Cork students air their views on social issues at 'Speak Out' event 

The 2026 Young Social Innovators (YSI) Speak Out tour was officially launched at Cork City Hall recently.

The Cork event marked the national kick-off of this year’s tour, with students delivering dynamic two-minute presentations as part of the YSI Activate programme.

YSI is Ireland’s leading youth-led social innovation education programme, empowering young people to develop solutions to social, environmental, and community challenges.

In total, 40 student teams from across the region took to the stage to address the social issues shaping their lives and communities.

Themes

Across two days, Cork teams explored a wide range of themes including projects focusing on sustainability and environmental responsibility, the importance of first aid knowledge and AED mapping, and improving wheelchair accessibility in public spaces.

Students also looked at health and wellbeing topics, including nutrition, screen time, breast cancer awareness, and the impact of toxic relationships.

Other teams raised awareness around drink spiking and examined the growing role of AI in the lives of young people.

The range of topics reflected both local concerns and wider societal challenges, demonstrating the insight and leadership of young people across Cork.

Commitment

Cork city Labour Party councillor Ciara O’Connor praised the creativity, courage and commitment to positive change of the participating students.

“To the young people presenting, I want to say this clearly: Your voice matters. Your ideas matter. Your courage matters,” Ms O’Connor said. 

“You are shaping ideas that make schools, communities, and our city stronger, more inclusive and more compassionate.

“Cork is a city that believes in youth voice. We know that our city’s future is stronger when young people feel empowered to speak up, to question, to disrupt, to create and most importantly, to act.”