This item was published during the term of a previous administration that ended in April 2007
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New Centre for Confidence and Well-Being
01/12/2004
A series of new training and information initiatives for
professionals who work with young people is soon to get
under way.
The newly-established Centre for Confidence and
Well-being, to be formally launched tomorrow, will run
projects which will receive funding of up to £150,000 over
three years from the Executive.
Priority areas for action will be health improvement and
workforce development for professionals who support
children and families including teachers, social workers
and health workers.
Education Minister Peter Peacock said the scheme would
help build a future generation of ambitious, confident
Scots.
The Glasgow-based centre aims to establish itself as an
internationally recognised centre for research, thinking
and interventions on confidence.
Mr Peacock said:
"We know from research there are issuses to be addressed
about confidence in young people in Scotland.
"Young people need to be confident if they are to reach
their full potential.
"Confidence will help them adopt a 'can-do' approach,
encourage them to take all the opportunities that come
their way and will ensure there is no limit to their
ambition.
"This cash will allow the centre to tackle its priority
areas for action - improving health and providing training
for professionals who support children and families
including teachers, social workers and health
professionals.
"It will support a range of key Executive policies
including physical and mental health improvement, arts,
culture, sport and enterprise where we are already working
to boost levels of confidence.
"By developing a centre of international best practice
here in Scotland, we can better understand this issue and
how to increase confidence right across society.
"The initiatives funded will help identify how
confidence can be fostered through schools and other
institutions, and how different professions can work
together to achieve this."
Other organisations who will be providing support and
finance to the new centre include Scottish Enterprise, the
Glasgow Centre for Population Health, the Hunter
Foundation, Strathclyde University, Clydesdale Bank, Price
Waterhouse Coopers, BT in Scotland and the Royal Mail.
The independently-established centre will be managed by
Chief Executive Dr Carol Craig - author of The Scots'
Crisis of Confidence - and a board of directors, comprising
William Roe (Chair), Ewan Hunter and Morinne MacDonald.
The centre's core activities will include providing
information, networking with interested parties and
improving the quality of confidence building approaches and
activities through the provision of workshops and
conferences and the dissemination or development of tools
for evaluation.