PRESENTATION SCHOOL LEADING THE WAY ON CLIMATE ISSUES
WITH determined young people such as Greta Thunberg starting to become the driving force on the topic of climate change, students at The Presentation Secondary School in Wexford are determined to follow suit. The Green Schools Committee there has been extremely active of late and they’ve just received confirmation that one of their number is to represent the school at the very first Youth Assembly on Climate in the Dáil next month.
Following a detailed selection process, TY student Ellen Curran is to make the journey to the capital on November 15 where RTÉ and the Houses of the Oireachtas will convene the country’s first ever Youth Assembly on Climate in Dáil Éireann. It will be a chance for young people to discuss what Ireland needs to do to tackle climate issues. Through strikes and demos they have helped make climate a national talking point. Now they are being given the opportunity to take that conversation to the heart of decision making.
The number of young delegates will be the same as the current number of TDs in Dáil Éireann and proceedings on the day will be chaired by Ceann Comhairle Seán Ó Fearghail. Ellen will join with fellow delegates and get together in groups with a facilitator to work out exactly what their proposals on climate action should be before presenting their views to elected officials. The final session will be broadcast on RTÉ News Now and Oireachtas TV.
Ellen was delighted to have been selected for the task. She has been a valued member of the Green School’s Committee at the Presentation for the past three years and is also the Chairperson of The Wexford Junior Tidy Towns Group.
This is another area that the Presentation students are seeking to make a difference. In a bid to help Wexford Tidy Towns make the next step in the national competition, some of the students decided to form a committee in partnership with the group and AIB. They look forward to getting to work and doing their bit to help keep Wexford looking beautiful.