A BARRHEAD High pupil will be working to ensure the voices of Scotland’s children are heard in the Brexit negotiations as part of a new project.

Soroush Uthmani will have the chance to advise the Scottish Government on the issues he would like to be considered in Brexit negotiations with Westminster as part of the Children and Young People’s Panel on Europe.

Initiated by Children in Scotland and independently led by the charity in partnership with Together (the Scottish Alliance for Children’s Rights), the panel will also develop resources to provide helpful information for children across Scotland about what leaving the EU might mean for them.

Meeting four times between now and December, members will learn more about the process of leaving the EU, and find out what other young people across the UK have said, before deciding what they want the priorities to be for the future.

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In November, they will meet with Michael Russell MSP, cabinet secretary for government business and constitutional relations, to share their thoughts on how he can best represent children and young people as negotiations between the Scottish and UK governments continue.

A former Cross Arthurlie Primary pupil, now in his first year at Barrhead High, Soroush said: “I believe this panel is important because it focuses on the impact of Brexit on children. 

“It is us who will experience the effects of Brexit first-hand. It is us who will have to adopt a lifestyle, changed by Brexit. 

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“Even now, no one has acknowledged this. This is why I believe the panel is much-needed.

“I am also excited about being a part of this programme as it helps give me a better perspective about the world we live in, enabling me to become a global citizen.” 

The project, funded by Scottish Government as part of the Brexit Stakeholder Engagement Fund, builds on work by the Scottish Youth Parliament, Young Scot, the My Life My Say movement and others, which found children and young people feel anxious and uncertain about what Brexit means for them.

Juliet Harris, director of Together, said: “Little effort was made to engage children and young people in the EU referendum. The Brexit negotiations have been dominated by discussions on the economy, trade, immigration and sovereignty.”