Press release
Taoiseach meets with Shared Island Youth Forum
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
From Department of the Taoiseach
Published on
Last updated on
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar met this morning, 7 December, with members of the Shared Island Youth Forum, at the Smock Alley Theatre in Dublin.
The Youth Forum is part of the government’s Shared Island initiative and brings together 80 young people aged 18 to 25, to set out their vision and values for a shared future on the island of Ireland, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement.
The Forum comprises young civic representatives from Ireland and Northern Ireland and reflects gender, ethnic, community, faith and other identity diversities.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said:
“It was a pleasure to meet with members of the Shared Island Youth Forum today.
“The Forum members - all born since the Good Friday Agreement was signed in 1998 - are really dedicated to this opportunity to give voice to their generation and to help light the way for how we share the island of Ireland into the future.
“The Youth Forum is examining themes of sustainability, opportunity, well-being, equality, and culture and identity - a span of issues that matter a lot for our future on this island. I look forward to their outcome statement next year, which can influence and inspire how we share the island of Ireland across all communities.”
The government’s Shared Island initiative is engaging with all communities and political traditions to build consensus around a shared future underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement.
The Shared Island Youth Forum was agreed and announced by Government on 20 June 2023. The Forum was launched on 8 September and has met 4 times so far.
The Forum members will meet 6-8 times over 2023 and 2024 and then publish a statement of their vision and values for a shared future on the island of Ireland, on themes of opportunity, sustainability, equality, wellbeing, identity and culture.
The Forum’s statement will inform further development of the government’s Shared Island initiative and contribute to broader discussions on a shared future for all communities on the island of Ireland.
The Forum is organised by the Shared Island unit in the Department of the Taoiseach, in partnership with the National Youth Council of Ireland and Youth Action Northern Ireland.
Nominations to the Forum were sought from a range of Youth, Civic and Community organisations, in cooperation with the National Youth Council of Ireland and partners in Northern Ireland, seeking a balance of participation from North and South, and across different communities, backgrounds and identities.
The Youth Forum builds on and complements interaction through the Shared Island Dialogue series over the last three years, with participation by over 3,000 citizens, providing views on how the island could be better shared across all communities.
Further information on the Shared Island initiative including the Youth Forum is at www.gov.ie/sharedisland.