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Last week was Volunteer’s Week – celebrating the work of volunteers across the UK and the valuable contributions they make.

While the week of celebrations may be over, volunteers continue their hard work all year round. So, we’ll continue to shine a spotlight on some of our fantastic events volunteers and members of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel, along with the amazing work they have been doing at local events, on projects and more.

Meet Keith Orr, who has volunteered as a creative mentor in Renfrewshire.

Why did you decide to volunteer as a creative mentor?

While at a course at Invest Renfrewshire, I was asked if I wanted to come along to the youth events panel meeting and see if it was something I would be interested in. When I went along to the meeting the room was just filled with energy and excitement, which made it hard to not become excited too.

After the meeting I decided being involved in helping teach the young people what I know about photography and film making was something I wanted to do.

 

What are the positive aspects on volunteering?

Being part of a group was really good for me on a personal level. Its always nice to feel like you’re worth and can make a difference, especially if you don’t often feel like you do. It helped me with my anxiety as I don’t do well in groups and can be quite quiet in them and this pushed me to speak up more.

On a selfless level, seeing some of the young people gaining confidence in photography was really nice to see. Also seeing all the fun everyone was having while we were making our short film was awesome.

It was just a positive experience all round. I learned something from the young people and I hope they learned something from me.

 

What would you say to encourage other people  to volunteer?

If you don’t have much going on in your life, feel like you don’t have anything to contribute to the world, I say you should just get out there and try volunteering. It will help build confidence in yourself and abilities – and you may even make some new friends along the way.

There is always something you can do to make the world a better place to live in, you just have to go do it.

Contact

Would you like to volunteer as part of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel? To find out more contact: valerija.tkacenko@renfrewshire.gov.uk

It’s Volunteer’s Week – celebrating the work of volunteers across the UK and the valuable contributions they make.

As part of the week’s activities, we’ll be shining a spotlight on some of our events volunteers and members of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel – and the amazing work they have been doing at local events, projects and more.

Meet Shannon Baxter, who is a member of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel.

“The reason I decided to join the Youth Events Panel and volunteer with the events team was because I wanted to put my opinions and ideas forward to help to plan events across Renfrewshire.

The positive aspects of being on the Youth Events Panel are the opportunities and the events that its allowed me to be involved in, creating for the Halloween festival and our stop-motion film ‘Behind the Mask’.

The one thing that I would say to encourage other young people to come along is, if you want to put your opinion and ideas forward on planning events in Renfrewshire, then the Youth Events Panel is the place for you.”

Contact

Would you like to volunteer as part of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel? To find out more contact: valerija.tkacenko@renfrewshire.gov.uk

It’s Volunteer’s Week – celebrating the work of volunteers across the UK and the valuable contributions they make.

As part of the week’s activities, we’ll be shining a spotlight on some of our events volunteers and members of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel – and the amazing work they have been doing at local events, projects and more.

Meet Madeline Klimczak, who is a student at the University of the West of Scotland and has been volunteering with Renfrewshire Council’s events team.

“My name is Madeline and I have been volunteering with the Renfrewshire Council events teams since Halloween Parade 2018. I have first heard about an opportunity to volunteer with the council thanks to one of my lecturers at the University of the West of Scotland. Back then I had been looking for an opportunity to gain more work experience in events, so I have decided to apply.

Since then I have taken on various responsibilities at different events. I have been a part of the Youth Panel, did stage management at the Paisley Food and Drink Festival, and shadowed event managers at the Paisley Christmas Lights Switch On and the Scottish Alternative Music Awards.

Although my first reason for volunteering was work experience, there is so much more that I have got from it. I have joined the events team during one of the hardest periods of my life and taking part in all those events have made me feel truly connected to the community and has given me so many opportunities to meet new people. Being mentored by Val has been a massive support system for me and have made me pursue so many different opportunities.

I would recommend volunteering to anyone that is interested in it. There are opportunities in every area that you can think of. This really does not have to take a lot of your time but at the same time, it can be one of the most rewarding things you could ever do.”

Contact

Would you like to volunteer as part of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel? To find out more contact: valerija.tkacenko@renfrewshire.gov.uk

Last week was Volunteer’s Week – celebrating the work of volunteers across the UK and the valuable contributions they make.

While the week of celebrations may be over, volunteers continue their hard work all year round. So, we’ll continue to shine a spotlight on some of our fantastic events volunteers and members of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel, along with the amazing work they have been doing at local events, on projects and more.

Meet Jessica Willcox, who is a member of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel.

Why did you decide to volunteer with our events and become part of the youth events panel?

