Resource: A Young Person’s Guide to Ireland’s Presidency of the EU and Green Employment Policy, 2013

Following on from our national youth seminar in April; we have now produced the resource; “A Young Person’s Guide to Ireland’s Presidency of the EU and Green Employment, 2013”. The resource brings together the questions posed by young people in relation to the EU Presidency, the EU and green economy. The resource was developed to make the EU, Ireland’s hosting of the EU Presidency, and the green economy accessible to all, and to highlight some of the ideas and concerns of young people. 

The booklet was launched on May 22nd in the Mansion House by the Deputy Lord Mayor of Dublin, Councillor Clare Byrne and will be made available to schools nationwide in September 2013.

Download a copy: 

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ECO-UNESCO’s EU Presidency project, funded by the EU Commission (Youth in Action) programme aims to engage young people and explore Ireland’s 2013 EU Presidency, with a specific focus on EU Green Employment Policy. 

Throughout March, young people from around the country engaged with the project by posing questions to ECO-UNESCO about the EU Presidency, the EU and EU Green Employment Policy via an interactive multimedia stand. These questions then informed a youth seminar on April 11th, where over 60 young people from youth organisations and secondary schools around Ireland descended on ‘the Greenhouse’ for the seminar entitled ‘Young People & Europe: Exploring the EU, Green Employment & Ireland’s EU Presidency’.

The seminar provided young people with the opportunity to discuss, engage and learn more about Ireland’s EU Presidency and EU policy on youth, citizenship and green employment. Opened by Cllr. Mary O’Shea of Dublin City Council on behalf of the Lord Mayor, the keynote address was delivered by Minster for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald TD. 

 In her speech Minister Fitzgerald highlighted the many opportunities that are out there for young people, providing a lot of hope and inspiration for the participants regarding their future. She also engaged in a short Q+A session and engaged in a number of interesting questions around the EU and youth policy. Emer Costello MEP, one of the seminar’s expert panel members, also engaged in the Q+A providing a valuable insight into proposals such as the Youth Guarantee and highlighted how young people could become more involved in public life. 

Following a series of EU and green employment focused workshops in the morning, participants met with an expert panel in the afternoon which included Emer Costello MEP, Gary Dixon (Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation), Joan Flanagan (European Commission Ireland), Paddy Hennelly (NYCI), Kevin Greene (Department of the Environment, Community and Local Government) and Walter Foley (Dublin City Council). Here the young people challenged, questioned and ultimately voiced their ideas and opinions to the experts on the themes of the seminar.

A booklet explaining the themes of the seminar will be launched on May 22nd and the resource will be made available to schools nationwide in September. 

Click here to see more photos from the day!