#ListenUP! What matters to you?

07 November 2018

Thursday 15 November 2018 at 15.30

Please join us as we ask our elected representatives to ListenUP! as we set out what matters to us in our vision of a future Northern Ireland. The Integrated AlumNI, working alongside the Integrated Education Fund, want to ensure that the voice of young people is heardby those who have influence and we are inviting you to join us as we create a platform for your voice to be heard. This is not a political hustings; instead, this is a respectful and meaningful conversation, facilitated by the participants, to bring the messages of the young generation of current and future voters to the main Stormont parties.

Our Objective

We want to build the capacity of young people to become active in campaigning for a more integrated and inclusive society with the ultimate aim of bringing about greater social cohesion.

We have the vision of a meaningful, genuine, and constructive conversation about the future of our society. By bringing abroad range of vocal young people together, we can create a platform to discuss the issues that matter to us - and then delve deeper into finding out what can be done to solve them. We want to tell our political leaders what our main priorities are, and what their main priorities should be.

Format

This will be set up in an ‘international café’ style format. With a number of tables within the venue, there will be a varied group of young people at each one. There is no top table – illustrating that this event is not based on giving the politicians the platform to speak, but allowing the participants themselves to have their voice heard. The event will have a local chair and we will also hear from a guest speaker who will set the scene, exploring how Northern Ireland is a vibrant place to be, with ever-growing potential. We want the event to be positive and inspiring, with the idea of developing the potential in NI, and to ensure that this message is passed on to the politicians.

The Conversation

The event will bring politicians from the five main Stormont parties to move around the tables and hear your messages. Every young person attending is invited to prepare a question/challenge/ comment based on their own perspective and experience, on the

theme of: Challenge and Change: Segregation and Cohesion.

Would you like to see change in...

Your community?
The education system?
How and where we live?
How we socialise?

What are your ideas on how to address these problems?

Questions you may like to consider:

What more needs to be done to enable communities to work together to develop a prosperous and peaceful Northern Ireland?
Do you want to stay in Northern Ireland? What would make you stay/go?
What would be your hope for Belfast [your hometown] in 10 years?
Are you proud to be from Northern Ireland/Ireland? Why/why not?
Thinking about school – did it work for you? What would have made it better?
Would you like to see the peace walls come down?
Do you feel that we lag behind the rest of the UK/Ireland in social matters?
How do you feel your experience of growing up might have been different elsewhere?

Outcomes:

We will ask the politicians to make a pledge witnessed by the young people in the room

The event will promote young people’s engagement in politics and active citizenship
The aim is that this event will be the start of continuing engagement and between the various organisations represented with future events to grow from this

How can I get involved?

Join in the event! Register via the following ways:

EMAIL – RSVP to Michael Lynch (Integrated AlumNI) -mlynch812@gmail.com

Select ‘GOING’ on our Facebook event: goo.gl/Ba9HJU