Pictured: Teresians student Emily McAlinden, winner, with Eoghan McDermott on left and Tony Duffin, Director of Ana Liffey Drug Project.
Pic taken by Joe Keogh from Keogh Photography.
A Dublin 4 school has scooped a top prize at the ‘Let’s Talk About Drugs’ National Youth and Media Awards. Emily McAlinden, a first year student from The Teresian School, on the Stillorgan Road in Donnybrook, was a winner in the age 12-14 poster category “Quote.”
The winners were announced at an awards ceremony in the Clock Tower Building at Department of Education in Dublin, on May 11th. This annual competition encourages discussion of drug-related issues by inviting young people aged between 12-25 to produce either a short video, audio recording or written piece relating to drug and/or alcohol use.
Speaking at the event, guest of honour Eoghan McDermott (Irish television and radio presenter) said: “Drug use is a problem across all age groups and all sectors of society, and youth are no exception to this. To have a project which encourages young people to think about drugs and drug use, to start a conversation with their peers and to create such wonderful resources is simply fantastic. It’s important to empower young people to think critically, to investigate the evidence, to talk with their peers – these are all skills that are essential in life.”
Special guests handing out the category prizes were Stuart Clarke, Hot Press; Ciaran Darcy, Irish Times; Danielle Flynn, Professional Development Service for Teachers; and Aoife Ní Shúilleabháin, Union of Students in Ireland. The overall winner was Kells Youthreach for their video ‘Monkey on Your Back’.
Drugs.ie is an independent website funded by the HSE and managed by The Ana Liffey Drug Project. Tony Duffin, Director of the Ana Liffey Drug Project, said that “not all young people take illicit or unknown drugs, and it is always safest not to do so. However, young people do use drugs, and that is harmful.
We want to reduce the chances of harm from drug related injuries or deaths; and the devastating impact that these have on families, friends and communities. That’s why we will continue to work with our partners to ensure that meaningful messages get through to this target group via the Drugs.ie Media Awards. The overall winning entry ends on a peer-to-peer call to action for young people to educate themselves about drug use and the potential risks involved. Ultimately this is what the Drugs.ie Media Awards is about.”
You can view the winning entries at the following link: http://bit.ly/1Wq5QKy
By Maria Shields O’Kelly
