Young Mayo change-makers make shortlist for Young Social Innovators Awards

NEXT generation change-makers from Mayo were nominated for the ‘Healthy Connections Award’ at the 2025 national Young Social Innovators (YSI) Awards for their outstanding YSI project that addresses the social issue of isolation and disconnection within communities.

A team from Sancta Maria College in Louisburgh was shortlisted for their ‘The Ripple Effect - Paying it Forward’ project which aims to promote kindness, empathy and positive connections among individuals by sharing and recording acts of goodwill to create a global network of compassion.

Sancta Maria College were among 42 shortlisted teams representing 18 counties that competed live in eight categories at a recent pitching event.

Commenting on the high standard of this year’s entries shortlisted for the YSI Awards, CEO of YSI, Roger Warnock, said: “The cutting-edge social issues being addressed in the projects shortlisted for the 2025 YSI Awards, including Sancta Maria College, and the young people’s commitment to finding solutions demonstrates how important social innovation education is for empowering our next generation of change makers.

“I’d like to congratulate all the young people who have taken part on the remarkable passion, dedication, resourcefulness and creativity they have brought to their participation in our YSI programme in their school.”