You just had to be there.
Within a couple of minutes of arriving at NUI Maynooth for the Albert Schweitzer Leadership For Life Conference 2014 one of my ‘moments of the week’ occurred. It was about 10am and I had just arrived at the front of the Iontas building on campus where registration was taking place. With me were 6 members from our Foróige Club in Drogheda, Mell FYC. I had literally just put my bags down when I heard a high pitched “Oh My God” followed by an excited scream, “Eamo”, and before I even got a chance to turn around, I felt a body slam into me from behind, a pair of arms wrapped around me, squeezing the life out of me.
Over the past three years, I have been honoured and had the extreme privilege of attending one of the best youth leadership conferences in the world, the Albert Schweitzer Leadership for Life Conference. This year was my 3rd and final year as I completed the Advanced Module at the 6th Annual ASLFL Conference which ran in Maynooth, Ireland from Monday 28th July to Friday 1st August.
This year saw 250 young, inspirational leaders from across 4 countries (including Ireland, Northern Ireland, U.S.A. and India) gather for one of the best weeks of their lives.
300 teenagers arrived in Ireland last week from the USA, India and Northern Ireland for the Foróige Albert Schweitzer Leadership for Life Conference. Teenagers from almost every county in Ireland also took part. Inspirational guest speakers included world leaders in the fields of space exploration, music, business and sport as well as sustainable energy technology. Hollywood star Matt McCoy served as Ambassador for the Conference.
Through the X-HALE Youth Awards, the Irish Cancer Society encourages youth groups and youth organisations to play their part in helping to prevent young people in their communities from starting to smoke. X-HALE provides resources to youth groups to deliver message to the young people about the issues around smoking which are important in their community. Seven Foróige videos won in their categories! You can check out each of the videos by clicking on the links provided.
"The European Youth Forum published a paper entitled A Youth Guarantee for Europe and stated that youth organisations are most adept at providing ‘career focused training via non-formal education and developing a culture of entrepreneurship among young people’. And I would like to outline very briefly for you how this looks – and also to say that we have been doing this for a number of years. What are the capacities and aptitudes that employers are seeking from young people as they begin their working lives, what are called 21st Century skills?
167 young people have graduated from NUIG with a Foundation Certificate in Youth Leadership and Community Action. They participated in the programme through involvement with Foróige Clubs, Youth Projects and the Albert Schweitzer Leadership for Life Conference. Dr. James J. Browne who is the President of NUIG said, "Leadership programmes are a pivotal resource in equipping young people with the skills to become positive role models as youth leaders.
