Louise Holdenreports on issues that Young Social Innovators are tackling
Now that Young Social Innovators' Speak Out forums are well under way, we're starting to get a real sense of the issues affecting young people around the country. At the Ardilaun Hotel in Galway on February 7th, 400 students gathered to watch presentations on mental health, teenage pregnancy, genocide, fair trade and child labour.
A strong theme at the event was the need for schools to have defibrillators and for young people to receive first-aid training. Sudden adult death syndrome (Sads) is a familiar term in schools after a number of shocking fatalities in the past 12 months. Sixteen-year-old Tony Parker, a student at Moate Community School, was the inspiration for his fellow students' YSI project. Tony died last year, and since his death the students at the school have been working to honour him by campaigning for a defibrillator for their school. A core message of their presentation, which featured a student collapsing during a game of basketball, was to reassure students that playing sport is not a risk factor in Sads and that it is important for schools and students to react appropriately, with education and medical equipment, and not to over-react by panicking or shying away from sporting activities.
Sixteen schools were involved in the Ardilaun Speak Out, and health was a big issue. Students from CBS Ennistymon, in Co Clare, focused on male mental health, including the reluctance of many teenage boys to speak out about any feelings they have of depression and hopelessness. They told the audience that stigma and lack of understanding about mental health can make it hard for young men to face their fears and get practical help.
Gort Community School shocked the audience with a graphic representation of a genocidal attack on a village. Its YSI project is designed to get Irish people thinking about the role of all nations to speak out against the genocide in Darfur, in Sudan.
Tuam is getting a YSI makeover through a project named "Let's Get Moving, Tuam Needs Grooming". Students in the Co Galway town are putting on their overalls and getting out the clean the streets - and hoping to catch the attention of local litterbugs in the process.
Other issues that made it to the stage included teenage pregnancy, smoking, the abuse of creatine, road safety, eating disorders, fair trade and the need for youth cafes.
In the build-up to May's National YSI Showcase, at the RDS, the groups will continue to develop their social-action projects in the community.
Are you interested in social-affairs journalism? Transition Times invites young social-affairs reporters to write about the YSI Speak Out forums. What did you see there? Did a particular issue stand out for you? E-mail your reports to lholden@irish-times.ie and we'll publish our favourites next month. The forums (9.30am-1pm) are at Clarion Hotel, Sligo (tomorrow), Woodlands Hotel, Waterford (Feb 26), Fairways Hotel, Dundalk (Feb 28), City Hall, Cork (Mar 4) and Red Cow Moran Hotel, Dublin (Mar 6). See www.youngsocialinnovators.ie
