Donegal Youth Council's Well-Being Day focuses on practical self-care

The Donegal Youth Council hosted Wave Length in the Finn Valley Centre, aimed at equipping young people with simple, practical activities to improve their mental health and well-being. 

This event was entirely organised and led by the members of the Donegal Youth of Donegal, focused on empowering young people to integrate self-care practices into their daily lives and strengthen connections with peers.

Many young people understand the importance of well-being but often overlook the simple actions that can make a significant difference in their lives. The Well-Being Day sought to address this by offering a range of activities that participants could easily replicate at home and in their community.

Speaking at the event, the Mayor of The Donegal Youth Council, Jessica Mc Devitt said: “Our aim with Wave Length was to encourage young people’s well-being in a fun and positive way as we designed this event to offer a variety of activities and I do believe we achieved our goal as we were met with so much positive feedback at the end of the day and looking forward, I hope to see more events inspired by this one in the future”

The mayor also said “I believe that Wave Length was a massive success among everyone who attended. The event was centred around well-being and gave the young people who took part ways to improve their well-being such as playing a sport or game outside like football, frisbee as well as basketball and even looking up a local Civic Dollars or Geocache and going out on an adventure, using your hands to make a craft like a friendship bracelet or paper origami, or just taking out a board game with some friends or family, or even just listening to music. Most of the attendees didn’t know activities as simple as these could impact on their well-being.”

The Deputy Mayor, Rowan Buchanan concluded with this by stating: “I am so happy about the success of Wave Length, which brought young people together for a day of connection, creativity, and fun. Our event was designed to celebrate the positive impact that shared activities and community can have on our well-being. Our goal was to provide a space where young people could truly be themselves, connect with others, and explore new hobbies, all while taking a much-needed break from their phones.

We hope Wave Length serves as an inspiration for future events, encouraging a more relaxed and enjoyable approach to youth wellbeing. By giving young people the freedom to engage in activities that resonate with them, we believe we can make a lasting impact on their overall happiness and mental health.”

Mental Health, social media and Body image were all topics voted for by young people at last year's Donegal Youth Council’s Conference. From all the feedback at this, the members of the Youth Council designed this event. Members felt people often forget the smaller and simpler things people can do for their well-being. Youth Council member Sophie McPortland highlighted this when asked about the day “The day went really well and lots of people enjoyed it, I think people rediscovered enjoyment outside of social media and their phones for example my sister forgot how enjoyable and fun it is to make bracelets with friends and play football.