Mr. Eric O'Connell:

Good morning. I am Eric from Galway, my pronouns are he-him and I am here on behalf of the Galway group of the North South Youth Forum. It is an absolute honour to be here this morning to share our findings and requests with the committee.

We are all aware of how massive a threat disinformation, and consequently misinformation, are. According to a UNICEF survey performed in ten countries, up to 75% of young people do not feel they have the confidence or skills to properly vet the information they are being given. This not only has an effect on their world view and how they go on to make decisions, but also on their relationships and mental well-being. The urgency of addressing this, as well as input from more than 100 young people from our Have Your Say Day is what brought us to the decision to address this and make it our request.

Living a fulfilling and complete life as an active citizen, an informed decision-maker and, most important, a peer, necessitates a critical mind. It is easy to take for granted that this skill is becoming infinitely harder to hone. There is a quantity of information available today that would have been unthinkable half a century ago. It is no wonder that young people are struggling to keep up. We have seen how much hatred can warp and escalate and that those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it, but those sentiments mean little if you do not know the history, or worse, are being given a false account. It is rare in the Republic of Ireland, that a young person would have full, or even good, understanding of the history, politics and lived experiences of the young people of Northern Ireland. This leads to what is platformed being their main sources on the matter and more often than not, that information has an agenda other than education.

Peer-to-peer communication becomes important here and realising that even if we are different in ten ways, we are similar in 100. Sharing the experiences and knowledge of Northern Irish young people is a powerful way to engage young people in the Republic and this can be followed up, in an ideal world, with trustworthy, unbiased information to broaden their understanding of subjects like the Troubles and the Good Friday Agreement that paved the way for peace in its aftermath.

All that being said, our request is for a toolkit to be developed for youth workers and educators to provide young people with the tools they need to navigate our information dense world responsibly, with a critical mind and to extend understanding of the political sphere they inhabit. This could help to quell anxieties, build healthy and constructive cross-Border relationships and give the next generation the confidence and information to have their voices heard.

I thank the committee and now pass to Cohen from Northern Ireland for our final remarks.