MARISA DUFFY and JENNIFER ARCHER

They have transformed lives, tackled prejudice and helped make a difference to the world. Now these remarkable young Scots are getting the recognition they deserve.

They will be honoured for their inspirational work in communities around the world at an award ceremony in Glasgow tomorrow. The Arnold Kemp Award for Young Scot of the Year was set up by the Institute of Contemporary Scotland in memory of the former editor of The Herald. It celebrates groups and individuals who have furthered the cause of social inclusion.

Young Scot of the Year
Matt McGrath
Benbecula-born Matt studied industrial design at the University of Northumbria. In his final year he entered the RSA competition to redesign the laryngoscope, a hand-held instrument used by medics for examining the larynx, for instance if a breathing tube needs to be inserted. The original instrument was designed in the 1940s and was cumbersome, harboured dirt and required force to use, often breaking patients' teeth.

"It can be very problematic if you are struggling using an old instrument and can't get the tube in. The patient is already asleep so is therefore starved of oxygen, which can lead to brain damage and death. It was a big clinical problem," explains Matt, 30. "Once I graduated, I got sponsorship from the Audi design foundation to make some prototypes and that was when it became real."

Matt's design was guaranteed to be sterile and did not require the use of force. It was also the first design to both incorporate a camera and be completely portable. His company, Aircraft Medical Limited, was established in 2001 with the support of the Prince's Youth Business Trust.

"It has been a big learning curve but hopefully I'll always be on a big learning curve.

My driving force is to become the number one video laryngoscope company globally. If we can achieve that I think it will be much easier for us to move on to other things with that under our belt."

In the past couple of years, Matt has secured deals in the US, Italy and Canada which could collectively generate revenues of £30m. His company employs 17 full-time staff in Edinburgh and Fife. Despite having achieved so much by the age of 30, his advice to young entrepreneurs is clear.

"Don't rush. There is plenty of time. Quite often people might feel they need to make a quick decision and maybe put themselves in a weaker position. If you're starting off as an individual your costs are very low, so you can afford to research things very well and try and find the right people to work with."

Group Award
Hope for Peru Group, Ayrshire A group of youngsters from Ayrshire travelled to Peru in July 2007 with the Vine Trust to build homes for street boys.

Each member had to raise £1500 to go on the trip.

"We stayed in Kusi for a week where we made mud bricks which are used to build houses," says 19-year-old art student Lisa Bertellotti. "We had to dig away at the mountainside to get the dirt and then mix it with straw and water with our feet. We worked alongside Peruvian gaffers' and the language barrier wasn't too much of a problem. We had dinner with the boys and they would always sing to us before the meal and we'd play games, so you didn't need to talk.

"The trip has completely altered my outlook. You don't really appreciate things like sitting on a couch until you are somewhere that doesn't have one and you're sitting on the ground or on wooden benches. Those street boys have been through so much. They've been living on the street, stealing, prostituting themselves to live and to get money. Policemen shoot the boys on sight. Some of their stories would reduce anyone to tears."

Lisa was particularly moved by the story of one very quiet boy who staff said had never known his mother. When she was pregnant she was forced to borrow the equivalent of 20p from the child's grandmother to be able to give birth in hospital. The following day the grandmother demanded the money back and when the child's mother couldn't pay, his grandmother stole him and burned the soles of his feet so he couldn't run away. When he was five years old, his grandmother threw him out.

"You just see them as these happy wee boys who will share absolutely everything they have with each other," says Lisa.

Jonathan Gemmell, 20, was also on the trip. "It was a complete culture shock. It was incredible to see the poverty that people were living in.

"A few of us are planning to go back in 2009, perhaps as group leaders now that we have some experience."

The first night of the group's stay in Peru was more dramatic than they expected after they found themselves stranded at a road block by striking miners. It was a night Lisa Bertellotti will never forget. "They were rolling rocks off the cliff and they knocked trees down," recalls Lisa. "The only time I got scared was when we were at the rally and David (group leader David Gemmell) told us to be prepared to run. At one point he turned round, looked at us and said, Run!' The second we turned our backs, machine-gun fire went off. As we were running I glanced over my shoulder and I just saw the cloud of tear gas.

"The next time we got out of the bus we were chased by people with sticks but we knew we couldn't stay in the bus overnight because it wasn't safe, so we decided to walk down to the barricade. There were people standing there with guns - we knew we were being watched. You could see all the people up on the hillside because they had lit fires and they were communicating to each other by whistling, which was quite creepy.

"One of the ladies in the group, Agnes, was suffering from altitude sickness so the boys carried her. We had to climb very carefully over the barricade. We were told if we moved any of the rocks then we could get killed."

"On the other side of the barricade we got piled into a cattle truck and were taken to a hotel. We didn't realise at the time but rocks were being rolled in front of the truck to stop us passing. We were basically getting smuggled in.