Five young people from Donegal recently joined more than 300 delegates from across Ireland and the United States at For\u00f3ige\u2019s Leadership for Life Youth Conference in Maynooth University. <\/p>\n
The annual residential conference gives young people the opportunity to strengthen leadership, communication and teamwork skills while connecting with peers who share a passion for making a positive difference in their communities.<\/p>\n
During the week, delegates took part in interactive workshops, explored issues affecting young people today and heard from guest speakers Ray Goggins and Jack Woolley.<\/p>\n
Alongside practical leadership activities, delegates are exploring the issues that matter most to young people today. Honest conversations around mental health, equality, climate action, technology and belonging are giving participants the opportunity to share experiences, challenge perspectives and learn from one another in a supportive environment where every voice is valued.<\/p>\n
The conference also welcomes a delegation of young people from the United States, many with proud Irish roots. Their participation celebrates the enduring connection between Ireland and its global diaspora, creating friendships that cross borders and offering young people the chance to learn from different cultures while discovering how much they have in common.<\/p>\n
Eric O\u2019Brien, CEO of For\u00f3ige, said \u201cWhen you bring together more than 300 young people with different backgrounds, experiences and ambitions, something really special happens. They inspire one another to think bigger, dream bigger and realise that they each have the ability to make a real difference.<\/p>\n
“Every young person has the potential to lead; sometimes they just need someone to believe in them first. This conference is about giving young people that belief, alongside the skills, experiences and friendships that will stay with them long after they leave Maynooth. The energy, optimism and compassion we see here each year reminds us of what young people can achieve, both now and in the future, if they are given the opportunity and the right support.\u201d<\/p>\n
The conference builds on the success of the Leadership for Life Programme, which has impacted thousands of young people since it launched in 2009. Research and evaluation have shown that the programme increases participants\u2019 self-awareness, resilience and ability to lead both individually and in groups. Many past participants have gone on to lead youth initiatives, represent Ireland on international platforms, and contribute meaningfully in education, business, and civic life.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Five young people from Donegal recently joined more than 300 delegates from across Ireland and the United States…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":579840,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[61,60,43],"class_list":["post-579839","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-ireland","tag-ie","tag-ireland","tag-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579839","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=579839"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/579839\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/579840"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=579839"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=579839"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=579839"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}