The winners of the 2019 Challenge Awards were:

Proud of their area but determined to make it a better place to live, this group of teenagers rallied their community together and through social media and viral video productions, their message landed far and wide. As young people they want to have a voice in their community and they want to contribute to improving it for all who live there. Working with community members, local representatives, the media and Dublin City Council, this group of teenagers are lobbying to secure more amenities for residents of Inchicore. Collaborating with artist group Subset they will create a mural on the wall of their football club house - a focal point for the whole community. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Concerned at suicide rates within the county of Kerry, the teenagers in Mercy Secondary School are in the process of designing an app to help improve the wellbeing of young people in the county. The team also created a short film entitled - just one of the many actions they took to help improve the mental health of young people and to promote conversation, wellbeing and resilience.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Concerned at the lack of awareness of the condition Sleep Apnoea and determined to help a family member of one of the team members, the group ‘Sleep Tight’ researched and designed a non-invasive device to prevent Obstructive Sleep Apnoea occurring. The team's main goal was to design a device that could  potentially change the lives of hundreds of thousands of people, which they are well on track to doing. They have worked with many professionals, businesses and organisations including Samsung Ireland wo are helping the team develop a complementary app to collect data on the level and quality of sleep that people receive while using their device.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

With the aim of building a community that feels comfortable speaking about consent and rape, the team “Rule Out Rape” from Meanscoil Gharman, Enniscorthy came up with several innovative actions, including the production of a drama which touched on the effects rape has on people's lives and the isolation that they feel. They created a video as gaeilge communicating issues relating to consent using the analogy of playing basketball and they also devised a workshop to educate students.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

In support of young carers, this Donegal team are determined to create a welcoming and understanding environment for carers in their school and local community. Among the initiatives they have carried out are collaborating with Donegal Youth Service and fundraising for them, informing local businesses and media of their project and selling their own specially designed wristbands in local shops to raise awareness of the prevalence of young carers in Ireland today.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

One member of this YSI team is very familiar with the isolation experienced by the deaf community through having two deaf parents. The issue was therefore very close to the hearts of this team. Their big idea was the creation of an app that scans a QR code on products and then provides information on the screen along with a video that also signs information. The team is passionate about the wider promotion and learning of ISL - Ireland's third language - to prevent isolation of the deaf community.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Not only did this team fundraise extensively to provide more defibrillators for their local community, they created a much needed map to inform residents of Roscommon Town of the location of available defibrillators; such a map did not exist and would be hugely beneficial to the community. Given that a fellow classmate has an existing heart condition, this was a topic the team felt passionately about as timley access to a defribllator can sometimes mean the difference between life and death.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The all-girl team from Limerick believe that there is real inequality between males and females in the area of sport. Through their project, they aim to promote women in sport and to promote higher attendance at female sports events. They are also trying to gain more equality by investigating the supports provided to male and female athletes in things such as facilities/equipment, personnel/management, nutrition and publicity. They created links with female athletes and teams, actively promoted the 20x20 campaign, created an all-female wall of fame, and provided opportunities for students to attend female matches.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The students from Castleisland Community College have been running an awareness campaign to educate young people and the local community on the causes and consequences of climate change and the solutions that we can all achieve. They created a train sculpture out of FSC wood and recycled materials that, through collaboration with Tidy Towns, now sits on the site of the old train station. They designed ‘Air Bee and Bees’ - huts for bees and have worked with Gortbrack Organic farm to create a 5 year plan to increase biodiversity around their school.

The winners of the 2019 Spotlight Awards were:

Global Citizen Award: Largy College, Analore Road, Clones, Co. Monaghan, We Are All Human

These Monaghan teenagers have worked tirelessly to make their community a more welcoming place for refugees, especially families from the Syrian Resettlement Programme. One of the team members herself is a refugee from Syria who also has younger siblings in the school. The team launched a book and a board game, both of which were designed to educate young people about the issues faced by refugees. They created and launched an app in association with Monaghan County Council – “Monaghan Welcomes You” – that lists local amenities in several different languages.They designed and hosted a community event in Clones – “Flight to Freedom” – a 5km challenge in which participants experience the issues faced by refugees and asylum seekers. They are also working on the story for a film which will tell the story of Lilav their Syrian classmate. 

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Social Media Award: Killarney Community College, New Road, Killarney, Co. Kerry, Be Dementia Aware

Inspired by the personal experience of one of their classmates, the Killarney teenagers are collaborating with a range of organisations, representatives and community members to raise national awareness of dementia and the impact it has on patients, their loved ones and their place in the community. The team created and promoted short videos through social media educating people on various areas of dementia such as brain health, dementia prevention, types of dementia, and more. They created a brochure and website and held a number of awareness fundraisers to support local nursing homes.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Fun-raising Award: Ard Scoil Chiarain Naofa, Frederick St., Clara, Co. Offaly, Raise The A Game

This team wanted to promote inclusivness in their school and local community for those who suffer from autism. Some of the team members have families directly affected by autism and they were passionate about learning from professionals and organiations about they could better support their peers and make their community more friendly for autistic members of the community. They created initiatives in shops to have autism friendly shopping days as well as for students in the ASD Unit to be introduced to the world of work. They encouraged sports stars to support their Raise the A Game campaign and have created a Raise the A Game flag. The team also fundraised for a local autism charity as well as for the upgrade the ASD Unit in the school.