East Glendalough School

Young Social Innovators 08/09

This year we had 15 students on the Young Social Innovators team. Throughout the year we have been extremely busy and generated a great amount of media coverage.

The Young Social Innovators (YSI) is a project where young people between the ages of 15 to 18 take part in a social awareness and education programme. In this programme students have to bring about some postive changes and create a better world for people today.

We focused on highlighting some obstacles disabled people might face in Wicklow Town. We hoped to heighten awareness among the able bodied community and the local councillors on how inaccessible the town is to disabled people in our community.

We carried out many forms of research. We brought Cllr. Irene Winters around in a wheelchair and led Cllr. Conal Kavanagh around blind folded, so that they could experience the problems faced every day by people with disabilities. This was a better way of researching, as facts on a sheet might not always give you the best result.

We also attended an Information Day that was led by a local disability group. We had guest speakers in to talk to us about relevant information on our project that linked in to their organisation. They all were very interested in our project and , to our delight, offered to help us with our research were it was possible. We worked with local organisations and planned to improve the town’s accessibility.

We then came across the idea of yellow footprints to remind people not to park on footpaths as this can cause disruption for people with disabilities. And it's not good for footpaths! We also made a board game that illustrates the difficulties faced by any member of our community around the town. This helped get our message across.

I would like to conclude that by doing this project we have gained valuable experiences and helped people in our community. Even though we did not get anywhere in the showcase, we have raised awareness and helped make bring some positive changes to Wicklow Town.

Tonia Jackson 4E