Youth Forum Member Presented Medal of Honour

Youth Forum Member Presented Medal of Honour

Forces Children Scotland Youth Forum member, Isabella Turner (Izzy), was presented with a British Citizen Youth Award Medal of Honour at The Palace of Westminster on 17 October.

Izzy was nominated for her enduring commitment to co-developing projects, services and campaigns, including Tornado of Change and Your Mind Matters.

The British Citizen Youth Award (BCyA) honoured twenty-one young people from across the UK who have positively impacted their communities and wider society.

The medals are presented to a small number of exceptional young individuals annually and are widely viewed as the nation’s way of recognising extraordinary young people for exceptional endeavour and commitment to helping others.

The ceremony was hosted by Singer and Actress, Kimberly Wyatt who is also a Patron of The British Citizen Youth Award who said:

“Many of these kids have faced turmoil in their own lives yet still choose to be selfless and help others. I applaud you and your families for your hard work and dedication. You are the future, and your brilliant endeavours will make a difference!”

Dame Mary Perkins, Patron of the BCA said:

“The British Citizen Youth Award recipients are very special individuals. These young people all go above and beyond for others with selfless acts of kindness and community spirit with no thought or expectation of praise or reward.

This Medal ceremony is a great opportunity to shine a light on what they do and give them the recognition they so thoroughly deserve. They are the nation’s true unsung heroes and the rising stars of the future.”

Following a truly memorable event in London, we asked Izzy whether the experience had proved as she had imagined and were there particular highlights:

“I honestly wasn’t sure what to expect for the awards ceremony, but I think the highlight must’ve been the fact that without intentionally doing so, everyone now had at least heard of Forces Children Scotland and the impact the charity has managed to have on young people.

On top of that, I’d say another great moment was the multiple people who came up to me to tell me about their own experiences with the forces, with one lady explaining she was a forces child herself and another man explaining he used to serve REME.

Now that I’ve received my medal, I feel more proud than ever. Not only of myself and my own personal achievements but also of everything we have achieved together on the residentials and campaigns we’ve led as a charity.”

Nominated for her enduring commitment to supporting the work of Forces Children Scotland, Izzy reflects on how the experience has enhanced a feeling of affinity for the armed forces and a sense of belonging:

“Truthfully, I feel working with Forces Children Scotland has strengthened my own relationship with the military environment as well as allowing me to develop a sense of pride and acceptance for where I feel I belong. I feel that Forces children Scotland has truly helped my own and many other people’s lives when it comes to their ‘belonging’.”

Izzy has grasped opportunities to co-produce projects, services and campaigns through Forces Children Scotland’s Youth Participation Project.

She made an invaluable contribution to our Tornado of Change Project that creatively expressed what it feels like when a parent leaves the armed forces, through three short video themes: feeling lost and alone in a new place, feeling powerless in the face of change, and feeling brave in the face of change.

Moreover, Izzy supported the co-production of our Your Mind Matters Digital Hub which provides tailored mental health and wellbeing advice information and resources for over 13,000 peers from armed forces communities across Scotland and beyond, as well as for teachers and wider professionals supporting this community.

Serving as a role model for peers across Scotland, Isabella got involved in a recent campaign to describe how getting involved in our youth participation activities can build confidence, develop new skills, and make new friends to encourage greater numbers of peers to find out more about Forces Children Scotland.

Nina Collins, Forces Children Scotland’s Children and Young People’s Participation Manager, attended the ceremony in London, who said:

“Izzy became involved in Forces Children Scotland’s forum after attending an online book club we were co-hosting with Army Welfare Service during lockdown. She attended a co-production session as part of the development of our new strategy and since then she has been involved in a variety of our projects.

In 2021 she was part of the co-production group for the development of our Your Minds Matter hub and in 2022 for our Tornado of Change Campaign, she has blogged about her experience of working with us and recently delivered a presentation to her cadet unit about Forces Children Scotland. At school she is campaigning to establish support in her school for young people from serving and veteran families.”

With a very bright future ahead, we asked Izzy where does she herself in five years’ time and how has working with Forces Children Scotland helped to develop skills and confidence to realise her potential:

“Providing everything goes to plan, I’d like to be in my last year at university, studying either English or History. I think my work with FCS has helped me build a brighter future for myself as it has strengthened valuable life skills, I felt I was lacking in before. I was always an extremely shy child, but by getting involved with FCS, I’ve managed to find a way to come out of my own shell, strengthening both my teamwork skills, as well as my own individual abilities.”

Izzy’s family attended the ceremony, whom she proudly referenced their strong roots within the armed forces community in her acceptance speech. The event proved a very special moment for her mother, Suzanne, who said:

“We are extremely proud of Izzy and her achievements.  Forces Children Scotland has been instrumental in facilitating and enabling Izzys participation in supporting the armed forces community.  It has allowed her to work alongside peers and collaborate on projects.

The child(ren) of military families are often described as being resilient, however, it is not until you speak to those military children, whether serving or veteran that you can truly understand their lived experience.  The projects that Izzy has worked on will hopefully help many other children of military families for years to come”.

Having achieved so many fantastic things with Forces Children Scotland, we finished by asking Izzy what she would say to encourage greater numbers of young people from armed forces communities to get involved with our charity:

“I’d say to anyone that if you see an opportunity to work with forces children Scotland, you should take it. You lose nothing by getting involved, and you gain everything by doing so.”

Do you know of an inspirational young person, like Izzy?

Nominations are now being accepted for 2025 Medal of Honour Awards, register online at www.britishcitizenyouthawards.co.uk.