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Other Meetings...
NICCY
Ten members of Fermanagh Shadow Youth Council had the opportunity to visit the offices of the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People (NICCY) on Monday 18 July.
The group travelled on the early morning bus to Belfast and were greeted by Nigel Williams , the Children’s Commissioner and his staff.
After an initial game to wake everybody up after the journey, the group had a look at the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and which of the articles they deemed as being most important.
Group members told staff about young people’s issues in Fermanagh, particularly the problems of public and school transport. NICCY offered to feed this information into a meeting they were attending the following day.
There was also an opportunity to meet the staff from different departments and hear about what they do. Some group members even managed to sell some FSYC wristbands!
It was a long day but an excellent opportunity for FSYC to learn about the work of NICCY and tell the staff about the projects and campaigns FSYC are working on.
Cavan and Monaghan Youth Council
Members of Fermanagh Shadow Youth Council met with some members of the Cavan and Monaghan Youth Active Citizenship Project in the Clinton Centre on Wednesday 6 July.
The meeting gave an opportunity for the groups to share information on the work that they do in their respective youth councils. Cavan and Monaghan operate as separate councils and have junior and senior committees all managed by Jenny McLoughlin who accompanied the group.
After introductions, presentations and lunch, FSYC took Cavan and Monaghan members on a quick tour of Enniskillen. This was followed by a tour of the Townhall where members got to sit in the Council Chamber and practice what it would be like to be a District Councillor.
WATER SKIING
The Water Ski World Cup was held recently in Enniskillen with the top water skiers in the world coming to Fermanagh to compete for major titles. Eight members of Fermanagh Shadow Youth Council were given the opportunity to learn how to water ski in conjunction with the event. Members turned up very bright and early to avoid interfering with the event. Instruction was given firstly on the pier by the Australian water skier Ryan Green before the group embarked on the water under the instruction of American Jump Champion, Scott Ellis. Everyone managed to get up on the skis and enjoy their first experience of water skiing, despite the cold conditions on Lough Erne that morning. It was a fantastic opportunity for everyone involved and certainly won’t be forgotten in a hurry.
Get Connected Conference
On Thursday 24th November Diane , Janice and Emmet went the ‘Get Connected’ conference in Ballybofey, Donegal. The conference was all about the U.N Rights of the Child, Young People and Globalisation, Travel and Employment Rights in the EU and Youth Justice, ASBOS (Anti Social Behaviour Orders).
The day started with a workshop on ASBOS, whether they are good thing or a bad thing before they are introduced into the Irish legal system. ASBOS are aimed at preventing behaviour which causes alarm or distress to other people. They are civil orders which means that you do not get a criminal record, however, if you break the ASBO you will get a criminal record. The evidence is that most children do break them. Many of the young people in Donegal believe that ASBOS are not the answer to this type of behaviour, in fact independent research in England and Wales suggest that they do not work! The first ASBO was served in Northern Ireland earlier this year to a Coleraine teenager. What are your views on ASBOS?? Post all your views on the Youths United forum www.youthsunited.net.
The conference gave us all a lot of information and Emmet won the Who Wants to be a Millionaire quiz on housing and employment rights of the youth in the EU.
The guest speaker was Emily Logan the Ombudsman for Children and Young People in the Republic of Ireland. She explained what her job entailed and why she chose this particular career.
To round off the day there was a good old fashioned debate about ASBOS. A good day was had by all.
Strabane Youth Council Come to Visit
Strabane Shadow Youth Council travelled to Enniskillen on Thursday 16 February to meet with members of Fermanagh Shadow Youth Council. Strabane are in the early stages of establishing a Youth Council and wanted to get some information on how FSYC operates and the projects they are involved in. Fermanagh and Strabane Shadow Youth Council’s got to know each other over a slice of pizza before talking through the projects they are both involved in. There was also time for a few games before the Strabane group got back on their bus and headed for home.
Women into Politics
On Wednesday 7th March at Lagan Valley Island, Lisburn, Sh Cllr Natasha Little and Del Aisling McCaffrey gave a presentation at the Women into Politics Conference.
The Conference was very interesting with many international speakers as well as local women giving there perspectives. It was no mistake that the conference happened to coincide with International Women’s Day.
There were many inspirational speakers at the conference, including our own two young ladies.
Julia Kimbell was one of the speakers with her perspective as a deafblind woman and mother. She is also the first deafblind person to have completed the London Marathon and completed a tandem cycling journey from Land’s End to John O’Groats.
There were also a number of women from different countries giving their perspective of life in their country.
Slavic Stojanovic is from Belgrade and is Director of Reconstruction Women’s Fund. Her work started at the beginning of the war in the former Yugoslavia when she went on a quest to work with compatible political groups. She was an activist with the SOS telephone helpline for Women and Children Victims of Women, Women’s Studies and Women in Black.
