This article is from page 31 of the 2008-02-19 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 31 JPG
A THIRST for entertainment and a place where they can meet their peers, the transition year students of St Anne’s Community College, Killaloe have been brewing an idea which could see the start of a youth oF Nom bee stomcedwate
The transition year students have been researching the café for the Young Social Innovators Project.
The project, was founded by Sr Sta- nislaus Kennedy and Rachel Collier. The philosophy is that young people pursue a social issue they are con- cerned about and come up with re- sponses and actions to it. Becoming socially aware young citizens and making a real difference to people’s lives is one of the main aims of the
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The students have got moving to realise their vision for a place where young people in the area can meet and socialise in an alcohol and drug-free environment. For the past number of months the students have conducted a survey of their peers to establish the need for a Youth Café.
The overwhelming response was that there is a huge need for the fa- cility in the twin towns of Ballina- Killaloe.
WW aTem AU Cele olicmreD acm eri e-lO UL OUD OTSAM BD IT. @s with the Garda Siochana, Clare Youth Services, North Tipperary VEC., County Clare VEC, the Fam- ily Resource Centre Killaloe, Aware West of Ireland and the Health Serv- ice Executive.
They will now be looking to their
local politicians for support in secur- ing a venue and funding to see their project to completion.
‘The students have been very dedi- cated to this project. They’ve done the research and made all the contacts as well as visiting other youth cafes,” said teacher, Brendan O’Brien.
“There is still the question of a venue and what they are looking into now is starting small, maybe with something in the school.”
To create awareness around the project the students attended a Young Social Innovators speak-out forum in the Ardilaun Hotel in Galway City and gave a two-minute presentation to an audience of more than 400 oth- er students as well as politicians and invited guests.
The national policy on youth recre-
ation “Teenspace’ advocates such in1- tiatives. By April 3 next the students will know if their project has been selected to be displayed with hun- dreds of others in the RDS Dublin as part of the Young Social Innova- tors Showcase. The Showcase, which takes place in May, is a national event where hundreds of young peo- ple meet and discuss issues of social concern with each other and with the decision-makers and people whose lives they wish to improve.