“To meet new people, to try something new and raise disability awareness at events.”

What are the positive aspects on volunteering with youth events panel?

“It gives me more confidence and independence.”

What would you say to encourage other young people join youth events panel and help at the events?

“You get involved with lots of different projects, its good fun and you get to help with community events.”

Contact

Would you like to volunteer as part of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel? To find out more contact: valerija.tkacenko@renfrewshire.gov.uk

It’s Volunteer’s Week – celebrating the work of volunteers across the UK and the valuable contributions they make.

As part of the week’s activities, we’ll be shining a spotlight on some of our events volunteers and members of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel – and the amazing work they have been doing at local events, projects and more.

Meet Beth Paton, who is a member of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel and a young volunteer.

“I first found out about the youth events panel while they were working on the Halloween festival and thought it looked fun. It was a new experience that I thought I’d try out.

The great aspects of volunteering are having a positive aspect on the community, meeting lots of new people and making great friends, gaining new skills and experiences. Also, getting to take part in all the great festivals and events.

It’s a really great opportunity and experience that allows you to try new things and meet new people. It also gives you a chance to impact your community and make decisions that could influence events near you.”

Contact

Would you like to volunteer as part of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel? To find out more contact: valerija.tkacenko@renfrewshire.gov.uk

It’s Volunteer’s Week – celebrating the work of volunteers across the UK and the valuable contributions they make.

As part of the week’s activities, we’ll be shining a spotlight on some members of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel and the amazing work they have been doing at local events, projects and more.

Meet Eoin Graham, who has been volunteering as a photographer at a number of events across Renfrewshire.

“My name is Eoin Graham and I am a current NC Photography student at West College Scotland in Paisley. I have been a volunteer photographer with Paisley.is starting from their Halloween Event in 2018.

I got in contact about volunteering to get hands-on experience at event photography and the team has been super friendly and inclusive ever since.  It has been so valuable for me to learn from their professional photographers and apply this in my own photos. I also collaborated with members of the Paisley.is team to submit my photos to the press and on social media channels, seeing my photos alongside the professionals and getting similar praise is very motivating.

I was a mentor in a stop motion animation, (organised by the Create Paisley, Paisley.is & the Youth Events Panel) which dealt with mental health and isolation. I used my photographic skills to help teach and inspire the group of youth panel members. It’s great to also build connections and establish a portfolio of work to take with me into the future.

Volunteering can be a great way to meet new people and do what you enjoy most, one message I would give to anyone considering to volunteer is to just give it a wee go – there is nothing to lose and it’s great for keeping your morale high and staying motivated.”

Contact

Would you like to volunteer as part of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel? To find out more contact: valerija.tkacenko@renfrewshire.gov.uk

Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel and young creators from Create Paisley have come together to produce a spectacular stop motion film to raise awareness of mental health.

Behind the Mask, which takes a unique look at the struggles of not fitting in, connecting with others and finding your true self, premiered at the Open Minds Festival in Paisley.

The story captured the hearts of festival attendees as the film was voted as one of the top three in the arts competition filmmaking category.

The idea for Behind the Mask originated after the two groups came together with a shared goal of creating a film to highlight mental health issues and how different people experience them.

Creative mentors from Invest in Renfrewshire were on hand to teach the groups about scriptwriting, storyboarding, filming and photography.

The story was also built on inspirational quotes from the young people involved:

“Before you can connect with others, connect with yourself.”

“Never be afraid to be yourself.”

“Everyone can go through something but deal with if it differently.”

Behind the Mask portrays how connecting with others allows people to open up, be themselves and help overcome difficulties dealing with mental health.

You can watch the Behind the Mask film in the video player above.

Contact

Would you like to volunteer as part of Renfrewshire’s Youth Events Panel? To find out more contact: valerija.tkacenko@renfrewshire.gov.uk

An exciting new company of emerging theatre-makers and artists at PACE Youth Theatre will be supported by Renfrewshire Council’s Culture, Heritage and Events Fund.

Rep Company is designed to bridge the gap between youth theatre and the professional theatre industry and will give young people the opportunity to develop professional theatre in a supported environment within Renfrewshire.

PACE has long been recognised for developing up-and-coming artists and boasts an impressive list of alumni who have gone on to work professionally in film, theatre and TV industries.

The inaugural Rep Company will be: Poppy Lironi (24), Carla MacPherson (17), Andrea Cano Molina (24), Allan Othenio (24), Iona Ramsay (21), and Fraser Scott (20).

Collectively they represent current, former and non-members of PACE Youth Theatre and each of them have a connection to Renfrewshire, either having lived, worked or studied in the area.

