Viewfinder 3: Young Edinburgh

The views of young people in Edinburgh on how to improve services and quality of life in the city, conducted by Ipsos on behalf of Youth Services, City of Edinburgh Council

Making Edinburgh a great place has been at the heart of much of Edinburgh City Council’s work over the years. The Council’s Youth Services Team commissioned Ipsos to conduct the Viewfinder 3 Survey in order to gather the views of young people in Edinburgh on how to improve services and quality of life in the city.

Among the key findings were that:

  • Almost three-quarters of young people (72%) felt that Edinburgh was a great place to be young
  • 72% of young people supported more opportunities for work experience and 60% wanted more training at school on skills employers look for
  • 85% thought that eating healthy food is important
  • Two-thirds of young people recycled
  • Almost half (45%) of young people thought that they should be involved when important decisions are being made
  • Two in five (40%) of young people wanted more support or help managing their emotions with other people
The work broadly replicated the previous Viewfinder Survey, Viewfinder 2, conducted by Ipsos in 2004 Technical details Almost 18,000 young people who live, work or study in Edinburgh completed the survey between 11 August and 16 November 2007. Sessions were conducted at schools (23 local authority schools, 6 special schools and 13 independent schools), colleges, universities, cinemas and shopping centres across the city. Many organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors also helped in the distribution of the questionnaires.

Related news