continued from page 27 10 “ Challenge Awards ” and 4 “ Spotlight Awards ” were also awarded to successful teams during the ceremony .
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A “ High Impact Award ” was also granted to Davis College from the 2012 YSI programme for their project ‘ Forget me Not ’ and their lobbying efforts for the successful establishment of the National Missing Persons Day in Ireland in 2013 .
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The newly-crowned Young Social Innovators of the Year 2018 said at the awards :
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“ We are so delighted to win and to be named the Young Social Innovators of the Year for 2018 . We were very impressed by the standard of all the other projects here today and we knew the competition was fierce .
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Our project really means a lot to us because sexting and sex education is an issue that is very relevant to ourselves , our peers and all young people in Ireland today . We really want to raise awareness about the lack of communication and education around sex for young people , and Young Social Innovators is a great opportunity for us to get our work started .”
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Rachel Collier , CEO and cofounder of Young Social Innovators , said : “ Every year I am blown away by the work presented by the young people in the Young Social Innovators programme , and 2018 has been no different . Young people are one of our most valuable resources for fuelling social change , and at Young Social Innovators we are proud to capture their passion and to provide them with a platform on which to present their ideas and be heard .”
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Changing Our World
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Each year , thousands of young people throughout Ireland tackle issues that matter to them through YSI ’ s flagship Social
Innovation Action Programme ( Senior ). Social innovations address human needs such as homelessness , poverty , exclusion , racism and immigration – issues high on the social and political agenda in Ireland and across the world today . YSI gives these young people the opportunity to advocate around such issues and demonstrate how they are coming up with responses and solutions to real life issues .
Ideal for implementation in Transition Year , this youth-led , team-based programme comes with ready-made lesson plans , online resources and teacher CPD .
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Through the programme , teams of young people have the opportunity to present their projects at one of YSI ’ s exciting regional events as part of the “ YSI Speak Out Tour ”, while finalists attend and compete at the prestigious Young Social Innovators of the Year Ireland Awards .
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The easy-to-implement programme contributes to whole school practice and school selfevaluation while preparing students for Senior Cycle Key
Skills . It is facilitated by educators ( YSI Guides ) who offer encouragement , support , tools and advice to help teams reach their full potential .
This year hundreds of YSI Guides from 220 schools all over Ireland worked with over 7,000 young people through YSI . These educators are leaders in social innovation , propelling and encouraging creativity , entrepreneurship and innovation in a profound and tangible way . It is thanks to these champions of social innovation education that young people continue to be empowered with the skills they need to thrive in a changing world .
HOW TO GET INVOLVED To find out more about YSI ’ s programmes , or to sign up , go to youngsocialinnovators . ie / signup email educate @ youngsocialinnovators . ie or call 01 6458030
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