Author Archives: Olivia Armstrong

An Explosion of Creativity and Discussion – About The Social Circle

The world is a complicated and difficult place to understand sometimes and the value of a group like Social Circle is that it allows young people to express their feelings and emotions in the digital age.

Making Space For Young People – How Paisley YMCA continues help engage young social groups

What impact do Makerspace groups and activities have on the young people that attend them and how do they survive during a global pandemic?

Beyond Video Conferencing – Panel One

The panel was an informative show of solidarity and growth between youth workers and organisations, showcasing both the challenges and rewards of adapting to work with tech throughout the pandemic and the great work and team effort required to continue to help young people and each other in the face of adversity. 

Renfrewshire Youth Academies Now Underway

The Renfrewshire Youth Work Network has organised youth work delivery into four Academies and the first one, the Culture Academy, led by our local partner Create Paisley, is now underway There are four Academies:• the Culture Academy (led by Create Paisley);• the Digital Academy (led by Paisley YMCA),• the Outdoor Academy (led by Renfrew YMCA);Continue reading “Renfrewshire Youth Academies Now Underway”

Closing the Digital Divide with Raspberry Pi

Some of the young people we support have been highlighted by the Raspberry Pi Foundation in a recent blog post and an article in their MagPi magazine. In correspondence, a programme manager at the Raspberry Pi Foundation observed that “we consider Paisley YMCA to be a fantastic example of a youth organization that already excels atContinue reading “Closing the Digital Divide with Raspberry Pi”

Meet and Code Awards

Well, we weren’t awarded first prize in the Community Category of the Meet and Code Awards (that went to the fantastic DENSA Coop Soc project in Italy) but we’re still proud that our ‘Five Days of Code’ event, delivered in October 2020, reached the Awards finals as the only UK finalist. Meet and Code helpsContinue reading “Meet and Code Awards”

Support in the Aftermath of the Fire

We’re still dealing with the aftermath of the fire at Paisley YMCA’s Makerspace in William Street. Online services continue and meanwhile we’re awaiting reports to know whether or not there’s structural damage as well as equipment damage, damage to wiring and damage to equipment. We’re also progressing the insurance claim for equipment, of course. ThereContinue reading “Support in the Aftermath of the Fire”