St Aidan’s Comprehensive School, Cootehill Chosen to exhibit 2 projects at Young Social Innovator National Showcase.
Transition year students at St Aidan’s Comprehensive School Cootehill have successfully been chosen to present their Social Action projects at the National Y.S.I showcase to be held in the R.D.S on the 7th and 8th of May. The Y.S.I programme was established Nationally in 2002. The programme is for young people who are interested in making changes in how we live, think and care about others. The programme encourages young people to get involved in social awareness and social action projects.
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Combating Ageism towards the older community
This project has been selected for the National Showcase. The students aimed to link the generations and help bridge the gap between the old and the young. The goal of the project was to challenge the negative attitude to ageing by making people aware of all the positive things about the older community.
The most positive and rewarding part of the project was the student’s link with the voluntary organisation “Positive Age” in Cavan. Positive age promotes social gain for older people. This year they celebrated the launch of their 20th Anniversary Celebrations and the launch of their new initiative called “Good Morning Positive Age”
St Aidan’s formed part of the intergenerational programme run by Positive Age and throughout the year the students participated in various activities and events with Positive age.
As a result of the project an awareness of ageism has been created and steps have been made to challenge the negative attitude towards the elderly.
As Kofi Annan said “A society for all ages is one that does not caricature older people as patients and pensioners. Instead it should see them as both agents and beneficiaries of development. It honours traditional elders in their leadership and consultative roles in communities throughout the world”
St. Vincent de Paul-into the future
This project highlighted the work done by St. Vincent de Paul, showing that young people have a vital role in contributing to solving some of today’s social problems. This project has been chosen for the National Showcase. The students raised awareness of the work done by the St. Vincent de Paul Society in Ireland and in our local area in particular. The goal of the project was to participate in our local chapters Christmas hamper appeal and door to door money collection and by doing so, raised the profile of the St. Vincent de Paul Society.