CEIST SCHOOLS PERFORM MAGNIFICENTLY!!
Young Social Innovators of the Year 2020
May 5th this year marked the day for the final of Young Social Innovators (YSI) of the Year Awards to take place in Croke Park, Dublin. On this day each year YSI finalists from all over Ireland come together to celebrate their amazing achievements and to pitch for the challenge, and overall the Gold, Silver and Bronze title Awards.
As schools remain closed due to the outbreak of coronavirus, the Awards format was different for 2020. The panel of YSI judges met virtually to consider all entries. Almost 8,000 students participated in some 400 social innovation action projects this year. They recently received feedback, and 33 teams were shortlisted for the Awards. The Young Social Innovators project is always a very exciting competition which challenges all teams to make a positive difference to the world. CEIST would like to congratulate all teams who took part this year with special congratulations to the winning teams. We are extremely proud to say that eight of the winning teams this year came from CEIST schools. This is most certainly ethos in action.
Please click here to visit the YSI webpage for a full list of winners. We have listed all CEIST winning teams below. Congratulations to all on a such a fantastic achievement.
St. Leo’s College Carlow
 |
 |
Make Our World Fair and Just: The Loud Silence Behind Closed Doors
Challenge Winner 2020: Make Our World Fair and Just Challenge
YSI Project Name: The Loud Silence Behind Closed Doors
School: St. Leo’s College, Carlow
A study undertaken by St. Leo’s College Carlow YSI team into the issue of domestic violence. The aim of this project was to highlight this issue, affecting predominantly women and children, that is often hidden and unspoken about. The St. Leo’s College YSI team wanted to educate themselves, their peers and their local community to ensure that people know how to deal with issues around domestic violence and where they can go for help.
Click here to read more
Mercy College, Coolock, Co Dublin
|
 |
Make Our Future More Sustainable: Climate Activists
Challenge Winner 2020: Make Our World Fair and Just Challenge
YSI Project Name: Climate Activists
School: Mercy College, Coolock, Co Dublin
A study undertaken by Mercy College, Coolock, Co Dublin YSI team into raising awareness on the importance of climate change and how it will affect their generation. Using the school as their base the Mercy College, Coolock YSI team undertook serval innovative actions including a campaign to reduce the amount of single use plastic in their school and day-to-day life, use and promotion of metal straw as opposed to plastic, and creating an environmental newsletter to communicate with school management regarding a policy on plastic in their school.
Click here to read more
North Presentation Secondary School, Farranree, Cork
|
 |
Make Our World a Better Place for Young People
Challenge Winner 2020: Make Our World a Better Place for Young People
YSI Project Name: Our Open Space Peaceful Picnic Garden
School: North Presentation Secondary School, Farranree, Cork
Concerned about the wellbeing of their school community after new rules restricted students’ lunchtime movements, the North Presentation Secondary School, Farranree YSI team decided to design an outdoor garden as a place the whole school community could enjoy. Identifying that lunchtime had become a source of tension, this group wanted to create an area where fellow students could go outside, relax, converse and eat in a peaceful and colourful surrounding. They also hoped it could become an outdoor classroom for all year groups.
Click here to read more
Coláiste Bríde, Clondalkin, Dublin 22
 |
 |
Make our World Fair & Just
Challenge Winner 2020: Make our World Fair and Just
YSI Project Name: Inclusion is the Solution
School: Coláiste Bríde, New Road, Clondalkin, Dublin 22
This team wanted to see more young girls becoming active, not only in their school but in the wider community. They want to see everyone participating and enjoying physical activity and for sport to be more inclusive for all.
Mount Mercy College, Model Farm Road, Cork
|
 |
Make our Country More Inclusive & Poverty Free
Challenge Winner 2020: Make our Country More Inclusive & Poverty Free
YSI Project Name: The Intergenerationals
School: Mount Mercy College, Model Farm Road, Cork
This team’s goal was to integrate older people in our society and build a bridge between our two generations. They wanted to learn lost skills from the past, such as sewing or social dancing. They wanted to build an intergenerational bond between them and older people.
St. Joseph’s Secondary School, Rochfortbridge, Co. Westmeath
|
|
Make our World More Sustainable
Challenge Winner 2020: Make our World More Sustainable
YSI Project Name: Wonderful Waste
School: St. Joseph’s Secondary School, Rochfortbridge, Co. Westmeath
The goal of this project was to make students and by default their families and the wider community more aware of how much unnecessary waste they produce. They wanted people to think about the choices they are making when consuming products and then think about how they consume items. They feel that by doing this people will reduce waste and then reuse items in a more creative way. They created a leftover food cookbook to encourage others to use as much as they can without throwing things into the waste.
Mount Mercy College, Model Farm Road, Cork
|
|
Make Our World Healthier (Mental Health)
Challenge Winner 2020: Make Our World Healthier (Mental Health)
YSI Project Name: I’ve Got a Gut Feeling
School: Mount Mercy College, Model Farm Road, Cork
The goal of this project is to raise awareness about the benefits of good nutrition and how this can improve overall gut health. This in turn will have a positive effect on overall health but more specifically how an improved gut health can significantly improve our mental health.
Mercy Secondary School Mounthawk, Tralee, Co. Kerry
|
 |
Make Our World Healthier (Physical Health)
Challenge Winner 2020: Make Our World Healthier (Physical Health)
YSI Project Name: Debate the Vape
School: Mercy Secondary School Mounthawk, Tralee, Co. Kerry
‘Debate the Vape’ is concerned with the social epidemic of Vaping. Vaping has become a social concern on a National level since so many minors are purchasing and using Vape pens. As a result, more and more young people have begun buying and becoming addicted to nicotine. They are very passionate about this project as currently the long-term health effects of vaping are unknown.