Higgins to seek young views

President Michael D Higgins will be in Cork this weekend to listen to young people’s vision for a new Ireland.

The President will address 100 people aged between 17 and 26 as he hosts his second regional Being Young and Irish workshop at Nemo Rangers GAA club. The attendees will spend the day debating their vision for Ireland’s future.

The workshop is part of a wider consultation process by the President, who wants to hear young people’s view on Ireland’s future.

As part of the process, he has posed several open questions, including:

nWhat is your vision for Ireland?

nWhat needs to happen to make your vision possible? nWhat can you and other young people do to achieve this vision?

Those at the event will work with professional facilitators in groups of about 10, discussing the characteristics of a well-functioning society.

Participants will also talk about countries that have impressed them on their travels, look back at Ireland’s recent history and see how the negatives might be transformed into positives, said a spokesperson for Áras an Uachtaráin.

They will then agree on their top 10 answers to the President’s questions.

All of the findings from this workshop, from last week’s workshop in Dublin, and from planed workshops in Monaghan and Galway, will be analysed by a research team.

The President plans to unveil the findings at a Being Young and Irish 2012 seminar in Áras an Uachtaráin, and use them to inform his presidency, his spokesperson said.

Submissions can also be made at www.president.ie/makeasubmission before Sept 29. You can also share your views via www.president.ie/youngandirish, on Twitter via #youngandirish, and on Facebook.