Young Social Innovators of the Year Ireland Awards

The Young Social Innovators of the Year Ireland Awards celebrate excellence in youth-led social innovation. Held in May each year, shortlisted YSI teams are invited to present their projects to judging panels at our national celebratory awards event.

Hundreds of project teams enter the YSI Awards every year with inspiring social innovation projects spanning a diverse range of issues aligned to our innovation pillars of People, Communities and the Environment and the Sustainable Development Goals.

Shortlisted teams compete live at the YSI Awards event in a number of Challenge Categories. Winners are announced on the day including the winners of the overall Young Social Innovators of the Year Gold, Silver and Bronze Title Awards.

This year, the YSI Awards ceremony took at 11:00am on the 13th of May and was broadcast via YouTube Live. The Awards were presented by Virgin Media's Zara King and co-hosted by Dayl Cronin.

Watch the 2021 YSI Awards:

YSI Award Categories

Young Social Innovators awards project teams under a number of award catgories.

Award categories in 2021 include:

• Make Our World Healthier: Mental Health Award, supported by Health Service Executive
• Make Our World Healthier: Physical Health Award, supported by Health Service Executive
• Relationships and Sexual Health Award, supported by Health Service Executive
• Make Our Community Better Award, supported by Department of Rural and Community Development
• Make Our World a Better Place for Young People Award, supported by Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth
• Make Our Country More Inclusive and Poverty Free Award, supported by Department of Social Protection
• Make Our World Safer Award
• Make Our World Fair and Just Award
• Make Our Future More Sustainable Award
• Global Cititizens Award, supported by Worldwise Global Schools 
• Digital Innovators Award, Supported by Virgin Media
• YSI Fun-raising Award
• School Community Impact Award
• Covid-19 Response Award

Deparment of Rural and Community Development

The Department of Rural and Community Development is one of our lead public partners. The Department supports the engagement of young people in social innovation and volunteering, so helping to build and enhance a volunteering culture in Ireland.

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HSE

The Health Service Executive provides funding to promote its strategies around physical, mental and sexual health amongst the youth population. The HSE recognise that youth participation in social innovation promotes positive wellbeing in young people. The HSE provides the Making Our World Healthier (Physical Wellbeing and Mental Health) Awards as well as the Relationships and Sexual Health Award.

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HSE Healthy Ireland

The Health Service Executive provides funding to promote its strategies around physical, mental and sexual health amongst the youth population. The HSE recognise that youth participation in social innovation promotes positive wellbeing in young people. The HSE provides the Making Our World Healthier (Physical Wellbeing and Mental Health) Awards as well as the Relationships and Sexual Health Award.

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Department of Children Equality Disability Integration and Youth

The Department of Children invests in the participation and engagement of young people in society through YSI. It provides the Making the World a better place for Young People Award each year.

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Department of Social Protection

The Department of Social Protection is a longstanding partner to YSI investing in the learning and engagement of young people in combatting poverty and disadvantage in Ireland. It provides the Making our Country more Inclusive and Poverty Free Award each year.

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Virgin Media

Virgin Media invests in promoting digital wellbeing amongst young people in Ireland. It supports the work of YSI in a variety of ways including the new Digital Innovators Award which aims to recognise young people’s positive application of digital technology for the purposes of social good and to promote digital wellbeing.

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WorldWise Global Schools

WorldWise Global Schools provides grant funding to promote global citizenship learning among young people and teachers participating in our programmes. WWGS supports the YSI Global Citizens Award presented at the Young Social Innovators of the Year Ireland Awards.

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