Teens 'speak out' to change world

ALMOST 1,000 young people gathered in Dublin yesterday to show how they would change the world.

Aged mainly 15 and 16, they were taking part in a Young Social Innovators Speak Out forum, part of the Young Social Innovators (YSI) programme in which young people are encouraged to think about social issues that concern them, such as poverty, mental health, drug abuse and the environment, and to draw up action plans to tackle these.

About 6,000 young people, mainly in transition year in secondary schools, are taking part in YSI 2009 across the State.

They are undertaking more than 400 projects and were described yesterday by Sr Stanislaus Kennedy, who founded YSI nine years ago, as “the people who would shape the future”.

Those taking part yesterday were from schools in the east and midlands.

It was a very important event for them, said Sr Stan. “And it is very important for all of the rest of us. You will be the social innovators of the future. You are saying to the world: ‘We young people care about our society and our future. We care about the future of Ireland’,” she said.

Lord Mayor of Dublin Eibhlin Byrne also addressed them, saying it would be up to them to shape the future as Ireland lifts itself out of recession. Many people had lost sight of the kind of society and values we wanted. The recession, she hoped, would be used to “allow us to stop and look at the kind of society we wanted”.

Yesterday’s forum was the penultimate in a series of eight speak outs and the best from each will be showcased in an event in the RDS, Dublin, on May 6th.