Politicians told to invest in youth

By
Alan Jacques
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Tyrone Guillen, Cindy Courtney, Mary Aroo, Chidina Ani and Shay Maloney from Limerick Youth Service meeting Jan O'Sullivan TD at the National Youth Council of Ireland Showcase ‘Youth Work Changes Lives’ in the Mansion House, Dublin recently (19.06.19). The national youth work showcase brought together over 300 young people representing every constituency in Ireland to celebrate the value, diversity and vitality of youth work in Ireland. A key message emerging from the day was that hundreds of thousands of young people and their communities take part in and benefit from youth work, and that we need to sustain and increase funding for youth work to meet the needs of our growing youth population.
Tyrone Guillen, Cindy Courtney, Mary Aroo, Chidina Ani and Shay Maloney from Limerick Youth Service meeting Jan O'Sullivan TD at the National Youth Council of Ireland Showcase ‘Youth Work Changes Lives’ in the Mansion House, Dublin recently (19.06.19). The national youth work showcase brought together over 300 young people representing every constituency in Ireland to celebrate the value, diversity and vitality of youth work in Ireland. A key message emerging from the day was that hundreds of thousands of young people and their communities take part in and benefit from youth work, and that we need to sustain and increase funding for youth work to meet the needs of our growing youth population.

YOUNG people from Limerick got the opportunity last week to tell their local politicians why they must invest more in youth work.

The National Youth Showcase brought together over 300 young people representing every constituency in Ireland to celebrate the value, diversity and vitality of youth work in Ireland.

A key message to emerge from the event was that hundreds of thousands of young people and their communities take part in and benefit from youth work.

Caillum Hedderman and Aoife Kiely from Limerick County scouts meeting Tom Neville TD at the National Youth Council of Ireland Showcase ‘Youth Work Changes Lives’ in the Mansion House, Dublin recently (19.06.19). The national youth work showcase brought together over 300 young people representing every constituency in Ireland to celebrate the value, diversity and vitality of youth work in Ireland. A key message emerging from the day was that hundreds of thousands of young people and their communities take part in and benefit from youth work, and that we need to sustain and increase funding for youth work to meet the needs of our growing youth population.
Caillum Hedderman and Aoife Kiely from Limerick County scouts meeting Tom Neville TD at the National Youth Council of Ireland Showcase ‘Youth Work Changes Lives’ in the Mansion House, Dublin recently (19.06.19). The national youth work showcase brought together over 300 young people representing every constituency in Ireland to celebrate the value, diversity and vitality of youth work in Ireland. A key message emerging from the day was that hundreds of thousands of young people and their communities take part in and benefit from youth work, and that we need to sustain and increase funding for youth work to meet the needs of our growing youth population.

Organised by the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) and addressed by Youth Affairs Minister Katherine Zappone, it gave young people the opportunity to speak directly to public representatives and share the benefits of youth work for themselves and their local communities.

“It is really important that young people get the chance to reach out and engage with local politicians. It provides them with the opportunity to call on their local politicians to support increased investment in youth work in the upcoming budget,” said NYCI director Mary Cunningham.

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“When politicians hear, see and experience the contribution and value of youth work in their local communities, particularly when expressed by young people themselves, it sends a very powerful message that this work is worth supporting and funding.”

There were also interviews with young people who shared powerful experiences of how youth work has changed their lives.

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