturday.

With recommendations on communication, events, partnerships and pricing, the report will make for vital reading for any organisation looking to improve its interaction with young people.

Mark Bishop, Director of Customer & Cause said:

“The Heritage Blueprint group have done an incredible job looking at the Trust and the steps we can take to better engage with a younger audience. Their insights will help us hugely as we work hard to transform the Trust from a charity that people know does good work, to a cause that really inspires passion and pride. As the Year of Young People approaches, the Trust is looking hard at how we can act on the recommendations and we hope that others in our sector can also benefit from these excellent insights.”

The charity is already responding to the recommendations on improving communications with young people and will be running a social media takeover with the group in the next few weeks.

Lauren Ross from the Heritage Blueprint group said:

“When reviewing the responses to our national survey, it was very interesting for us to discover other young people’s perspectives on heritage. The conclusions we came to were very eye-opening. We feel confident that the work we have put into the project over the past two-and-a-half years could make a big impact on the relationship between heritage organisations and young people, if our recommendations are acted upon.”

Louise Macdonald, Chief Executive of Young Scot said:

“With the Year of Young People 2018 on the horizon, the Heritage Blueprint report couldn’t come at a better time. By working directly with young people throughout Heritage Blueprint, the National Trust for Scotland now has a brilliant resource full of insight into how they can better engage with young people and make the most of the next year.”

The Trust has also committed to continuing its relationship with the Heritage Blueprint group to monitor its response to the report’s recommendations.