On Thursday 14th September 2017, the Young SVP conference was taking place in Knock, County Mayo. Our whole year went to take part in the event. Guest speakers and schools gathered to speak to us about social injustice that is prevailing in our society today. Many activities were also set out for us, as we were divided into groups with other school to discuss issues, have fun and make new friends. We were all very excited for the day ahead!
Father Peter McVerry kickstarted our day with a talk on his work with SVP. He is a Catholic Priest who serves the community and is notably popular due to his work to fight the homeless problem. This thought-prevoking and interesting speech really opened our eyes as reguards the homelessness crisis in Ireland at the moment. He spoke to us about how himself and his team have helped so many people who have come to them in hopes of getting off drugs, getting their home back, learning how to read and write etc. He also mentioned a few stories from his past that touched many of our hearts. We learned that some drug abusers that come in search of help are not to blame for their addiction, as many of them had a rough upbringing. We also learned about the obstacles homeless people must face on a daily basis. After his speech, I really felt encouraged to make more of an effort to acknowledge anyone begging on the street, as many of them just want to be recognised as human beings. I thoroughly enjoyed his talk as he told real stories about real people.
The next speaker was Doctor Cara Augustenborg who is a lecturer at University College Dublin and serves as the chairperson of 'Friends of the Earth' in Europe. Cara spoke to us about about Climate Change and how the Earth needs to be looked after well for the next generation. Personally, I didn't really find Cara's speech that interesting. It was unnecessarily long and involved irrelevant information as to the topic she was supposed to be speaking about.
John Lonergon took to the mic next. John was governer of Mountjoy prison and served them for 42 years. John spoke about his experiences in the prison and shared his thoughts as to the social injustice our society is facing. Being honest, i didn't find his talk interesting. Many of us zoned out for his talk!
Lastly, Johanna Riordan took to the mic with a witty, interesting and humerous speech, that had all of us at the edge of our seats listening to. She told us her lifestory and what it was like living with her bodily defects. She didn't let her disability weigh her down as she smiled through any difficulty that was thrown at her. Her inpirational talk was definitely the highlight of that day as far as I'm concerned!
To conclude, I would say that the day was average. I enjoyed some parts of it but others i found quiet un-interesting and plain boring. Its a great idea to have that kind of event on, but in my opinion, i think there should be less speakers and a lot more activities. For me, the theme of Social Injustice was only delivered well by two of the four guests.
Father Peter McVerry kickstarted our day with a talk on his work with SVP. He is a Catholic Priest who serves the community and is notably popular due to his work to fight the homeless problem. This thought-prevoking and interesting speech really opened our eyes as reguards the homelessness crisis in Ireland at the moment. He spoke to us about how himself and his team have helped so many people who have come to them in hopes of getting off drugs, getting their home back, learning how to read and write etc. He also mentioned a few stories from his past that touched many of our hearts. We learned that some drug abusers that come in search of help are not to blame for their addiction, as many of them had a rough upbringing. We also learned about the obstacles homeless people must face on a daily basis. After his speech, I really felt encouraged to make more of an effort to acknowledge anyone begging on the street, as many of them just want to be recognised as human beings. I thoroughly enjoyed his talk as he told real stories about real people.
The next speaker was Doctor Cara Augustenborg who is a lecturer at University College Dublin and serves as the chairperson of 'Friends of the Earth' in Europe. Cara spoke to us about about Climate Change and how the Earth needs to be looked after well for the next generation. Personally, I didn't really find Cara's speech that interesting. It was unnecessarily long and involved irrelevant information as to the topic she was supposed to be speaking about.
John Lonergon took to the mic next. John was governer of Mountjoy prison and served them for 42 years. John spoke about his experiences in the prison and shared his thoughts as to the social injustice our society is facing. Being honest, i didn't find his talk interesting. Many of us zoned out for his talk!
Lastly, Johanna Riordan took to the mic with a witty, interesting and humerous speech, that had all of us at the edge of our seats listening to. She told us her lifestory and what it was like living with her bodily defects. She didn't let her disability weigh her down as she smiled through any difficulty that was thrown at her. Her inpirational talk was definitely the highlight of that day as far as I'm concerned!
To conclude, I would say that the day was average. I enjoyed some parts of it but others i found quiet un-interesting and plain boring. Its a great idea to have that kind of event on, but in my opinion, i think there should be less speakers and a lot more activities. For me, the theme of Social Injustice was only delivered well by two of the four guests.