News & Events

YAP Ireland Cork Build a Boat for International Ocean to City Race

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  YAP Ireland Cork Build a Boat and are taking part in the International Ocean to City Race as part of the Cork Maritime Festival

  
  

  YAP Cork is currently embarking on a traditional journey of building a Currach as part of the Ocean to City Race and to mark YAP Ireland’s 10^th Birthday.

  
  

  This joint venture will allow young people to build a boat by using traditional methods, skills and materials and learn to row the Currachs on the famous River Lee.

  
  

  They will be placed in teams of two to represent YAP Ireland in the youth section of this famous race. They will be competing against other youth groups and organisations. The race will take them under the bridges of Cork to the finish line where their parents, families, friends, the public and International Press will be present to cheer on the YAP Teams.

  
  

  The Core group consists of YAP young people aged between 10 to 17 years - all first time boat builders, Jade O’Connor, Chloe Slattery, Elizabeth O’Driscoll, Wesley Tynan and Gavin Sykes. They are joined by their YAP advocates and staff of Meitheal Mara (Boat Building Project).

  
  

  The group are about 5 weeks into the process and are now joined by some parents to make sure that it is complete before the Race day.

  
  

  As you can see from the pictures in the Photo Gallery named Boat Building Project Cork the bones of the Boat are done and the next stage is the skin which we will be painted to make sure that the public can indentify our boat. 

  
  

  Phase one of the boat Build is coming to the end as you can see from the pictures in the Photo Gallery named Boat Building Project Cork Phase 2, the final touches are been made to the first section of the Boat . The next Phase will involve putting on what is called the Skin(Canvass). This will allow the young people to see the actual structure of the boat, then for the tricky part, placing a colourful design on the canvas.  These boats are normally Black in colour .

  
  

  All the young people and parents, Advocates, School staff and Social Work teams are getting really excited that this boat built by the young people and parents will take its place on the river on the 2^nd of June.

  
  

  As the final piece will involve the painting and design we think that this should be a surprise, but trust me it will be what they say in cork “Decent”.  As the YAP flags will fly the Boat it will be very colourful and special.

  
  

  We will keep you up to date with the progress and hope to see you in Cork for the Ocean to City Race on 2^nd June.

YAP Boat Launch - Cork Maritime Festival

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  YAP Ireland Cork Build a Boat to Take Part in the International Ocean to City Race as Part of the Cork Maritime Festival

  
  

  What- Cork Maritime Festival – boat launch and boat race
  When- Thursday 31^st May at 2pm & Saturday 2^nd June at 12.30pm
  Where- Lapp’s Quay, Boardwalk, Cork City

  
  

  YAP Cork has embarked on a traditional journey of building a Currach as part of the International Ocean to City Race and to mark YAP Ireland’s 10^th Birthday. This joint venture has allowed young people to build a boat by using traditional methods, skills and materials and learn how to row a Currach on the famous river Lee.

  
  

  The boat will be officially launched by Kathleen Lynch TD, Minister for Disability, Equality, Mental Health and Older People on Thursday 31^st May at 2pm at Lapp’s Quay, Boardwalk, Cork City and young people, families, staff and supporters are invited to attend.  Refreshments will be provided following the launch. 
  
  Please let Mary know if you are able to attend on 01 8689180 or mdoyle@yapireland.ie before Wednesday 30^th May.

  
  

  Two teams of young people will represent YAP Ireland in the youth section of this famous race on Saturday 2^nd June. The two teams will be competing against other youth groups and organisations. The race will take them under the bridges of Cork to the finish line at Lapp’s Quay where their parents, families, friends, the public and International Press will be present to cheer on the YAP teams.

  
  

  The core group consists of YAP young people aged between 10 to 17 years - all first time boat builders. They are joined by the Advocates and staff of Meitheal Mara, Boat Building Project. This journey has allowed the young people with parents and staff to build a Currach by using ancient Irish skills to achieve a top class finish.

  
  

  The group have started on the last phase of the project by painting a very creative and youthful image on the skin of the boat. The concept of the design has been drawn up by the young people, staff and parents of the project. The image will encapsulate the importance of the river in our city and the strength of our young people’s creativity. This will be the only highly decorative boat on the day, so the public cannot miss us. YAP flags will fly from the boat and it will be very colourful and special. The final boat will be a surprise but pictures of the boat building phase can be found on the YAP Ireland website at: http://www.yapireland.ie

  
  

  The youth race is set to start at 12.30pm from Blackrock Pier and concludes at Lapp’s Quay in Cork City where street entertainment, face painting, market stalls and musical entertainment will be available as part of the Cork Maritime Festival.

  
  

  For more information on the event please visit: http://www.oceantocity.com/

Ronhill Connemarathon

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  Justin Keys the Finance Manager with The Youth Advocate Programmes Ireland will be running the Ronhill Connemara Marathon to help fundraise for YAP Ireland.  The Ronhill Connemara Marathon is a day of road running/racing around a very scenic part of the West of Ireland.

  
  

  Justin would very much appreciate your support in helping him to raise funds for our worthwhile charity.  All proceeds raised by Justin go directly to YAP Ireland and we would like to wish you thanks in advance for your support.
  
  You can sponsor Justin by selecting the link below which will bring you to his mycharity page on mycharity.ie
  
  http://www.mycharity.ie/event/justin_keyss_event/ 
  
  Then select the "sponsor me now" button on the left of the screen and you can donate via credit or debit  card.  Any donation no matter how small is hugely appreciated.
  
  You can be assured that your transaction on the mycharity.ie website is very secure.

