What the Community Achievement Awards is?

Since June 2016 Xchange Scotland have been supporting people to achieve Community Achievement Awards through volunteering, getting involved and delivering community activities, funded by the Big Lottery Fund Investing in Ideas.

Individuals have done many different things, as the awards are personalised to what the individual is aiming to achieve, from leading a group of international volunteers at Doune the Rabbit Hole festival, to delivering workshops for other volunteers, to setting up a new World Cafe initiative to help others share cultures and languages.

Xchange Scotland and our partners have known for many years that volunteering and international experiences provide a unique learning experience, where young people can gain many competencies in areas such as intercultural education, practical skills, teamwork and communication, however in the past there has not been a way for us to recognise this learning. Community Achievement Awards have been developed by Glasgow Kelvin College, and they provide a way to recognise non formal learning. The awards are designed to recognise and accredit learning in a community setting and are based around a 3 stage process of Planning, Implementing and Evaluating. There are four different levels of the Community Achievement Awards and each of these are credit rated within the Scottish Credit Qualifications Framework at levels 4-7.

Celebrate the achievements of the volunteers in the Scottish Parliament

On 2nd March 2017 we hosted an event in the Scottish Parliament, sponsored by Johann Lamont MSP, to celebrate the achievements of the volunteers and present their certificates. It was a really exciting day, and we loved the chance to visit the Scottish Parliament! Johann Lamont MSP, Shirley-Anne Somerville MSP (Minister for Further Education, Higher Education and Science), Shelley Talbot (Programme Manager at Xchange Scotland), and Carlyn McNab (Director of Curriculum at Glasgow Kelvin College) spoke to recognise the achievements of the young people and the success of the partnership between Xchange Scotland and Glasgow Kelvin College. 

More pictures of the event here!