Shared Island Youth Forum
Cross border collaboration is central to the maintenance of dialogue and peace on the island of Ireland. The Shared Island series of such dialogue was established by the Irish Department of the Taoiseach in partnership with one of our grassroots member the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) and Youth Action Northern Ireland (YANI).
Fostering inclusive civic dialogue about a shared future on the island of Ireland and opportunities for deepening cooperation and connections through the Good Friday Agreement is crucial to this work.
The Shared Island Youth Forum brings together 80 young people aged 18 to 25 who will meet in a deliberative process over the 2024 to set out their vision and values for a shared future on the island of Ireland under a number of themes.
The forum is currently recruiting additional members and seeking nominees through youth and civic society organisations. Nominees are required to be between 18 and 25 years of age and currently a resident of Ireland or Northern Ireland. The scheduled meetings of the Shared Island Youth Form focus on the themes of Opportunity, Wellbeing, Culture and Identity, and Equality, and will take place on the dates below:
- 26 January (Dublin)
- 8 March (Belfast)
- 26 April (Dublin)
- Additional dates and locations to be confirmed.
You can hear from the members of the Youth Forum themselves in this video of the launch of the Shared Island Youth Forum here.
The most recent meeting in January 2024 involved activities, small group discussions and a panel discussion with Dermot Devlin (My Way Access), Dr Joseph Morning (Spun Out), and Danielle McKenna (Rialto Youth Project) which was moderated by Ines, a forum participant. This event offered the young people the chance to explore the theme of “Wellbeing”, and how positive change can be achieved together, addressing the sub-themes of mental health, disability, trans-gender healthcare, and community healthcare.
Why is this forum important for Ireland and Northern Ireland? Crucially, the diversity of the island today is well-represented in the Youth Forum with 40 members from Ireland, 40 from Northern Ireland, and a broad base of gender, ethnic, community, faith and other identity diversities. It is vital that young people are central to discussions on how we share the island across all communities in the years ahead. https://www.youth.ie/articles/launch-of-new-shared-island-youth-forum/
