Youth 2030

What is Youth2030?

Youth 2030 is a global youth work and development education project funded by Irish Aid, which is working to increase the integration, quality, and spread of global youth work and development education in non-formal youth work education, organisations, and projects. Its aim is to create an empowering and clear policy and practice environment for global youth work at both a national, European, and global level. 
 

We want to boost the quality delivery, impact, and communication of global youth work, and to support further mainstreaming of quality global youth work. With this project, we hope to bring curiosity, engagement, transformation, and action on some of the key social justice issues of our times. By the end of the current Youth 2030 programme in 2021, we hope to have achieved the following three targets:

  • Young people are better informed, more responsible, and more active in helping to bring about the sustainable development goals by 2030.
  • Development education methodologies and global issues are integrated into formal and non-formal curricula, programmes, and activities in the youth sector.
  • A more informed policy environment for global youth work and development education in the youth sector which stimulates, responds to, and addresses the needs of young people.

More information on the Youth 2030 Consortium is available on our ‘support for the youth sector’ page.

Valery Molay, Climate Action Officer

Coming from a background in environmental policy, I am passionate about climate justice. The one rule of policy is to keep it simple and effective; by including climate justice in youth work, its implementation becomes simple yet effective policy, as young people are engaging with climate issues from the offset. I am passionate about lending my climate justice expertise to a setting like youth work that changes lives.

What is something always on your office desk? A plant – I like the reminder of life and change.  

What is the SDG you are most passionate about? My passion is climate justice because I think climate change is an opportunity to adopt a new system that places people at its core. Therefore it has to be SDG 13 for me.  

What’s something you like to do when the workday is done?

Sally Daly, Capacity Development, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer

My role is to work to support youth workers and organisations to become more familiar with what a global youth work approach means. I also look after monitoring and evaluation for the team. We plan to develop training support on monitoring and evaluation in the future.

What is something always on your office desk? I have a carton of watercolour paints, brushes and yoghurt pots with water. And markers, lots of them, to help with thinking through ideas.

What is the SDG you are most passionate about? I feel passionate about Decent Work and Economic Growth. Work is a core function of how society operates, the conditions of work are fundamental to our ability to make choices that support us and our families to live well. And economic growth has to be about more than just money, it’s connected to how we treat people, the environment and other species, it must address inequality.

What’s something you like to do when the workday is done? Swimming in the sea, even a quick dip. It’s like shape shifting out of our human form. 

Leo Gilmartin, Membership, Engagement and Training Officer

My job is about supporting youth workers and young people in seeing how our lives and the choices we make are all connected. Youth work can play a powerful role in young people taking action in their lives, community, and around the globe. From Bray to Beirut, from Oysterhaven to Osaka, Crossmolina to Cape Town, Derry to Dakota. Young people are connected, and they are sharing their stories.

What is something always on your office desk? I like to keep my desk clean and clear when possible. I have recently added a scented candle and a stress ball during these work from home days. A big bottle of water will always be present too!

What is the SDG you are most passionate about? My favourite SDG currently is Goal 17 – Partnership for the Goals, because of the importance of solidarity and leaving no one behind in this mammoth task to reaching these goals.

What’s something you like to do when the workday is done? I live beside the sea so at the end of most days I take a stroll along the promenade and take in that sea air!