Young Social Innovators Winning team 2018
Ulster Bank is the Official Awards Partner to Young Social Innovators
A team of 28 students from Ardscoil Mhuire in Limerick has been named the Young Social Innovators of the Year 2018. All 33 shortlisted teams presented their projects to a panel of judges at Croke Park today, followed by an Awards Ceremony at which the winning teams were announced. The prestigious award was presented by Sean Kyne TD, Minister of State at the Department of Rural and Community Development, together with Elizabeth Arnett, Head of Corporate Affairs at Ulster Bank and YSI Co-Founder, Sr Stanislaus Kennedy.
The Gold award, along with the title of Young Social Innovators of the Year 2018, went to Ardscoil Mhuire in Corbally, Co. Limerick whose project ‘Sexting, Get the Message #keepitpg’ posed questions about the lack of communication and education for young people around the topic of sex.
The Silver award went to Our Lady of Lourdes Secondary School in New Ross, Co. Wexford, whose project ‘UV Been Warned’ explored the danger of skin cancer caused by the sun and how this issue is perceived in Ireland.
The Bronze award went to Youthreach City of Galway VEC whose project ‘It’s our teenage brain, we can’t take all the blame!’ tackled the issue of teenage behaviour in relation to brain development and hormonal activity.
10 Challenge Awards and four Spotlight Awards were also awarded to successful teams during the ceremony, as well as a High Impact Award granted to Davis College from the 2012 YSI programme for their project ‘Forget me Not’ and their lobbying efforts for the successful establishment of the National Missing Persons Day in Ireland in 2013.
The newly-crowned Young Social Innovators of the Year 2018, from Ardscoil Mhuire in Corbally, Co. Limerick said: “We are so delighted to win and to be named the Young Social Innovators of the Year for 2018. We were very impressed by the standard of all the other projects here today and we knew the competition was fierce. Our project really means a lot to us because sexting and sex education is an issue that is very relevant to ourselves, our peers and all young people in Ireland today. We really want to raise awareness about the lack of communication and education around sex for young people, and Young Social Innovators is a great opportunity for us to get our work started.”
Speaking at the event this morning Damien Daly, Head of Customer Experience and Products at Ulster Bank, said: “We are delighted to be supporting the Young Social Innovators Awards for a third year. Innovation is a core element of all the work we do at Ulster Bank and the innovation, creativity and enthusiasm displayed by all of the candidates here today is excellent. We are proud to support these brilliant young people as they disrupt the world around them and work to bring about social change, and we take inspiration from the projects that they have presented today.”
Rachel Collier, CEO and co-founder of Young Social Innovators, said: “Every year I am blown away by the work presented by the young people in the Young Social Innovators programme, and 2018 has been no different. Young people are one of our most valuable resources for fuelling social change, and at Young Social Innovators we are proud to capture their passion and to provide them with a platform on which to present their ideas and be heard.”
Full list of this year’s winners below:
Gold Award: Young Social Innovators of the Year 2018
Title: Sexting, Get the message #keepitpg
School: Ardscoil Mhuire, Corbally, Limerick
Guide: Lorraine Kerin
Silver Award
Title: UV Been Warned
School: Our Lady of Lourdes Secondary School, Rosbercon, New Ross Co. Wexford
Guide: Catherine Moran
Bronze Award
Title: It’s our teenage brain, we can’t take all the blame!
School: Youthreach, City of Galway VEC, 22A Liosbaun Business Park Tuam Road Galway
Guide: Jaki Mitchell
Make Our World Healthier – Mental Health
Title: Going Mental on Wheels
School: Newtown School, Waterford, Co. Waterford
Guide: Karen Keogh
Make Our World Healthier – Physical Health
Title: Our Answer After Cancer
School: Mulroy College, Milford, Letterkenny Co. Donegal
Guide: Karen Stewart
Relationship & Sexual Health
Title: Healthy Relationships and How to Recognise Them
School: St. Joseph’s Secondary School, Tulla, Co. Clare
Guide: Deirdre Hogan
Make Our World One World
Title: The Cycle Of Life
School: Portmarnock Community School, Carrickhill Road, Portmarnock Co. Dublin
Guides: Colette Cronin and Niall Fitzgerald
Make Our Community Better
Title: Better Safe, Than Sorry
School: Loreto Secondary School, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal
Guide: Siobhan McKeague
Make Our World a Better Place for Young People
Title: Give a Hand to Help them Understand
School: Ursuline College, Finisklin, Sligo
Guide: Nathalie Reilly
Make Our Country More Inclusive and Poverty Free
Title: F.R.E.E. – For Refugees Entering Éire
School: Loreto Secondary School, Letterkenny, Co. Donegal
Guide: Siobhan McKeague
Make Our World More Fair & Just
Title: The FairTraders
School: Castleisland Community College, Tonbwee, Castleisland Co. Kerry
Guide: Elaine Murphy
Make Our Future More Sustainable
Title: Off Grid
School: St. Fintan’s High School, Dublin Road, Sutton Dublin 13
Guide: Wissam Abdel Samad
Make Our World Safer
Title: B.O.B…..belts on buses
School: Christian Brothers Secondary School, Mitchelstown, Co. Cork
Guide: Carmel Ryan
Social Media
Title: Proud as Punch
School: Breifne College, Cootehill Rd, Cavan Co. Cavan
Guide: Grainne Brady
Fun-raising
Title: Going Mental on Wheels
School: Newtown School, Waterford, Co. Waterford
Guide: Karen Keogh
Mobile for Good
Title: The Icitabo Project
School: St. Fintan’s High School, Dublin Road, Sutton Dublin 13
Guide: Wissam Abdel Samad
Social Innovation & STEM
Title: Why So Few?
School: Beara Community School, Castletownbere, Beara Co. Cork
Guide: Aoife Buckley
Ulster Bank’s partnership with the programme is part of its ongoing commitment to fostering social innovation and entrepreneurship from a young age, and to build on its strong community legacy of education, evident in its MoneySense and Skills & Opportunities fund programme.
For more information about Young Social Innovators please visit www.youngsocialinnovators.ie.
Ireland’s transition to electrified mobility continues to strengthen, with two in five Irish consumers (40%)…
South East Technological University’s (SETU) sixth annual Women in Technology event will bring together role…
By David Stephen who looks at the idea of Digital Insurance and how it could…
Irish small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are increasingly aware of the growing risk posed by…
The Spider Awards, Ireland’s longest-running and most prestigious digital awards ceremony, is proud to announce…
National Broadband Ireland (NBI), the company responsible for delivering the Government’s National Broadband Plan (NBP),…
Irish Tech News are Ireland’s No. 1 Online Tech Publication and often Ireland’s No.1 Tech Podcast too.
You can find hundreds of fantastic previous episodes and subscribe using whatever platform you like via our Anchor.fm page here: https://anchor.fm/irish-tech-news
If you’d like to be featured in an upcoming Podcast email us at Simon@IrishTechNews.ie now to discuss.
Irish Tech News have a range of services available to help promote your business. Why not drop us a line at Info@IrishTechNews.ie now to find out more about how we can help you reach our audience.
You can also find and follow us on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, Instagram, TikTok and Snapchat.