Press Release
April 3, 2020 • 2 min read
GOAL launches youth advocacy programme at a time when global crises show us the importance of global citizenship.
An innovative youth programme, aimed at bringing young people in Ireland together with their peers in Africa to contribute to creating a better world, has been launched by humanitarian aid agency GOAL.
The programme launch comes at a time when the world is facing one of the biggest crises of this generation as it battles the spread of the coronavirus.
GOAL is appealing to those aged between 18 and 25 with volunteering experience and an understanding of global issues to apply for the GOAL NextGen Global Youth Programme 2020.
GOAL Youth Advisors Poonam Shokar, Elle Loughran, Lea Pesic and Meadhbh Hayden at a meeting in which the GOAL Youth Programme was developed.
The programme will involve participants from Ireland and African countries to create, trial, and share a development education resource to guide passionate young people on contributing to a sustainable world for all. The programme intends to help young people better understand the tools and processes of effective advocacy through global citizenship.
Selected participants will join 12 online seminars between May and October 2020, introducing them to concepts and providing them with discussion space. The seminars will have input from expert guest speakers. Participants from Ireland and Africa will also facilitate online workshops with young people outside the programme to test the resource they are creating jointly.
GOAL Global Citizenship manager, Nina Sachau, said: “We are living in very worrying times. There is renewed urgency for action in response to global crises which include Covid-19. The current health crisis shows us that people living on this planet are really interconnected. What happens in one part of the world affects every other part of the world. Tackling other crises, such as stopping climate change, protecting our ocean and animals, ending poverty and fighting inequalities around the globe, can also only happen if we work together as a global community. Young people must be part of the effort to find solutions.”
She added: “Participation in the Global Youth Programme 2020 will instil an understanding of global citizenship and its links to effective and sustainable advocacy in young people. We want them to develop skills to advocate and navigate local, national, and international political processes. They will have the opportunity to connect to a network of passionate young African people who are ready to take on the challenges which lay ahead of us all.
To get involved potential participants are asked to apply at https://goalglobal.wpengine.com/youth/
For more information contact:
Miriam Donohoe, Senior Communications Manager, 087 2393914