Summer 2019 will see the Rep Company tour two ambitious new devised productions on the theme of mental health – Little Wings and Avalanche – both to be previewed at Paisley Arts Centre before premiering at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Rep Company artists will be mentored every step of the way by a PACE director and guest tutors.

Behind the scenes, Rep Company will also provide an opportunity for an Assistant Director, Stephanie Pollock (29) and Technical Assistant, Jamie McKechnie (20) to work alongside professional theatre technicians in realising both of these shows.

 

Jenni Mason, Artistic Director of PACE said: “The calibre of young artists who put themselves forward for Rep Company was outstanding, and I’m genuinely excited by the talented young people we have selected to form the very first PACE Rep Company.

“These artists already have a range of different experience and each are bringing something completely unique to the process of creating two new shows.

“This will be PACE Theatre Company’s first time performing at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and we’re really proud to be representing Renfrewshire on an international stage this summer”.

 

To say Nick Shields is proud of Renfrewshire’s contribution to manufacturing is an understatement. From textile production to powering WW2 aeroplanes, Nick has an encyclopaedic knowledge of the area’s manufacturing heritage.

It’s not just in his role as Head of the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service that he has built this knowledge up.

For Nick is Renfrewshire born and bred, growing up in Elderslie, schooled in Johnstone and now working in Paisley town centre, inspired by his mother, a former mill worker, his father, a shipbuilder and his grandfather, the decorative chef at Cochranes (later becoming Arnotts).

A keen guitarist and Gerry Rafferty superfan, Nick is excited about the work under way to cement Renfrewshire’s role as the beating heart of Scotland’s manufacturing future and here he shares his ambitions for the area.

“Renfrewshire truly was the cradle of Scottish manufacturing and one of the most important centres of UK and global manufacturing.

I’m quite steeped in the industrial history of the area. We did everything here, whether it was in Hillington making the Merlin engines that flew the spitfire or building the boilers in Babcocks generating steam for power stations around the world.

We exported so much capability and technology around the world, with complex businesses taking raw materials and turning them into finished goods.

Paisley was a world leader of the cotton industry and home to the world’s first truly global enterprise, the Coats business, at one time the third largest company in the world.

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The post-industrial world we live in now means that one of my main challenges is to overcome people’s sense that we don’t make anything anymore. The reality is we still make an awful lot of products, we just don’t make things that people see on a day-to-day basis.

We still make high performance – high value products for global markets, often for businesses not consumers. These businesses offer fantastic career opportunities, it is the high skill, high wage economy. Having a thriving manufacturing sector truly will drive prosperity for our economy.

Renfrewshire still punches well above its weight in its contribution to the Scottish economy.

You have globally recognised players such as Rolls Royce and Howden, technical leaders in their fields. There’s highly successful family businesses such as the Scottish Leather Group, taking a traditional industry and by adopting progressive approaches they’re now the largest leather manufacturer in the UK.

You’ve got companies like Vascutek [now called Terumo Aortic] producing cardiovascular implants with a technology that evolved from the same textile mills that built the town of Paisley.

Whether it’s in Hillington [Scotland’s first designated new industrial estate when it was established more than 80 years ago and now home to more than 500 businesses employing 8,000 people] or in Inchinnan where you’ve large players such as Thermo Fisher, a global life sciences company, and lots of smaller, privately owned companies such as Peak Scientific, who export their gas generation products all over the world.

You’ve got it all here, many key sectors that are important to Scotland – aerospace, life sciences, food and drink – don’t forget 22% of all Scotch whisky is bottled in the Diageo site at Braehead.

My organisation is at the forefront of making sure Scottish manufacturing businesses maximise the opportunities the emerging fourth industrial revolution offers by making them more efficient and highlighting the benefits of new technology.

All previous industrial revolutions have driven up standards of living and prosperity for the countries that embraced them, Scotland has benefited from the first three revolutions. The fourth industrial revolution involves a combination of technologies such as automation, cyber systems, data, robotics and 3D printing. All the economic predictions say this again will be game-changing and can have a profoundly positive effect for manufacturers in Scotland.

Advanced Forming Research Centre

Renfrewshire is soon to be home to the National Manufacturing Institute Scotland and the Medicines Manufacturing Innovation Centre, both being built next to Glasgow Airport at the centre of the Advanced Manufacturing Innovation District Scotland.

These facilities will help manufacturing businesses better understand how new technology can improve their productivity. Through supporting technology and skills in businesses, centres such as these have shown elsewhere that they can act as a magnet for investment. These facilities represent a massive vote of confidence in what the manufacturing sector can do for Scotland and for the UK. That they are being set up side-by-side here in Renfrewshire   signals the continued significance of this location.

