24/11/2004

Archived item. This item is published here for historical reasons. The information below may be out of date.

Mayor Robert Dowds will officially open the South Dublin Comhairle na nÓg Young Voices Seminar in the Green Isle Hotel Clondalkin on Wednesday 1st December.at 10.30 am.

South Dublin Comhairle na nÓg was set up as part of the National Children’s Strategy.  The first objective of the National Children’s Strategy is:

“to give young people a voice in matters which affect them in accordance with their age and maturity”.

South Dublin was one of the first County Councils to establish its Comhairle na nÓg, with its inaugural meeting taking place on the 27^th May 2002.  This followed a seminar in March 2002, attended by over 100 young people, from which the South Dublin Comhairle na nÓg members were selected.

South Dublin Comhairle na nÓg is structured to mirror the format of the elected County Council.  Each member of South Dublin Comhairle na nÓg represents one of five electoral areas of South Dublin.  South Dublin Comhairle na nÓg provides young people with formal opportunities to participate in civic life.  South Dublin Comhairle na nÓg ensures that democracy is made accessible and relevant to young people. Our meetings, which are held on a monthly basis, are structured to empower the young people to voice their opinions and formulate their ideas as constructively as possible.

The objectives of South Dublin Comhairle na nÓg are to:

Ø      Provide  a  platform  where  children  and  young  people  can  raise, debate  and  address  local  issues  of  concern  to  them;

Ø      Act  as  a  way  for  the  concerns  of  children  and  young  people  to  be fed  into  the  development  of  public  policy  making  at  local  level;

Ø      Provide the opportunity for children and young people to voice these concerns  on  a  national  level  at  Dáil  na  nÓg.

Ø      Provide an opportunity for children and young people to hear and learn about the experiences of other children growing up in the South Dublin County constituency.

It  is  the  duty  of  the  members  of  South  Dublin  Comhairle  na  nÓg  to pass  on  the  views  and  concerns  of  young  people  from  South  Dublin  to the  decision-makers  in  both  local  and  national  government.  They  do  this  through  participation  in  the  annual  Dail  na  nÓg.  It  is  of  utmost importance  for  young  people  to  have  access  to  all  forms  of  participation  in  society  in  order  to  promote  and  encourage  involvement in  the  development  of  a  democratic society.