REMARKS BY PRESIDENT ON THE OCCASION OF THE OPENING OF THE WEST CORK YOUTH INFORMATION CENTRE
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT MCALEESE ON THE OCCASION OF THE OPENING OF THE WEST CORK YOUTH INFORMATION CENTRE, BANDON, CO. CORK
Is mór an pléisiúir dom bheith anseo libh inniu agus ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl daoibh an chuireadh agus as fáilte a bhí caoin, cneasta agus croiúil.
I am delighted to be here in Bandon today to perform the official opening of the West Cork Youth Information Centre. It is a great honour for me to have been asked to perform this function and I would like to thank you all very sincerely, and especially the Service Co-Ordinator, T.J. Hourihan, for your kind invitation.
I am aware that, while today marks the official opening of this excellent facility, a youth information service has, in fact, been in place in Bandon since 1996 and work on the project started as far back as 1991. So today really does mark the culmination of a lot of hard work and commitment on behalf of a great many individuals. Since its establishment, this Centre has been one of the most active and innovative information centres in the country - constantly exploring and developing new strategies aimed at facilitating young people’s access to information.
In today’s Information Age, information is power. Your work in providing young people with the information they need to make informed decisions about their personal, social and vocational choices, really is a form of empowerment. Your role is all the more important because that period of transition to adult and working life is one of such dramatic and often bewildering change for young people. They are confronted with a daunting range of choices, challenges and pressures in an increasingly complex world, in the knowledge that the decisions they make may affect the rest of their lives. It is a time when they are most in need of support and we are indeed fortunate that this centre – and the twenty-seven other centres throughout the country - fulfil such a vital role in responding to these needs.
We as a society have a responsibility to our young people – to provide them with the support and encouragement they need to enable their gifts, their enthusiasm and their energy, to blossom. There is an Irish saying ‘Mol an Óige agus tiocfaidh sí’ – praise the youth and they will blossom. We need to make that saying a reality for young people by creating a climate both at home and in the community where the young are praised and encouraged, rather than repressed and discouraged. I warmly commend all of you for your hard work in doing just that, for giving young people a place where they are sure of a sympathetic ear in a friendly, supportive environment.
It comes as no surprise that an organisation with the principles and ideals of the YMCA should be at the forefront in delivering these services and that encouragement. This year marks the 150th anniversary of the YMCA’s establishment in Ireland. Throughout all that time, the YMCA has maintained an extraordinary commitment to the physical, mental and spiritual well-being of young people.
The YMCA in Ireland is unique in that it is the only non-denominational Christian youth organisation which is active in both parts of this island. I would like to pay a special tribute to your commitment to establishing a better understanding between the different traditions on this island, especially through your Youth Participation programme which fosters friendship and co-operation together young people from different backgrounds. We need more people like you – people who know that cultural, social, religious or political differences are not to be feared, but celebrated for their capacity to enrich our own outlook on life. Now, more than ever on this island we need that message, which the YMCA embodies, to be imparted to our young people, the shapers of our future.
With the proper support, young people can achieve so much, and in a wonderful voyage of self discovery can learn what talents they have and bring them to bear on their lives and the lives of others. The potential of young people through their energy, intelligence and willingness to contribute to the welfare of their country and the world, is impossible to put a value on. In order to harness this energy, the role of the volunteer youth leader is critical. Voluntary organisations such as the YMCA unite the very best of our Irish traditions of mutual help and solidarity with modern concepts of community empowerment. I would like to pay tribute to all those volunteers here in West Cork who give so much of themselves in the service of our young people.
Finally, I would like to pay tribute to the dedicated and dynamic staff of the West Cork Youth Information Centre – to your Chairman, Mervyn Jeffers, TJ Hourihan, Sanni Virta, and Vivienne O’Flynn – and to all the other staff who have contributed to making this a service of which the YMCA and the people of Bandon can be truly proud. There must be great personal satisfaction is seeing, day-by-day, the very real difference your work has made to the lives of so many young people. On behalf of the young people of West Cork, I would like to take this opportunity to express my heartfelt thanks and to wish you every success in your future work.
It now gives me great pleasure to declare this excellent facility officially open.
Mo bhuíochas libh arís. Guím gach rath agus séan ar bhur gcuid oibre san am atá le teacht.