All set for the Dublin City Council Youth Conference in the Mansion House today.
Good Luck Tara, Aedan and Kenny!
Comhairle na nÓg are child and youth councils in the 31 local authorities of the country, which give children and young people the opportunity to be involved in the development of local services and policies.
In light of the fact that Comhairle na nÓg is for young people under the age of 18 and who therefore have no other voting mechanism to have their voice heard, Comhairle na nÓg is designed to enable young people to have a voice on the services, policies and issues that affect them in their local area.
Every Comhairle na nÓg holds an Annual General Meeting in September or October, to which children and young people are invited from local schools and youth groups. Attendance at AGMs ranges from 80 -150 young people, depending on the size of the city or county.
A Comhairle na nÓg Committee is elected at the AGM. This committee is responsible for working on the topics picked at the AGM and being the consultative forum that works with decision-makers.
At the AGM, the young people pick the topics of most importance to them.
Comhairle meetings generally take place every three to four weeks where members research their topic and work to influence local decision makers. The Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth and the National Participation Office team conduct annual regional networking events for young people from Comhairle na nÓg in March.
Every second year 500 young people attend the Comhairle na nÓg Showcase event with approximately 15 young people from every Comhairle na nÓg in attendance.
The purpose of the events is to give young members of Comhairle na nÓg an opportunity
to showcase their work and to network with one another,
to share information with other young people in their region about what is working well in Comhairle na nÓg and
to voice their opinions on developing and improving Comhairle na nÓg.