REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE YOUNG CITIZEN AWARD
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE YOUNG CITIZEN AWARD, ÁRAS AN UACHTARÁIN
Dia dhíbh a chairde. Tá áthas mór orm inniu ar an ócáid speisialta seo.
You are all very welcome to Áras an Uachtaráin this morning for the launch of our Young Citizen Award which I hope will capture the imagination and reward the commitment of Ireland’s young people in the coming months.
2005 is the European Year of Citizenship through Education and I wanted to promote a debate about citizenship among our young citizens and to give recognition to the work they are already doing throughout the country to make ours a thriving civic society.
We should be under no illusion about the extent to which Ireland’s young citizens are assuming responsibility, showing leadership, giving their time as volunteers, making the best of the opportunities around them. Many of them have already been sorely tested by life and others have tested themselves by moving well outside their comfort zone to act courageously and generously. Their stories are well known in their schools, youth clubs, communities and families but it is a rare thing for them to gain national prominence and national encouragement. Their generation usually hits the headlines for the silly shenanigans a few indulge in after Junior and Leaving Cert, or for individual lives needlessly and futilely wasted through drink, drugs or suicide. Yet all of these deal with the tragic few and not the many who transcend the difficulties and challenges they encounter in life, who develop sound coping skills, who embrace life and try to live it to the very best of their ability.
This year offers a perfect opportunity to celebrate and honour the young people who are today in so many different ways making their communities and this country a better place to live in for all of us. We are inviting individuals between the ages of twelve and twenty-five and schools and organisations dealing with young people to tell us about the voluntary unpaid work they do that improves their lives or the lives of others. Our Civic Merit Award is designed to deepen awareness among young people of the value of what they do and in particular the benefits that accrue to them and all around them from active social participation, active citizenship. There is a huge range of work going on, driven by our young citizens - from sport, to the environment, from peace to politics, from outreach to the world’s poor to cross border friendship building, from care for the elderly to celebrating diversity and much more besides. We are glad to have some of those remarkable young people here with us today from the Dodder Youth Group, the Ballymun Gap Project and the Bluebell Group. All of these groups have worked hard to bring about imaginative, inspiring and very worthwhile initiatives.
A lot of hard work and cooperation has made these awards possible so a big thank you to all those who put that effort in, especially John Dennehy, former Secretary General of the Department of Education and Science who chaired the Steering Committee and Sandra Gowran, Curriculum Development Unit, CDVEC and Project Coordinator of European Year of Citizenship through Education 2005 who marshalled the Management Committee. Comghairdeas libh.
Our thanks also to our colleagues from the Department of Education and Science, Development Cooperation Ireland, the Department of Environment and Local Government, the City and County Development Boards who rowed in so willingly behind the idea, accompanied thankfully by their cheque books, to cover the costs and to all the representatives who gave and continue to give their time and expertise and advice to bring this worthwhile initiative to fruition. Tá mé buíoch díbh go léir.
You know of course that you are not off the hook yet. You each have an even more vital part to play now in making the award scheme a success by getting the message out there. I thank you in anticipation of your continued support and commitment to this and the remaining stages of the scheme and look forward very much to hosting an event here in the Áras in the Spring to meet some of the award recipients – Ireland’s youngest and finest citizens.
Go raibh maith agaibh arís.