To open One World Week 2024, young people from all across Ireland gathered for this year’s Youth Summit, Exploring Connections. The event took place at the Communications Workers’ Union in Dublin. Participants joined us to explore their connections with one another while discovering links to the wider world. We wanted to know what links could be found on a personal, local, national, and global level.
The day was a celebration of young changemakers exploring how we can work together with our communities. How can we make the world a place where everyone is encouraged and celebrated for being who they are? The day encompassed four interactive workshops focused on a number of the Sustainable Development Goals. It also included group movement sessions and a very special performance from Young Voices of Africa.
Workshop 1: Debate the Vote
Through the lens of voting, the first workshop took a deeper look at Sustainable Development Goal 10: Reduced Inequalities. The Debate the Vote workshop was led by the current UN Youth Delegates, Natasha Maima and Lauren Jones Brennan. In it, we asked the question, what exactly does voting have to do with reducing inequality?
After some introductory questions, the workshop took the form of an interactive debate. Two motions were proposed: one to lower the voting age to 16 and one to raise it to 21. Participants were split into four groups, two in favour and two against.
Two arguments that arose for and against lowering the voting age to 16 were:
- Our brains never stop developing, so the argument that young people aren’t ready for this reason is flawed
- Young people aren’t educated enough on the issues we vote on to make the age any lower
Two arguments that were offered for and against raising the voting age to 21 were:
- Raising the age would give young people time to become better informed on voter issues
- Because politicians represent voters, excluding young people from the vote means their needs may not be adequately considered
When it comes to reducing inequalities, the democratic process gives everyone a voice. The conclusion the workshop group came to was that if we don’t all have a voice, we can never be equal!
Workshop 2: Prioritise Under Pressure
In this workshop, our young participants tackled tough decisions with the support of facilitator Oisín Ó Dubhshláine. Oisín is a development officer and youth leader with Feachtas Óg-Ghluaiseacht Gaeilge, an Irish language youth club based in Dublin. This workshop focused on Sustainable Development Goal 1: No Poverty. Splitting into groups, participants worked together to prioritise critical needs like access to food, water, housing, education, hygiene, and healthcare. But how can we decide which is more or less important when all are necessary for human dignity?
When everything is important, setting priorities isn’t as easy as it seems! Is access to clean water more important than housing? Does food security trump healthcare? Where does education fit in? Interestingly, no one group gave the same two needs first and last place. It was a lively discussion in which we learned that poverty encompasses so much more than just money.
Workshop 3: Your Climate, Your Community
Focusing on Sustainable Development Goal 13: Climate Action, this workshop gathered sustainability ideas from young changemakers. Together with youth worker Alex Duffy, the group explored how communities can drive climate action. Alex Duffy, works on the Youth for Sustainable Development Programme with ECO-UNESCO. In her work, she helps young people to explore their connections to issues impacting their everyday lives.
Breaking into groups, we explored how we can use collective action to make change on local issues. We touched on issues from public transport and walkability to bins covered in vape stickers. In one group, all of the participants had travelled from outside Dublin. This led us to a discussion about access to sustainable transport options. We talked about how access to transport in Ireland is unequal, particularly when it comes to trains.
With elections coming up, Alex asked the question: What is ONE thing you want the government to change? Responses exposed young people’s continued concerns about housing and the cost of living. Their main worries relate to being able to those needs we deem essential, like food, housing, and education. Ending the workshop on a powerful note, Alex reminded us that the youth voice is massive. Even if someone isn’t eligible to vote yet, they can still use their voice.
Workshop 4: The Island Games
Our final workshop of the day brought all three groups together for the Island Games. This workshop explores connection & collaboration, with groups working to create equitable, functioning societies where everyone’s needs are met.
To build their societies, the governing bodies of each imaginary island nation have to decide how to prioritise their needs. This involves allocating existing resources and negotiating trade for what they don’t have. Reflecting the real world, the game is sometimes chaotic and reveals power imbalances and even sometimes corruption. As a thought experiment, it is engaging and provokes debate on who holds the most power.
Our Capacity Development & Training Officer Niamh Flynn closed the Island Games on a serious note. “When we create spaces for you, we try to facilitate them to reflect how decisions are made in the real world,” she said. Her words brought the day full circle, reminding us of the purpose of the Youth Summit.
With something new to discover around every corner, the 2024 Youth Summit was a day of exploration. Participants brought curiosity, passion, and a sense of adventure ready to explore connections between the personal, local, national, and global. With inequality increasing globally, One World Week is more necessary than ever and the NYCI team is excited to see what the rest of the week brings.
One World Week and the Youth 2030 programme are supported by our funders Irish Aid and our partners Maynooth University, Trócaire, and Concern Worldwide. The Youth Summit was supported by Fairtrade Ireland and the Communications Workers Union.
