If you want change get on your bike and peddle hard
TO begin, we wanted to identify the issues of concern in our local area, both inside and outside the school that would direct our campaign.
We elected a committee to run different elements of our campaign. These included creating awareness, producing promotional literature, fundraising, research, lobbying public representatives and politicians in our area.
* The role of education.
* The format of the Leaving Cert.
* Advantages and disadvantages of continual assessment.
* The reduction of grants and increase in fees.
* The lack of recreational facilities in the city centre and the need for better opportunities for young people to socialise.
* The lack of safe cycle paths throughout the city and suburbs, and the condition of existing cycle pathways.
Having had discussions with our peers, and residents in the community about their concerns, we decided to select a local issue on which to campaign for change. We chose the lack of cycle paths as our local issue. The next step was to research the facts.
In Ashton we interviewed 73 students. We found:
nThree students stated they cycle to school regularly.
n35 of the 73 said they would cycle to school regularly if cycling paths were provided. This indicates a huge level of interest in cycling, provided conditions on cycle paths are appropriate.
The problems cyclists encountered on a regular basis, on existing cycle paths, ranged from parked cars, to incorrectly erected lamp-posts blocking the paths.
To influence change on this issue, it was necessary to:
nFind out how the system works by talking to politicians living locally.
nCreate awareness of the issue at local level.
We spoke with local representatives. We looked at the factors that influence the decision to join a particular party and the issues that direct a campaign.
We identified the steps to becoming a public representative, ultimately taking part in an election.
Choose your party: Find a group whose policies you agree with. If you cannot find a suitable party, then you choose to be an independent.
Get involved: Become as involved as possible with your local community. Get your face known in the area.
Get endorsed: Find someone who thinks highly of you and is not afraid to say it. Get this person to nominate you for local election. This can be anyone you know including family members. It helps if they are already known amongst the community, but it is not necessary.
Register as a candidate
Start campaigning: Start making your policies and ideals known. Start talking to people about issues in the area, and what can be done to develop the community.
After we identified our local issue, we then set about raising awareness among students at Ashton, the local areas in which we live and nationally.
We designed posters, we used notice boards and tried to raise as much awareness as possible.
The whole exercise was an eye-opener for all of us.
We plan to further pursue our awareness campaign in our local area, and intend to organise an art competition for the four nearest primary schools to us, with the theme Safer Cycle Paths For All.
At national level, we have started lobbying all the councillors on Cork City Council and making them aware of our concerns.
We have learned that people power cannot be ignored, that you can influence change.
We discovered from our experience thus far, that for public representatives, it is their passion about issues and concerns in their communities, which motivates their commitment and involvement in democracy.
As students, we realise that having a passion for a concern or issue, which motivates us to become involved and show total commitment to it, can generate results. The experience has been both empowering and enabling.
We know the process involved in becoming a public representative. Research and awareness of issues in a community are the ‘cornerstones’ of a successful democratic process.
We know now that as young people we can influence change despite not having a vote yet.
We realise now, that as individuals we can make a difference, but collectively we can influence change.
