DERRY City and Strabane District Council have hosted a special interactive workshop to engage with local young people about ways to build on the wide consultation that took place during their bid to become European Youth Capital for 2019.
The event also represented an opportunity for Council to show their gratitude to the youth of the city and district who contributed so significantly to the preparation of the bid.
The local Council area was pipped to the title by Novi Sad in Serbia at the official announcement of the winners in Bulgaria last month.
Deputy Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council, Councillor Jim McKeever, travelled with the local delegation to the Bulgarian city of Varna to hear the result and, speaking at last week’s reception at the Playhouse, he assured the young people present that their contribution to the bid would not be in vain.
“This was a good opportunity to formally acknowledge the dedicated efforts of our young people in our bid to be European Youth Capital for 2019,” he said.
“The EYC judges acknowledged that our bid and presentation was extremely impressive and it was our young people who took the lead in every stage of its preparation.
“While we were ultimately unsuccessful, the continued engagement with our youth to identify their hopes and aspirations for the future will allow us to develop future youth services across a broad range of areas.”
There is growing support for the city and district to host a dedicated year of youth in 2019 and Director of Legacy at Derry City and Strabane District Council, Oonagh McGillion, encouraged young people to take ownership of that project.
“We want 2019 to be a year designed by youth for our youth,” she said.
“This fun and interactive workshop using visual aids was a good opportunity to move into the next stage of the consultation process and hear young peoples’ views and opinions on a proposed programme.
“It was encouraging to hear their ideas on how they feel it should be delivered and we look forward to continuing that engagement and embedding this programme into our Community Plan.”
Anyone interested in taking part in future EYC19 engagement workshops can contact the team on [email protected].
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