This article is from page 27 of the 2014-05-13 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 27 JPG
A TEAM from Coláiste Muire secondary school in Ennis has been named the Young Social Innovators of the Year for 2014.
They scooped the top prize at the prestigious competition for their project – ‘Beware of IT’, which aims to educate young people about the increasing dangers associated with internet usage.
It was one of over 400 youth-led social innovation projects undertaken this year in over 200 second level schools and youth organisations throughout Ireland.
Sr Stanislaus Kennedy, Co-Founder, Young Social Innovators, and Anne O’Leary, CEO Vodafone Ireland, presented the winning team with their award at a special ceremony in Dublin following the 13th Young Social Innovators Annual Showcase, which was supported by the Vodafone Ireland Foundation.
The prize for the Coláiste Muire included € 1,500 to develop their project.
The Young Social Innovators Showcase and Awards were attended by over 4,500 young people. Congratulating the team from Coláiste Muire and all the participants in this year’s YSI Social Innovation Programme, Sr Stan said “Today we’ve witnessed thousands of young people who are completely engaged in society and prepared to play an active role in resolving some of our most pressing social issues. Social innovation champions youth led, experiential learning. It’s ‘hands on’ active citizenship. Civic engagement should always be a core part of youth development and education. It’s learning for life and work but fundamentally it is learning about how you connect to the people around you.”
Over 6,000 young people partici- pated in Young Social Innovators’ project-based Social Innovation Action programme this year undertaking projects aimed at finding and implementing solutions to the social issues that concern them.