Opportunities for Youth
Launched in September 2024, Opportunities for Youth: National Strategy on Youth Work and Related Services 2024 – 2028 sets out Ireland’s key policy ambitions for youth work and related services. It describes the measures to be taken from 2024 – 2028 to ensure that all young people in Ireland who wish to participate in enriching and developmental out-of-school activities have the opportunity to do so, helping them reach their full potential.
This publication delivers on a commitment in Young Ireland: National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2023-2028, which recognises the important role of youth work services in improving outcomes for young people and includes an agreed action to develop and implement a document setting out a strategic direction for the delivery of such services. Opportunities for Youth is intended to strengthen the capacity of the youth work sector to support the delivery of these outcomes and to address new and emerging challenges for young people, such as navigating the digital environment and the growth of disinformation.
The strategy includes a clear set of strategic objectives, and 18 priority actions intended to enhance the visibility, accessibility and attractiveness of youth services and supporting better co-ordination with the range of other services and pathways for young people. It also focuses on enhancing service quality, including through a consideration of workforce needs, and strengthening the data and evidence base informing policy, investment and service-delivery.
For more information on Opportunities for Youth: National Strategy on Youth Work and Related Services 2024 – 2028, click here.
Young Ireland
Ireland’s national policy objectives for all children and young people aged under 25 years are set out in Young Ireland: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2023 – 2028. Launched in November 2023, the central aim of this policy framework is to provide a platform to realise the rights of children and young people in Ireland, so that all partners can work effectively together to ensure children and young people can thrive.
It aims to create a robust ecosystem for the realisation of children and young people’s rights, in which children and young people remain a priority on everyone’s agenda, placing their rights and well-being at the centre of policy and decision-making. This in turn lends to an enabling environment in which the voices of children and young people are amplified, policymakers have access to the necessary data and research, to put children and young people’s needs at the centre of policymaking, and where services are designed to meet those needs, supporting children and young people to achieve the five National Outcomes:
- Active and Healthy
- Achieving in Learning and Development
- Safe and Protected from Harm
- Economic Security and Opportunity
- Connected, Respected and Contributing to their World
For more information on Young Ireland: The National Policy Framework for Children and Young People 2023 – 2028, click here.
