Teenagers from Donegal attend Maynooth University for Youth Leadership Conference

250 teenagers from around the world gather in Maynooth University for Foróige’s Leadership for Life Youth Conference today. The conference, which was launched on Monday June 29, brings together young people to learn the skills and confidence to become leaders in their own lives and communities.

During the week-long conference the teens learn crucial life skills such as empathy, decision making, problem solving, communication skills, critical thinking and teamwork.

“Leadership for Life is a circuit-breaker programme and can truly be life-changing for young people” commented Seán Campbell, CEO of Foróige.

“This conference gives them the chance to not just learn from expert speakers and facilitators, but also to develop themselves and grow with each other in a fun and relaxed environment. Year on year I’m amazed by what young people can achieve when given the chance and the support. Every young person deserves to be able to access programmes like this.”

Katelyn Warren, from Donegal spoke at the closing ceremony stating “I’m usually a shy and introverted person but Foróige Leadership for Life has pushed me out of my comfort zone in the best way possible. I got to socialise with people and staff from different places and it was really enjoyable to get to know and do activities with so many nice different people. I made lots of amazing and wonderful new friends which was a new but great opportunity as I usually tend to stay with people I already know.

This week has impacted me in an educational way as well as I’ve learned about various different topics in the workshops while listening to everyone’s different ideas and opinions. This whole event has really encouraged me to take risks, be brave, to put myself out there. I feel the most important message and lesson that I have learned myself from my time here is to always try new things and to not judge a book by its cover!”

As part of the week-long conference, the delegates met inspirational guest speakers including:

• Joanne O’Riordan: Joanne is a renowned disability activist, and one of seven living people born with Tetra-amelia syndrome, a disorder characterised by the absence of all four limbs. She was named Young Person of the Year at Ireland's People of the Year Awards 2012 and appears in the 2013 documentary No Limbs No Limits. Joanne is now studying law full time. 

• Cllr Mark Duffy: Mark Duffy is an independent county councillor serving as Mayo’s youngest representative. A former Mayor of Ballina, Mark had the honour of welcoming President Biden during his homecoming visit to the town in front of a 27,000 strong crowd.

• Zbyszek Zalinski: As Diversity & Inclusion Lead in RTÉ, Zbyszek Zalinski helps RTÉ better reflect the Ireland of today – among those who make the programmes and support our different services, as well as those who appear on them.

Seán Ronayne: Seán is an ornithologist, wildlife sound recordist, and environmental activist hailing from Cork, Ireland. He holds degrees in Zoology, Marine Biology, and Ecological Impact Assessment from University College Cork (UCC). His documentary Birdsong recently premiered in Irish cinemas and was shown on RTÉ1.