Nil by Mouth has launched a free programme across West Lothian as part of its battle against bigotry in Scotland.
The charity has received funding from the Scottish Government across 2023/24 allowing it to work in three local council areas: North Lanarkshire, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian which will see it delivering free education, training and interventions across schools, colleges, prisons, and workplaces in the county.
The charity kicked off the project with a visit to Livingston Football Club Academy educating young players on the importance and impact of language and attitudes on and off the pitch, as well as on social media. Players from all the Academy’s year groups took part in sessions helping them better understand their rights and responsibilities and how to deal with attitudes they might encounter around the sport.
Now the charity is set to ramp up its work across West Lothian through its ‘United Against Division’ programme which is available to all of the authority’s primary and secondary schools and lets pupils better understand faiths, traditions and cultures different to their own. They hope before the end of 2023 to visit the county more than a dozen times with visits to schools in Blackburn, Broxburn and Livingston already confirmed.
The project forms part of the Scottish Government’s ‘Tackling Sectarianism’ programme which sees grassroots work being carried out in communities right across Scotland to tackle religious prejudice and promote stronger relations between people from different faith backgrounds.
Nil By Mouth Director Dave Scott said:
‘Prior to Covid we had been very active in West Lothian in partnership with the council and when discussing our plans with the Scottish Government for this year we highlighted the area as one of three in the country where all our programmes could be delivered free of charge. This means school, youth projects, employers or community group who would like to explore the issue can tap into our various projects and resources at no extra cost. We would like to thank Livingston Football Club for getting on board with the message and encouraging positive behaviour within the club and local community. We have already started working with young people in its academy and we are excited to extend our message to children and families across West Lothian schools and communities. Scotland is bigger, better and bolder then bigotry and we hope hundreds of people across the country will get behind our message of tolerance and change.’
Any organisation interested in working with the charity can find out more about how they can benefit from involvement by contacting: engagement@nilbymouth.org
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