Humans of YSI: Dervla Flanagan

Young Social Innovators Turns 25!

As Young Social Innovators celebrates 25 years of youth-led change, #HumansOfYSI shines a light on the young people who have used their voices, ideas and experiences to make a difference in their communities.

For our next feature, we hear from a former YSI participant from Largy College, whose project explored racism and discrimination in their local community. Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, the team behind RACE (Right Attitude Creates Equality) set out to challenge prejudice, create conversations and celebrate the different cultures and backgrounds within their community.

Their project went beyond raising awareness. Through a podcast and a multicultural cookbook, the team created opportunities for people to share their stories, learn from one another and bring their school and wider community together.

Eighth Feature: Dervla Flanagan

YSI Year: 2021
School: Largy College
Project: RACE (Right Attitude Creates Equality)

Briefly describe your YSI project. What issue were you trying to address?
We took inspiration from the BLM movement that was happening in the United States and decided that we wanted to tackle the racism and discrimination that happens in our community in Clones. Whether it was loud or quiet forms of hate, the prejudice of anyone outside of the status quo of a small town in Ireland was there. 

What is one standout memory from your YSI experience?
A standout memory for me has to be our podcast. We spoke to people of all backgrounds and got to learn about the judgement they faced daily. We also learned a lot from the people we spoke to. We were educated on many cultures, families, backstories and how they ended up in Clones. I'm going to cheat and also say our cookbook 'A Taste of Humanity'. We created this book by collecting recipes from our peers that represented their country. They gave a story on their background or how they came to have this recipe, whether it be handed down by family or a traditional dish of their country. We had amazing feedback from our book and it led to multicultural days in our school and the local primary school.

“YSI Made Me…”
Fill in 1–3 words that describe how YSI shaped you.
Confident, creative, and hopeful

What are you doing now?
Now I am in my final year of college studying International Relations. Participating in YSI when I was sixteen led me to choose this course and now I’m nearly twenty-two and thinking about what’s next. I have been so lucky to have worked with YSI last year, and even more grateful that I was asked back as a Marketing Intern this year. My experience with the YSI staff is that they are genuinely a team, everyone works together seamlessly, they genuinely love what they do and want to be there. Knowing that I’m now part of a team that helped me feel so empowered when I was in Transition Year is something that sixteen year old me would be so proud of. I have also had the amazing opportunity to be put forward as a Youth Advisory Group member for the Irish Presidency on behalf of YSI. This opportunity has been so fantastic in itself and I can’t wait to go to the EU Youth Conference at the end of the month to hear young people from all over Europe discuss issues and solutions and have our voice heard by political decision makers and government officials.

Do you see any connection between your YSI experience and where you are today?
One hundred percent. Participating in YSI definitely gave me the idea to do something with human rights or learning about the political world and corruption. I would never of had the opportunity to be an intern for YSI last summer if it wasn't for my school's project in 2021. 

Impact participating in YSI had personally:
Participating in the Activate program definitely gave me the confidence to speak up and stand up for others. It also taught me that I can educate people with kindness; telling a person that what they're doing is wrong doesn't always have to be done with hostility. 

Skills or values from YSI that stay with you today:
Public speaking, time management, self discipline, working as a team, and accepting help from others. 

Advice to young people starting their YSI journey now:
No idea is too 'out there'. Our YSI coordinator never shut our ideas down and YSI ended up being our favourite thing about Transition Year. 

YSI gave my classmates and myself the tools we needed to make a change in our community. On a topic like discrimination that is so vocalised today it is scary to speak up and demand change. We had amazing support and donations from businesses in our town (and further) that were more than happy to help in any way. It's intimidating to advocate for something that might not be received well, but building our project and having nothing but support has been one of my favourite memories from school.

A journey that came full circle
Dervla’s story is a lovely example of how the impact of YSI can stay with someone long after their project has finished.

At sixteen, she found the confidence to speak up about an issue that mattered deeply to her and her community. She learned how powerful it could be to listen to other people’s experiences, to create space for conversations and to trust that young people could make a difference.

Now, nearly six years later, she is back at YSI herself. This time, she is helping behind the scenes as a Marketing Intern and contributing to the organisation that gave her so much confidence as a Transition Year student.

There is something particularly meaningful about that. Dervla knows first-hand what it feels like to be a young person with an idea and to have people believe in it. She now gets to be part of creating that feeling for others.

Her journey is still unfolding, but the values that shaped RACE - empathy, courage, curiosity and a belief in the importance of having your voice heard, are clearly still with her.

And perhaps that is the greatest testament to the experience, Dervla isn’t just remembering what YSI meant to her at sixteen. She is now helping shape what it can mean to someone else.