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| Young
people set their own ‘Vision 4 2 Moro’ |
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| Today
the Southern Education & Library Board (SELB) Youth
Service welcomed around 100 young people to a 5 day
youth conference in Corrymeela, near Ballycastle.
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| The
youth conference entitled, ‘Visions 4 2 Moro’
is open to all young people in the age range 15 to 19
from across the board’s area. The participants
come from all sectors, with a particular emphasis on
social inclusion, including marginalised young people
from the local community. |
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Martin
Fahy, SELB Area Youth Officer is extremely positive
about the necessity and outcomes of such a weeklong
programme, he said, “The ‘Visions 4 2
Moro’ conference is all about listening to young
people and what they have to say. This project is
specifically designed to promote opportunities for
the young people to meet and discuss issues affecting
their lives in a safe yet challenging environment.”
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Martin
went on to say, “As a result of the conference,
we hope that those who attend will have a greater
sense of social inclusion and self esteem. The young
people will be able to engage in issues that directly
affect them in everyday life and deliver their own
views in a variety of mediums including visual arts,
drama, multimedia and music. At the end of the week,
the young people will present their findings and recommendations
to the appropriate bodies or agencies, so real actions
can come from their discussions.”
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| The
conference has been planned and organised by a core group
of local young people who will also take an active role during
the weeklong programme. The programme involves in depth discussion
on issues such as Citizenship, Multi-culturalism and Human
Rights, after which the young people will develop presentations
using specialist methods such as visual arts, drama, music
or multi-media to express their own views.
‘Visions 4 2 Moro’ is part of a planned range
of activities offered by the SELB Youth Service and funded
by the New Opportunities Fund (NOF) Activities for Young People
(AYP) programme.
Breidge Gadd, the New Opportunities Fund’s Northern
Ireland Board Member said: “This conference is an extremely
valuable way of allowing young people to have a say in shaping
Youth Services while building self esteem and a greater sense
of social inclusion.
“Making a contribution to society and the workforce
does not always begin with academic success. The activities
being funded under the Activities For Young People programme
in the Southern Education and Library Board reflects our commitment
to tackling disadvantage. These activities will enable potentially
life-changing opportunities to become a reality for young
people across the Board area.”
The New Opportunities Fund awarded lottery grants totalling
£602,623 to the Southern Education and Library Board
under the AYP programme.
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