Mayo, Galway and Monaghan represented in Brussels as students have their say
Four young people from the Midlands-North-West constituency were in the European Parliament this week, where they took part in Youth Week activities.
It has been an eventful week for the four aspiring parliamentarians, who left classes, work and routine behind to participate in Youth Week and learn all about the workings of the European Parliament.
Hailing from Mayo, Galway and Monaghan, the four were in Brussels as guests of MEP Maria Walsh. The week-long event was organised by the EPP Group – the largest and oldest group in the European Parliament, of which Walsh is a member.
This year is European Year of Youth, a year dedicated to supporting young Europeans and promoting the European way of life. Embracing the importance of the year, the EPP Group came together to run this flagship event, with each group member entitled to invite four guests.
The purpose of Youth Week was to bring together young people and have them experience the European Parliament through their participation in workshops and other activities, focused around topics such as mental health, youth empowerment, sustainability and the future of the EU.
Almost 500 young people between the ages of 18 and 25, from across the EU, took part in Youth Week, with MEP Walsh’s constituency well represented.
A native of Louisburgh in Co. Mayo, Chloe Ní Mháille was among the contingent. Chloe is a proud Gaeilgeoir and is currently working as a manager at Comhar Caomhan Teo on Inis Oírr, where she is responsible for the day-to-day community running of the island.
Also hailing from Mayo, Balla’s Dean Kenny is in his final year of studying maths and applied maths education in NUI Galway, and was delighted to attend as a guest of MEP Walsh. Dean is active with local mental health charity, Mindspace Mayo, as well as Comhairle na nÓg in Mayo.
Lisa Brennan from Monaghan was among Walsh’s guests in Brussels too. Now an honorary Galway woman, Lisa lives and works in Mountbellew, where she teaches the Green Cert programme in Mountbellew Agricultural College (ATU). She is currently completing her Masters in agricultural science in UCD.
Knocknacarra’s Amy O’Gorman was the final guest of MEP Walsh this week. The Galway city native is in her second year studying law with criminology in NUI Galway. As well as concentrating on her studies, Amy has a keen interest in all things entrepreneurship and sustainability, and even makes and sells her own range of sustainable clothing.
Representing diverse interests and backgrounds, Chloe, Dean, Lisa and Amy were ideal guests for Youth Week, which carried the tag line: Your Voice, Your Future, Our Mission!
As well as the four guests, MEP Walsh ensured her current interns – Cong’s Amy Keane and Dublin’s Clíodhna Peters – were front and centre with the week’s activities.
As one the youngest sitting MEPs, and the youngest Irish MEP, Walsh is extremely conscious of the importance of empowering young people and ensuring the EU remains relevant across all generations. With this in mind, she welcomed the opportunity to work side-by-side with the young people and to host a workshop on Empowerment Programmes.
She said: “Youth Week presented a fabulous opportunity for a huge number of young people from all across the EU and I was delighted to be able to host four amazing young people from within my own constituency.
“The feedback has been really brilliant. The week proved hugely informative and interesting for all participants, and featured high level discussions in the Hemicycle, as well as some really great knowledge and skills workshops. It also presented wonderful opportunities for post-pandemic networking in the Youth Village and across several events.”
GATHERED
On Tuesday, participants gathered in working groups to brainstorm, design and present their ideas for the future of Europe.
Focusing on technology, environmental sustainability, democracy and mental health, the themes for the working groups were: 'Machines that Change your Life', 'Our Planet, Our Responsibility', 'Challenges of 21st Century Democracy', and 'Youth Empowerment'. Before the participants began their work, MEP Walsh presented to the Youth Empowerment Working Groups alongside Greek MEP Stelios Kympouropoulos.
On Wednesday, the young people were given the opportunity to view each other's ideas and vote for their favourites, with the top eight presented in the Hemicycle on Thursday morning.
Impressively, two of the top eight were from MEP Walsh’s group – Dean Kenny with Political Tinder and Chloe Ní Mháille with European Youth Games. In addition to working on their individual projects, each of the participants invited by Maria were afforded the opportunity to speak in the Hemicycle – the main parliament chamber – during the week.
“Celebrating and empowering young people throughout this year has been fantastic and I was delighted to play my part in the European Year of Youth,” commented MEP Walsh. “As we look ahead to next year, our hope is that we can succeed in making 2023 the European Year dedicated to Mental Health. There has never been a more fitting time to put mental health on the agenda.
“There can be no debate or policy discussion on health, on care, on the future of our European Union without the mental health of our citizens at its very core.”