Cart is empty 
A few of our Senior Branch members participated in the National Youth Consultation on Human Rights hosted by NYCI on Thursday 19 February.
In total, 80 young people gathered from across Ireland to discuss the human rights issues that matter most to them and the changes they would like to see locally, nationally and globally.
Erin, from Rivervalley Senior Branch, attended the consultation on behalf of Irish Girl Guides as part of our commitment to supporting youth participation and advocacy. She shares her experience of attending the consultation.
Erin’s experience at the consultation
When I arrived, we were put into groups and instantly started discussing some of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The main ones we discussed were:
- *No Poverty
- *Gender Equality
- *Reducing Inequalities
- *Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions
Throughout the day we took part in multiple activities, including making posters that may be shown at a future UN meeting in New York.
All of the activities we did and the topics we discussed were taken up by Ireland’s UN Youth Delegates, Aisling and Carla, who will bring these ideas to future UN (United Nations) meetings as well as discussions at a national level.
There were also lots of other Senior Branchers in attendance representing different national youth organisations, many of whom I had the chance to talk with during the day.
This consultation was not only a great opportunity to learn more about how we can put our ideas forward to people who can speak up about them, but also to learn about other advocacy opportunities that young people in Ireland can get involved in, such as the Gaisce Youth Award and Comhairle na nÓg.
Overall, we hope that some of the issues we discussed, such as how poverty affects inequalities in education and employment, can be brought to the United Nations and to our own government here in Ireland.
This article was written by Erin, a youth member of Irish Girl Guides,
after attending the National Youth Consultation on Human Rights
