National Youth Assembly


The National Youth Assembly, often shortened to NYA, is an annual gathering of young people aged between 17 and 25 years old within the Church of Scotland. The event is run by the Mission & Discipleship Council of the Church, as part of Church of Scotland Youth.
The event is now held at Gartmore House.

Purpose

The primary aims of the event are twofold: to provide the youth of the Church with a safe space in which to explore their faith alongside what is for many an unprecedented company of young Christian, and to determine through debate what the youth of the Church have to say on various issues.
The NYA discusses different topics every year and determines what they wish to say on these topics through the medium of debate. Since 2014, the format of topics discussed has moved from debate-style, to utilising the World Cafe method - receiving input, then allowing time in small groups to discuss questions pertinent to the input, and then feeding back to the full number of delegates. These are also presented as part of a report to the General Assembly by the NYA Moderator.

Moderator

The Moderator chairs the debates throughout the weekend and is elected by the previous year's Youth Representatives, along with former Moderators and the Mission & Discipleship Council's Children and Young People Development Worker. A list of previous moderators is listed below: