Project
The project will create forums for political engagement where young people will feel confident and comfortable to have their say about what matters to them, supported by co-created educational resources and activities. Through creative Youth Work facilitation methods, the project will connect Young People across Limerick City and County to build a collective and authentic voice for change.
The project as a whole will combat stereotypical attitudes towards Young People about their capacity and commitment to be involved in positive political change. In doing so, the project will contribute towards meaningful citizen engagement and political education for the preservation and promotion of human rights. In this project Young People will be drivers for social change not passengers.
Limerick Youth Services, Comhairle na nOg, Limerick, participating secondary schools in Limerick City and County. In addition, this project is being developed in collaboration with other ‘mirror groups’ operated by international project partners in the USA and South Africa. Our intention is to will enable the project to transcend the local and develop an international consciousness regarding human rights, global citizenship and the importance of Youth Voice as a vehicle for change.
The project is overseen by an Advisory Board constituting representatives from the range of participating interests. The Advisory Board supports the work of this project by providing feedback, advice and ideas to the project participants. Community Evaluation of the project is designed into the project from start to finish
Learning
In this project you will help create and deliver a programme designed to empower young people to develop their own political understanding and agency - for the preservation, protection and promotion of equality and human rights via mainstream political mobilization and electoral impact.Your role will be to help in the establishment of a confident, empowered and enthusiastic group of young people who meet regularly and champion political engagement to promote Human Rights activism amongst Young people, including NEET individuals and those from harder to reach communities.
In this project Young People will be drivers for social change not passengers. Your role will be to help support and encourage Young People’s consciousness and capacity to engage in peer to peer networks for the promotion and advancement of Human Rights and Equality locally and globally.
Implementation of the project will comprise the recruitment of a panel of Young People who will operate as ‘Human Rights Ambassadors’, supported by a collaboration of students and staff from Limerick Youth Service and the Department of Politics and Public Administration, University of Limerick.
This UL Practicum is assessed in two parts, comprising 50% each: Academic Assessment - one end of term paper combining your practical knowledge of this project with the academic perspective on this topic. Practicum Assessment - your personal input into this project will be negotiated with you and the team. Following this plan, you will be assessed on your capacity to deliver on the project tasks for which you have been assigned responsibility.
Research
This project links together four existing community partnerships between youth workers, young people and academics, in four different sites, each with collaborative connections to LYS and/or UL. Together we have agreed to run ‘mirror’ projects based on the Limerick Be Heard #GE2016 initiative, which carried out youth and community workshops to address political participation and engagement in Spring 2016. Our research draws together our own project with those of our international mirror project partners to share insights into best practice and to devise a research programme to measure the impact of such educational interventions upon civic engagement and political awareness.
One of the greatest contemporary threats to our capacity to build a social and economic framework that promotes and protects social justice is increasing political disillusion and disengagement. The rights of the most vulnerable are only upheld by the constant vigilance of empowered citizens willing to speak on their behalf. In the face of increasing political cynicism, apathy and isolation, this project is designed to empower young people (aged 14-25) to develop their own political understanding and agency – for the preservation, protection and promotion of equality and human rights – via mainstream political mobilization and electoral impact.
The project is overseen by an Advisory Board constituting representatives from the range of participating interests. The Advisory Board supports the work of this project by providing feedback, advice and ideas to the project participants. Impact Evaluation of the project is designed into the project from start to finish with an agreed process for collecting evidence and testimony of the project's impact: in the community; in terms of the teaching and learning opportunities that this programme provides; and in terms of the research that it supports. It is anticipated that an evaluation of this project will be submitted to the UL Engage Reports series, after the first year.
Resources