Advanced manufacturing is about making technically complex often critical components and products that require a high degree of skill and knowledge and often a significant investment in new technology. It’s about low carbon transportation systems, the electrification of vehicles, medical advances for an ageing population, all new products supporting our changing world.

I can see the advanced manufacturing innovation district around Glasgow Airport driving these new business opportunities as you’ve got a fantastic location, next to an international airport, next to the motorway system, near a port, in the centre of an area already recognised as the cradle of Scottish manufacturing. You’ve a perfect combination of circumstances which makes this an ideal destination for global and Scottish businesses to invest and grow.

Access to talent is the competitive edge that global players right now are saying that secures investment.

We are on the cusp of something huge and Renfrewshire is ideally placed to seize the opportunities advanced manufacturing brings. With evolving technologies, there are a host with new jobs in careers we can’t even describe yet, remember 15 years ago nobody knew what an app developer was.”

Developing a world-class location for advanced manufacturing

We are on the cusp of something huge and Renfrewshire is ideally placed to seize the opportunities that advanced manufacturing brings.

Nick Shields
Head of the Scottish Manufacturing Advisory Service

Award-winning photographer Gary Chittick will be regularly sharing his spectacular pictures with you on his Paisley.is blog.

Gary marks the start of springtime by showing off some of his favourite images captured in Renfrewshire at this time of year.

March is the month of the Vernal/ Spring Equinox when the equator is the closest point of Earth to the sun.

It is also the month of the Equilux when day and night are of equal lengths. This is quickly followed by the start of British Summer Time on Sunday 31 March, unfortunately meaning an hour less in bed. Booooo!

I thought I’d share a few images from Renfrewshire from this time of year. I hope you enjoy them.

Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park

Clyde Muirshiel in spring by Gary Chittick

The change from winter to spring is a good time to explore local gem, Clyde Muirshiel Regional Park in Lochwinnoch. There are a number of great walks around the park, including a popular local hike up Windy Hill. I have spent a great deal of time walking around the park at all times of the day and night (not for the feint hearted or those scared of unusual noises in the dark!) and the longer days make the park more accessible for those looking to stretch their legs in daylight after work.

This image was taken on the walk up to Windy Hill with the changing colours and low cloud making for a moody scene. I’m looking forward to taking a lot more images here this year.

Paisley sunsets

Paisley skyline by Gary Chittick

Paisley certainly has an amazing skyline for sunsets and March into April has the sun in a good position over the horizon (depending on your viewpoint) for sunset images. Seeing a colourful sunset is often a a mix of luck, timing and a little help from mother nature but it’s the sort of event to sit, watch and enjoy. You can really admire the unique skyline from all around the town and Paisley has some great viewpoints for sunset, including Saucel Hill, Barshaw Park and here, Barshaw Golf Course. Here’s hoping for many more.

A Wee Calf

Who can resist a cute baby, whether human or animal? The change from winter into spring obviously means that the thoughts of many of Renfrewshire’s resident wildlife turns to creating new life. The next few weeks and months will see a range of baby animals join our world. Whilst this is a time to be extra careful around animals with young – especially if you have a pet of your own – it is also a time to enjoy the sights and sounds this new life gives us.

For this image, a young calf and it’s siblings enjoy some spring sunshine up near Hartfield Farm on the Glennifer Braes.

Renfrewshire Aurora

Renfrewshire Aurora by Gary Chittick

The equinoxes (Spring and Autumn) have typically resulted in an increased chance of aurora. NASA’s research suggests that this is because of the Earth’s “tilt” towards the sun at these times of year which makes it easier for our magnetic field to connect with the charged particles in the solar wind. As you may have seen with some of my previous images, I’ve observed the aurora many times from Renfrewshire and there is always an extra hope at this time of year for increased activity.

To show you what a “good” aurora can look like from the area, here is one from Lochwinnoch. Remember that the camera enhances what you can see by eye and most people see the aurora as a greyish, greenish glow, until you have movement which is much easier to see. The moral here is, if the aurora is on your bucket list, it IS possible to see it from Renfrewshire!

Remember that the Spring Equinox traditionally marks a time for new beginnings, birth and fresh starts, so be positive and get out there and find something fresh and exciting to do in Renfrewshire!

Gary’s pictures are not available for use without his permission.

Find out more about Gary

I love the fabulous architecture - Paisley Abbey, Coats Memorial and the town hall, all within walking distance.

Barbara Erskine
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