IT’S been almost seven years since the Brexit referendum, but I vividly remember the sinking feeling of watching the results on TV, as Scotland’s place in Europe was being snatched away from us in real time.

Less than two years before that, Unionist politicians were solemnly telling people in Scotland that the only way to keep our European Union membership was by staying part of the UK.

For many, this was the difference between voting Yes and voting No.

It was yet another Unionist promise that turned to dust, and with enormous consequences.

Through a hard Brexit that we never voted for, Scotland is paying the price of not being independent.

In that wild year of 2016, I was on my Erasmus year at university, living and studying European politics in Stockholm – enjoying all the opportunities and the open horizons that came with our EU membership.

When I was pounding the doors in Scotland and campaigning for Remain over the Easter break, it was crystal clear that we’re an internationalist country, overwhelmingly wanting to remain part of the EU.

What didn’t fully occur to me was exactly what was happening south of the Border.

Seeing the referendum result map was a huge wake-up call.

Scotland emphatically marched on the road towards Europe, with 32 out of 32 local authorities voting Remain – but we got dragged off course by Nigel Farage’s takeover of English politics, and thrown under Boris Johnson’s Brexit bus.

Brexit was, and still remains, a tragedy – for our communities, for workers, for our environment, for small businesses, for our economy, and most of all for Scotland’s young people.

While Labour and Tories band together in their Brexit delusion, polls clearly show that people in Scotland want nothing to do with it.

We can do much, much better.

READ MORE: Young Scots for Independence announce international conference

Europe knows this – and sees this. Many senior figures across the EU are determined to “leave the light on” for Scotland, but ultimately it’s our job to keep generating the energy that will keep this light on.

I’m confident that in the near future, Scotland will choose to become an independent country and seek to rejoin the EU in its own right – after all, independence is the only path to Europe we have left.

But to get there, we need to put in hard graft at home and also abroad, stepping up Scotland’s international connections and building vital alliances with European parties that share our progressive values.

That’s why, as young people in the SNP, we’re taking the initiative and hosting our first-ever International Youth Conference – taking place between April 14-16 in Edinburgh.

We’re bringing together seven international youth delegations and welcoming them to Scotland for a weekend of learning, sharing ideas and campaigning experience, and developing ideas for a stronger Europe with Scotland at its heart.

It will help to demonstrate that Scotland is a proudly internationalist country, and the SNP is a proudly internationalist party.

The National:

Winning independence and rejoining the EU are the crucial first steps, but as we face the climate crisis and worsening economic inequality, that isn’t enough.

We must also work towards developing a vision on what kind of Scotland we want to see, in what kind of Europe – developing common solutions to these global problems.

It’s us young people who have the biggest stake in building that future, and we cannot wait a moment longer.

This International Conference – under the banner of Our European Future – with Scotland’s young people, international youth parties, politicians and experts, will be a proactive building block towards that future.

Instead of accepting the tragedy of Brexit and the bleak reality of Westminster control, let’s take Scotland’s future firmly into our hands – and by working together with our European friends, build a better world.