Just a month before international leaders descend on the Lough Erne Hotel, the youth of Northern Ireland were offered the opportunity to partake in a Youth Summit and work on proposals which will be put forward to the world leaders when they arrive in Fermanagh for the international summit.
Two students from the South West College were among those who partook in the conference. 19 year old Brian Haslett who is completing a Foundation Degree in Business Studies and 18 year old Andrew Flannagan who is a student on the Level 3 Business Diploma course were part of the 120 young people who partook in the summit.
The group provided their opinions on a wide variety of issues but settled on four key issues, health, equality, poverty and peace which they felt those attending the international summit should focus on. A video raising their concerns was recorded and will be produced in the official language of the eight member countries. The video was accepted by the Northern Ireland Secretary of State Teresa De Villiers and she will forward it to David Cameron who is setting the agenda for the summit. A number of local politicians and delegates from the participating member countries were in attendance.
The South West College students found the summit to be very stimulating and rewarding. Brian Haslett felt privileged to be a part of the summit. “It’s great to know that issues you are concerned about as a young person will be acknowledged and discussed by world leaders. It is a very satisfying feeling to know that you may have had an influence on what the most powerful people in the world are discussing”