Mr. Eric O'Connell:

On the points that have been brought up, youth information very broadly plays into a lot of them in very significant ways. On media literacy in schools, we see it being applied in subjects like English and media but not in a practical way that young people feel they can apply to their lives. It would be ideal if that were a skill that could be taught but I have seen that a push for a change in the curriculum can be very difficult. The next best thing would be to create a space where young people have an opportunity to engage with media literacy in a way that applies practically to their lives and in an environment where they feel safe to do so.

With regard to North-South and cross-Border relations, especially between young people, there is a very good opportunity for shared mobility through the Erasmus programme abroad, excluding colleges, because it is better to get together groups of young people who want to have these constructive discussions. Again, youth information is really important in that situation because we want to get the information about the programme to the young people who might like to participate.

Reference was made to voting at the age of 16. That could help with the current mass disenfranchisement we are seeing through lack of political education. Youth information is important in this situation to give people the skills to understand politics as it applies to their life, to be able to make informed decisions on who they will vote for and to support them through that process of voting for the first time because it is incredibly daunting. You cannot expect everyone to know everything intuitively. At the same time, we are not providing spaces where those questions are being answered in a way that makes young people feel they are being heard, first of all, and respected as people who need that information.

My last point is on the lack of physical spaces for youth information. As I said, the primary way that youth information is accessed in the country at the moment under the label of explicit use information would be the "Why I" chat information service that operates through the Spunout.iewebsite. Currently it is being run by youth information officers around the country. It is an excellent resource but it is also important to give people the option to drop in and have a chat with someone face to face.