I am Head of Policy, Projects and Participation at Children in Scotland. The topic of my Fellowship is national approaches to increasing access to hobbies for children and young people. I will be visiting Finland and Iceland, two countries that have specifically invested in extending hobby provision. This topic has been of interest to me for many years. I have a background in mental health research and understand the positive impact hobbies and pastimes can have on mental health and wellbeing. However, it is also understood that not all children and young people benefit from hobbies as poverty and health inequalities present real barriers to participation.

I want to understand how Finland and Iceland have gone about increasing access to hobbies Ð how they have funded their approaches, the challenges they have faced and the impact they have seen. I would like to understand this from different perspectives Ð policymakers, hobby co-ordinators, hobby providers, parents and carers, and children and young people themselves.

I will use my Fellowship findings to influence the development of similar approaches in Scotland, building on Children in Scotland's existing campaign work.