Summerhill trinity student gets youth ambassador role
Nineteen-year-old Summerhill resident, Louise Lawless, has been selected to be part of ONE's prestigious Youth Ambassador Programme.
ONE is an anti-poverty group, whose Europe-wide programme sees young people campaign in their communities and lobby their local politicians to encourage decisive action on ending extreme poverty and preventable disease, particularly in Africa.
Louise, who is in her first year in university at Trinity College Dublin, is one of 15 Irish Youth Ambassadors who will attend a number of national and global summits. At these events, world leaders will make major decisions affecting the world's poorest people.
According to Louise, this is the first year Ireland has played a role in the campaign and she is looking forward to the personal challenge. 'It's rare in this day and age to have an organisation that doesn't look for people's hard-earned money and it's a new experience to ask people to lend their voices to a movement,' she said. 'I'm hoping that, for me personally, the ONE campaign will be able to provide me with the skills needed to make positive change, raise public awareness and also to educate me in global problems that I may not have heard of otherwise.'
If every citizen took an active interest in helping the world's poor, the potential for change would be huge, according to Louise. 'I'm hoping to make a difference. It seems heartwrenchingly unfair to me that there are certain obstacles in some people's lives; that they don't have the opportunities they should because of corruption or lack of education. ONE aims to change this,' she added. 'Every single citizen in Meath can do a huge amount, whether they are 13 or 90.'
Those interested can follow the ONE campaign on Facebook and Twitter, and Louise has called on the people of Meath to expect more from their political representatives.
Those who aren't comfortable with social media, meanwhile, could simply write a letter to their local TD, Louise added. 'I would encourage everyone to do this,' she said. 'Show the government that the people of Meath support equality and progression for everyone.'
According to Diane Sheard, director of The ONE Campaign, decision-makers can choose between a new path to help the final billion people lift themselves out of extreme poverty or settle for the status quo and this is the decision ONE hopes to influence.
Impressive
'It's great to have Louise join our Youth Ambassador programme. She is part of an impressive team of young people who will make waves and turn heads in Ireland and around the world in their mission to end extreme poverty,' said Ms Sheard.
'I can't wait for them all to get to work, playing their part in a global movement,' she added. '2015 is a decisive year for everyone on the planet and world leaders need to know that people from across the UK want a bright future for all, no matter where they were born. ONE's Youth Ambassadors will be making sure they do just that.'
In 2014, the Europe-wide programme saw over 140 young people from across the continent campaign ahead of the European elections, lobbying MEPs to sign the 'ONE VOTE 2014' pledge and promising to keep the EU's promises on aid.
After six months of campaigning, the Youth Ambassadors successfully persuaded 391 MEPs – well over half of the European Parliament – to sign the pledge and commit to working to help the world’s poorest people. The programme was also supported by Bill Gates and former president of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso.