CHANGE THE WORLD:From silent plays to showy cabarets, students taking part in this year's Speak Outs have displayed some dazzling displays of creativity, writes Louise Holden

The Young Social Innovators Speak Out train is approaching the last station, but we've picked up some very interesting characters on the way. The number of schools and students participating this year has gone up by 50 per cent and the new year has brought new issues and fresh insights to light. Last week it was the turn of the students of Louth, Waterford and neighbouring counties to get their messages across.

For sheer emotional impact, St Leo's in Carlow stood out. Its YSI project, Nowhere to Call Home, is on the subject of homelessness. They chose this issue because a homeless man died outside their school last year. The students were so horrified at the tragedy that they began to look at practical ways to tackle homelessness. At last week's Speak Out they performed a silent play, signifying the voicelessness of the homeless community. Through their play they urged people to get involved in the Make Room Campaign to help stop homelessness by 2010. If you want to sign up and become part of the campaign, see www.makeroom.ie.

No less serious, but lighter in tone, Our Lady's of New Ross took the Fair Trade theme and turned it into a cabaret - song and dance numbers on the subject of bananas, sugar and chocolate may have had the audience in hysterics, but the point about reforming world trade practices was not lost.

St Mary's in New Ross also put on a bit of a show, but to a different end. Their "Snowflakes" fashion parade was designed to remind self-conscious students of the value of being unique. They surveyed students in their community and found, to their dismay, that two out of three teens felt pressurised to conform to social and media norms. What this suggested to the students of St Mary's was that their peers were not comfortable in their own skins. "Snowflakes" was an entertaining reminder of just how valuable individuality really is.

Mental health has been a towering theme in this year's Speak Outs. Poor self-esteem is a key feature in mental distress, bullying, eating disorders and substance abuse. The members of Ashbourne Youthreach tackled the issue of drug abuse head-on with a rap: Knock on Death's Door and it will Open. They illustrated their message with placard photos of people in their communities who had been victims of drug use, as well as better-known figures such as Heath Ledger and Katy French.

Cathy Roche, education officer with the Young Social Innovators, is thrilled with this year's round of Speak Outs, which she says are getting bigger, better and more powerful every year. "The standard of the presentations is getting higher, but not just in terms of the way they look or the creativity that goes into them," she says. The really exciting development is the way students are getting closer to the core of each issue. Every year they are communicating even more vividly the problems that they find in their communities, to bigger and more receptive audiences. Each project is making a difference in its own sphere, but through the Speak Outs the collective social consciousness of our young people is being enriched. They won't lose the messages they are giving each other."

• Next week: read eye-witness accounts of the Speak Outs from the Young Social Innovators