Ms Valerie Duffy:

Along with my colleague Diandra Ní Bhuachalla from the NYCI, I welcome the opportunity to appear before the committee to discuss the Commission for Future Generations Bill 2023. The NYCI is a national representative body which supports over 50 community, voluntary and not-for-profit youth work organisations in Ireland that work with up to 400,000 young people annually in their local communities. The NYCI works in partnership with other local, national and European organisations to ensure young people have a seat at the table and a voice and opportunity to influence society. Our Youth 2030 global youth work programme is a consortium including Concern Worldwide, Trócaire and the centre for youth research and development at Maynooth University. We work to ensure the youth sector is aware of and engages with the sustainable development goals, making connections between local and global issues from personal, local, national and global perspectives.

Two significant aspects of our work involve managing the UN youth delegate programme with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Irish Aid and running a future generations climate justice project, funded by the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth. We supported our UN youth delegates and young people's committee in March of this year to run a youth consultation ahead of the UN Summit of the Future. More than 70 young people from youth work projects across the country shared their ideas on everything from international peace and security to financing for sustainable development. These recommendations formed Ireland's Youth Pact for the Future, including a youth declaration on future generations. This was a key avenue for young people to influence international negotiations and to have their voices heard. I will pass over now to my colleague, Ms Ní Bhuachalla.