Tuesday 28th November will see senior leaders from over 100 Scottish secondary schools converge on The Quincentenary Conference Centre at The Surgeon’s Hall in Edinburgh for the Youth & Philanthropy (YPI) Scotland Leaders’ Conference.

Tuesday 28th November will see senior leaders from over 100 Scottish secondary schools converge on The Quincentenary Conference Centre at The Surgeon’s Hall in Edinburgh for the Youth & Philanthropy (YPI) Scotland Leaders’ Conference.

YPI has come a long way from when it was first introduced in Scotland by The Wood Foundation as a pilot across 10 schools in the North East of Scotland.   Now in its tenth year and with more than 31,000 students engaged, YPI has become a genuinely national programme which is unique in terms of scale, youth action and targeted local giving.

The YPI Leaders’ Conference will bring together senior leaders with responsibility for YPI in their school, providing a forum to support rich discussion focused on programme embedding, improvement and professional learning.  Guest speakers on the day will include Maureen MacKenna, ADES President and Director of Education Glasgow City Council as well as John Downie, Director of Public Affairs, SCVO, alongside guest input from, amongst others, Scotland’s Enterprising Schools and the Scottish Youth Parliament.

Talking about YPI, Sir Ian Wood, Chairman of The Wood Foundation said:

“YPI is by far one of our most successful philanthropic initiatives in Scotland.  Over the last 10 years we have established strong links with local authority teams and schools throughout Scotland as well as with likeminded funding partners who support programme growth and sustainability.

Beyond the YPI grants awarded to local charities, the programme most significantly impacts upon young people, providing a valuable experience of philanthropy and community action whilst also developing fundamental employability skills.”

What has become apparent in recent years is that YPI can play a critical role within any school’s curriculum and culture.  The programme naturally aligns with national priorities such as Developing the Young Workforce and National Improvement Framework.

Since it was first introduced in 2008, more than £2.5million has been awarded to local grass roots charities.  During the 2017/18 academic year alone, 230 Scottish secondary schools will participate in YPI.