Participation at Aberlour

Participation is the genuine, meaningful inclusion of people with lived experience in shaping decisions, services and policies that affect their lives.

There are lots of different kinds of participation, including consultation, co-production, volunteering, and campaigning. All types have their benefits, but what is most important is that the people sharing their insights and experience are valued, listened to, learned from, and responded to.

At Aberlour, the participation of children, young people, families, and carers informs everything we do and say in our work. These voices and views keep us fresh and focused. They guide our research, service development, and encourage us to keep working to embed participation throughout our entire organisation and help others like Scottish Government to do the same.

It is only by putting people with lived experience at the heart of our work that we will deliver meaningful and lasting change for everyone we support.

Here are three examples of how we involve children, young people, and families in our work:

• Recruiting new colleagues – children, young people and families are involved in recruiting new staff to the charity, from project workers to residential managers.
• Informing our policy and influencing work – We routinely support children, young people, and families to share their views and experiences around new bills and other relevant issues.
• AbJam – our annual youth conference is co-developed and co-delivered by Aberlour young people. Visit our AbJam page to find out more.