Councils lay down challenge to young people of Cork
WITH summer camps and holidays cancelled (some Cúl camps are going ahead) due to the Covid-19 pandemic, a challenge has been put out to the young people of Cork to push themselves to do focused, positive and fun activities and earn rewards for achieving personal goals and new skills.
Cork ETB (CETB), in partnership with the Lord Mayor of Cork Cllr Joe Kavanagh and Cork County Mayor Cllr Ian Doyle, are issuing the We Are Cork Youth Challenge for summer 2020 to give youngsters and teens an opportunity to jump into a fresh skill or develop existing talents.
Some 30 challenges across music, arts, society, environment, sport and technology have been set with registered participants asked to complete 20 tasks over the summer months and record their experiences for others to see. A special Mayor’s medal will be given to each successful participant with IT prizes also up for grabs for the most creative and exciting challenges.
We Are Cork Youth Challenge is timed to start from June 22nd, a day before St John’s Eve (Bonfire Night) aiming to provide young participants with opportunities to focus their energies on positive activities through the summer as well as on that night.
Lord Mayor Cllr Joe Kavanagh has taken on the baton of his predecessor John Sheehan to promoted the Challenge. He pointed out that all of those who take part and complete the challenges will earn a special edition commemorative Lord Mayor’s Medal and be in with a chance to win one of six iPads. “Travel restrictions, the widespread cancellation of summer camps and traditional summer activities have made this a very different summer holiday experience for many young people. Cork ETB has moved quickly to help fill the void, and I urge as many people as possible to participate,” added the Lord Mayor.
Cork ETB devised the We Are Cork Youth Challenge in partnership with Cork City and County Councils, Music Generation, Cork Sports Partnerships and others in response to the Covid-19 crisis; it is hoped that thousands of Cork teenagers will get involved and focus their energies and have some fun in the process. The ETB funds over 14 organisations to provide youth services throughout Cork as well as allocating grants to voluntary youth clubs and organisations, aiming to achieve better outcomes and brighter futures for children.
CETB Chief Executive, Denis Leamy – who chairs the Youth Committee of Cork City Council’s Covid Response team – explained that a total of 30 inclusive, non-gender-specific challenges have been set with young people completing 20 of them to earn the commemorative Lord Mayor’s Medal. He stressed that this is not a competition. “The overall aim is participation, engagement and fun – lots of fun,” he said. “The challenges should be kept simple and could be anything from completing a 3km run, compiling a Spotify list, cooking a meal traditional to another country or composing a rap or song or writing a poem,” he explained.
The We Are Cork Youth Challenge involves young people uploading videos of their challenges completed to Microsoft’s free, easily-accessed and secure FLIPGRID app and social media channels which will be moderated by Cork ETB.
