Marist students take active roles in European Youth Parliament

After two years of digital sessions, the Leinster Regional Selection Conference of the European Youth Parliament of Ireland took place once again in person.

The European Youth Parliament is one of Europe’s largest youth platforms for civic education, intercultural encounters, and the exchange of ideas – run by young people, for young people. Its mission is to inspire and empower a young generation of informed, open-minded, responsible, and active citizens that shape society and drive impact.

A busy weekend lay ahead for the students who arrived in the city of Kilkenny early Friday evening, eager to meet the seventy other delegates from all over Leinster and around Europe. Upon arriving, students were split into committees. Delegate David O’Shea was on the Committee for Sustainable Food Production, while Matthew Fallon was with the Committee for Stopping Misinformation and Populism in Media.

Marist student Adam Kenny was an official at the event, taking photos as a member of the media team. With Friday being used for teambuilding activities, the students got acquainted with their fellow committee members. Saturday was spent devising solutions to the problem they were given, with a resolution being drafted by each committee. The final day, Sunday, saw each committee defending its resolution in a General Assembly. Both David and Matthew’s committee passed their motions and Adam was hard at work taking photos of the speakers to document the event.

All in all, students viewed it as a very worthwhile experience, furthering their problem-solving skills, while making new friends throughout the weekend event. The students await information on the next session which will be a National Conference in early Spring.