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Students from Mercy Secondary School, Tralee who have been shortlisted for the Young Social Innovators of the Year Awards 2019 pictured at the recent YSI Speak Out event held in the Lime Tree Theatre, Limerick on 28th March 2019. Photo by Aileen O’Hagan.
A TEAM from Mercy Mounthawk is among those shortlisted for the upcoming Young Social Innovators of the Year Awards 2019.
Thirty-one teams of student innovators from all over Ireland, including three from Kerry, have been shortlisted to compete for the title of Young Social Innovators of the Year 2019 at a national final to be held in Croke Park on Wednesday, May 15.
Mercy Secondary School’s entry is “L.I.F.E Live In Fullness Every Day”. Concerned at suicide rates within the county of Kerry, the teenagers in the school are in the process of designing an app to help improve the wellbeing of young people in the county.
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The team also created a short film, just one of the many actions they took to help improve the mental health of young people and to promote conversation, wellbeing and resilience.
The other Kerry entries are from Killarney Community College called “Be Dementia Aware” and Castleisland Community College’s “The Global Glang”.
Students from Killarney Community College who have been shortlisted for the Young Social Innovators of the Year Awards 2019 pictured at the recent YSI Speak Out event held in the Lime Tree Theatre, Limerick on 28th March 2019. © Photo by Derek Speirs
Inspired by the personal experience of one of their classmates, the Killarney teenagers are endeavouring to raise national awareness of dementia and the impact it has on patients, their loved ones and their place in the community.
The students from Castleisland Community College have worked tirelessly to raise awareness of the causes and consequences of climate change within their local community. The dedicated team have also created a 5 year plan to increase biodiversity around their school.
Students from Castleisland Community College who have been shortlisted for the Young Social Innovators of the Year Awards 2019 pictured at the recent YSI Speak Out event held in the Lime Tree Theatre, Limerick on 28th March 2019. Photo by Aileen O’Hagan.
The high impact innovations, developed by young people to address an identified social need, were shortlisted from over 370 initial entries.
At the Young Social Innovators Awards, shortlisted teams will present their projects to judging panels and compete for awards in a number of categories as well as the coveted Gold, Silver and Bronze national titles.
Over 6,000 teenagers from all over Ireland took part in Young Social Innovators this year creating and implementing innovative solutions to social issues facing communities and wider society.
Announcing the shortlist, Rachel Collier, CEO said; “It is wonderful to see such a wide range of issues being tackled by this year’s finalists. This generation of young people are very aware of the issues affecting young people and local communities and they are demonstrating a real commitment to being part of the solution; this year alone, 157,000 hours in volunteering was carried out by teenagers engaged in our programmes. Young Social Innovators gives young people an opportunity to use their insights, passion and creativity to tackle the issues they feel are important and to help contribute towards creating a better future for all of us “.