YAP Ireland Galway Programme Participate in St. Patrick’s Day Parade

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  YAP Ireland are delighted to announce that  a group of young people from the YAP programme in the Galway region are participating in this year’s St. Patrick’s Day festival in Galway city. The 8 young people who are between the ages of 10 and 18 years will take part in this year’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade supported by YAP staff.

  
  

  When speaking about the group’s performance, Niamh O’Brien - Deputy Manager in YAP Ireland said that: “the group will use an informal theatrical performance based on an interpretation of the modern day leprechaun. Their piece will use influences stemming from Finvarra – legendary King of the Connaught Fairies and original King of the leprechauns who according to folklore, brings luck and good fortune to the community. Their piece is colourful, artistic and will use fluid movements, while also being energetic .The piece which is young person led, has involved the young people through all stages from start to finish.”
  
  Niamh O’Brien also said that “working on the performance has helped the young people to break down barriers, assisted their confidence building, developed their social skills and creativity, while also helping to achieve a sense of accomplishment for them.” Each of these elements is key to achieving YAP Ireland’s vision which is young people and families belong to confident and connected communities.

  
  

  Speaking in advance of St. Patrick’s Day events on Saturday, Siobhán O’Dwyer CEO of YAP said “we are delighted the young people involved in YAP have the opportunity to showcase their talents. They have gained in confidence and developed new skills, which through this performance they are now sharing with other young people, their families and the wider community in Galway”.

Older and Bolder Seminar

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  Six of your young people from Dublin, Kildare and Meath took part in a seminar recognising solidarity between generations and celebrating the act of making your voice heard. The event organised by the Older and Bolder organisation was attended by the President Michael D. Higgins. The aims of the seminar were to
  
  1. Recognise and promote solidarity between generations as a positive force in working for social change 
  2. Explore how older and younger advocates are represented in images and words
  3. Celebrate the role of advocacy as part of European Year for Active Ageing and Solidarity between Generations in 2012
  
  The importance of civic engagement and making your voice heard was celebrated and discussed through a series of focus groups comprised of both older and younger people.

Better Together Campaign - Voices YAP Ireland

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  YAP Ireland entered the Better Together Video Competition with the Wheel. Our entry was called Voices - Yap Ireland.

  
  

  Over the last few weeks charities, community groups and associations up and down the country have been submitting their short inspirational videos to the Better Together Video Competition. The public were then invited to vote on these videos and help spread the word about the work being done in communities across the country every single day. The prize is €3,000 for the best Video in each category and only the top 10 are shortlisted to go forward for the €3,000 prize.

  
  

  Voting for the Better Together Video Competition has now closed.

  
  

  Ten videos will be shortlisted in each of the following categories:

  
  
  
  
  1. Organisation with staff with a turnover greater than €500,000 per year
  
  
  2. Organisation with staff with a turnover less than €500,000 per year
  
  
  3. Volunteer only organisation.
  
  
  
  

  The winning video in each of the three categories will be awarded €3,000.

  
  

  The Better Together Video Competition voting system is based on an accumulated stars system. When voting for a particular video, voters chose between 1 and 5 stars. A 5-star rating delivered 5 votes to the video in question and a 1-star rating delivered 1 star, and so on. The number of votes for each video will now be added up to create the shortlist.

  
  

  The shortlist will be announced on Wednesday, 16 November.

  
  

  A panel of independent judges will review each shortlisted video and a winner will be selected in each category.

  
  

  The winners will be announced at the Better Together Awards on 1 December 2011.

  
  

  Thank you for your support throughout the campaign.

  
  

  Better Together is a nationwide campaign which aims to build support for hundreds of charities, community groups and associations across the country by encouraging the public to support these good causes and make a difference in their communities. The public are invited to vote on these videos and help spread the word about the work being done in communities across the country every single day.

  
  

  http://www.bettertogether.ie/content/voices-yap-ireland

YAP Cork/Kerry Regional Office Launch and Young Peoples Photography Exhibition

• The Youth Advocate Programmes (YAP) Ireland official Launch of the YAP Ireland Cork/Kerry regional office is taking place in the Cork City Library, Grand Parade, Cork City on Thursday 3rd November 2011.  As part of the Launch you will be able to view the YAP Ireland Young Peoples Photography Exhibition.  
  
  The YAP Photography Exhibition is the result of a nationwide project undertaken by young people involved with Youth Advocate Programmes Ireland. Each young person who participated was encouraged to create an original image around a series of themes that include community, “life in my town”, and self portraiture.
  
  The resulting exhibition of insightful and perceptive images reflects the individuality of the young people who contributed to the show and provides a glimpse into how they see themselves and their community.
  
  The Exhibition will be officially opened at 3.30pm and visitors are welcome from 3.00pm.  The Photography Exhibition will be on show in the City Library for the following two weeks.  Please come along and view the exceptional work created.

  
  

  Exhibition Opening Times
  The exhibition will be on show in the City Library from Thursday 3rd November to Thursday 17th November 2011
  
  City Library opening times - Monday to Saturday     10.00am to 5.30pm

Update on the National Event "Education for All?"

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  The National Event on 18th May, “Education for All?” was a major success with young people and families presenting their work from all programmes.

  
  

  Congratulations and thanks to all the young people, parents/carers and staff for all their hard work and for making such a huge contribution on the day.

  
  

  The Board and all at YAP Ireland are very proud of the achievements of the young people and families and we know that they are also very proud of themselves.

  
  

  The conference report will be available within the next month with both a multi- media disc and written report which will be widely distributed and available on the website.

“Education for All?”