Benedicta Attoh gave a presentation on “An African Experience in Ireland”. Originally from Nigeria, she came to live in Ireland 6 years ago. She discussed what life was like for a woman in Africa and what it was like for her to move to Ireland. She discovered that small cultural differences between her, her family and Irish people made day to day life a struggle. She set up a cultural awareness society in Dundalk, where she lives, to give support to those who come from various cultural backgrounds and to educate those who were not aware of the differences and the trouble they cause.
Trip to Stormont
On Thursday 13th April a group made up of FSYC and DYC headed up to Parliament Buildings, home of the Northern Ireland Assembly, to meet with some of our local Members of the Legislative Assembly. Six MLA’s, Mr Tom Elliott UUP, Ms Arlene Foster DUP, Mr Tommy Gallagher SDLP, Ms Michelle Gildernew MP Sinn Fein, Mr Maurice Morrow DUP, and Mr Thomas O’Reilly Sinn Fein represent the Fermanagh/South Tyrone area.
The meeting took place in one of the committee rooms within Parliament Buildings where we had a question and answer session with four of our local MLA’s. We were then treated to a brief presentation of how Parliament Buildings functions, explaining the about the Belfast agreement and what terms had been agreed within tits context, who has the power within Northern Ireland, how motions are voted for and the process which has to be followed to elect the First and Deputy First Minister. This trip could not have been at a more historic time with Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern having just unveiled their blue print for restoring devolution. The Youth Councillors got a real feel for what was to come.
The Youth Councillors then had a tour of the building and we got to sit in the Debating Chamber around the table and assume the positions of those who would have sat around the table previously.
Then the group headed in Belfast city centre where FSYC Councillors showed their Donegal counterparts what the capital city had to offer. Everyone had a truly informative and enjoyable day.
A return visit to the D?il in Dublin has been organised for later in the year to compare the two jurisdictions.
This project was funded by SEUPB through Measure 5.2 of the Programme for Peace and Reconciliation (PeaceII).
Trip to the Dáil Éireann
On Wednesday 28th June a group of Youth Councillors from Donegal Youth Council and Fermanagh Youth Council travelled to Dublin for a tour of the Dáil Éireann, which is the seat of Irish Parliament. This group had previously been to Parliament Buildings in Stormont where they had the opportunity to question MLA’s from the four main Political Parties.
Ireland is a parliamentary democracy. The National Parliament (Oireachtas) consists of the President and two houses: Dáil Éireann (House of Representatives) and Seanad Éireann (the Seanate) whose functions and powers derive from the Constitution of Ireland which was enacted by the People on 1st July, 1937. The Houses of the Oireachtas are situated at Leinster House, Dublin.
Once we arrived we were met by Senator Joe McHugh and Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher TD who welcomed us to the Dáil. After lunch we commenced our tour around Leinster House.
The first stop of the tour was the Dáil Éireann Chamber where everyone got to watch a rather heated debate between the Minister of Finance Brian Cowen and the opposition. The Youth Councillors enjoyed actually getting to see a real live debate going on.
The tour gave us the history of the building, who its founders were, an explanation of the various art works and sculptures which were around the building.
The tour took us to the other house, Seanad Éireann. In the Seanad Chamber we got to listen to a debate on the provision of cancer services in Donegal, which was something that the Youth Councillors could relate to.
The day was rounded off with a question and answer session with Senator Joe McHugh.
All those who attended had a great day, and everyone has plenty of information to make comparisons between the two jurisdictions.
This project was funded by SEUPB through Measure 5.2 of the Programme for Peace and Reconciliation (PeaceII).
Save the Children Profiles
Save the Children have been a major funder of FSYC since FSYC began in 1998. They want to promote the work they have been involved in and asked if they could do case studies on some FSYC members.
A representative from the London office and a photographer travelled over to meet with FSYC members on Friday 7 July.
Lisa Kenny, Donna Leonard, Emmet McCarron and Kevin Monaghan were all interviewed about their involvement with FSYC and the work they have done.
The interviews and photographs were taken all around Enniskillen as members took the pair on a tour, bringing in FSYC projects such as the bowling alley, Teen Zone, bus shelters, the anti-bullying graffiti wall and Vibe FM. They certainly felt like celebrities for the day as they were interviewed and snapped!
The Case Studies and photos will be used in Save the Children publications and their website promoting both their work and that of FSYC.
Community Safety Partnership Football Match
Fermanagh Community Safety Partnership hosted a cross community football tournament on Friday 30 June at the Bawnacre Centre in Irvinestown.
FSYC members met earlier in the week to make some quite excellent banners and posters to support their team! The atmosphere on the night was better than any World Cup match as the team scored their way through to the final of the tournament. In the end they were pipped to the post but came a satisfactory second, receiving Ł100 for FSYC funds.
Thanks to the most excellent team: John Conlon (Crouch), Emmet McCarron (Keane), Nathan McDonnell (Rooney), Donna Leonard (Davids), Damien McGloin (Cech) and Kirsty Gillen (Savage).
Thanks also to the Cheerleaders: Clara, Clarissa, Joyce, Elaine, Tasha and Aisling.
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