To ask the Minister of Education what role she envisages for the Northern Ireland Youth Forum in the future.

Bunaíodh an Fóram don Óige le spreagadh a thabhairt do níos mó daoine óga le páirt a ghlacadh sa tseirbhís óige. Is eagraíocht í an Fóram atá treoraithe ag an óige agus leagann siad béim ar an phointe go bhfaigheann siad treoir agus fócas ó dhaoine óga. Tá sé tábhachtach go gcuirtear i gcónaí le cumas páistí agus daoine óga sa tseirbhís óige agus is mar gheall air sin go gcuireann an Fóram isteach ar chistiú mar Eagraíocht Dheonach Réigiúnach don Óige ón Chomhairle Ógra, agus tá cistiú acu faoi láthair le feidhm ionadaíoch do dhaoine óga a chomhlíonadh ag leibhéal straitéiseach in obair don óige.

The Youth Forum was established to encourage greater involvement of young people in the youth service. The Forum, as a youth-led organisation, emphasise that they get their direction and focus from young people. It is important to continue to build the capacity of children and young people in the youth service and therefore the Forum apply for funding as a Regional Voluntary Youth Organisation to the Youth Council, and are currently funded to perform a representative function for young people at a strategic level in youth work. In its annual report of 2009 the Youth Forum highlight that “the organisation has cultivated an active membership of young people, and participative structures, to set the strategic direction of the Forum”.

In 2008, the Department of Education approved the appointment of a Transitional Director to the Forum to lead the organisation through changing times; this is managed by the Youth Council. The duties of that post include working with key stakeholders to position the organisation in the new structures, and to advise on the future development of the Youth Forum taking cognisance of RPA, DE Policy, Youth Service Liaison Forum initiatives, Section 75, inclusion and the principles of equality, diversity and interdependence. Therefore it is a matter for the Forum and its membership to agree how the Forum can work with young people to encourage and support active participation, including working with the Transitional Director to explore the relationship and interconnection between the Forum and Network for Youth. I would therefore very much encourage the Forum and its members to clearly define and agree the role of the Forum in light of the emerging participative structures.

The Network for Youth, as an emerging structure for children’s participation, is a response to young people consistently reporting that they do not have adequate opportunities to have their voices heard, or their concerns listened to when decisions that affect them are being taken. The new Education and Skills Authority (ESA) will have responsibility for developing the Network for Youth, which provides a unique opportunity to encourage active citizenship by providing increased opportunities for all young people to express their views equally. The Network for Youth will not compete with existing youth or children’s groups; instead it will seek to build on what has already been achieved.

The Network is not intended to be the only way for children and young people to influence government. There are already a number of groups which do this effectively or on a smaller scale. It will be important that these existing structures are able to connect to the Network to ensure that a wide range of groups of young people or from local areas can be relayed to decision makers. It will strengthen the voice of young people, by providing for children's participation developed at local levels, but collated and considered on a regional basis.

Following the announcement that a Network would be established, the Youth Forum developed ideas on the Network with groups of young people and presented these to the Department. A Working Group was then established in August 2007, made up of a cross section of stakeholders from both the youth and children’s sector including the Youth Forum, and chaired by the Youth Council. The Working Group proposed a facilitated Network. It is important that the design of the Network takes account of existing participation structures and is part of an overarching and coherent system for children and young people’s participation. The Youth Council is currently working on options for this design based on the recommendations of the Working Group with input from key stakeholders. A report is due in December 2009.