Young and Irish Voices
Helen Dixon was appointed as Data Protection Commissioner for Ireland in September 2014. She had previously held the role of the Irish Registrar of Companies from November 2009. Prior to that, she held senior civil service roles in the Department of Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation in the areas of economic migration policy and, formerly , science , technology and innovation policy.
Youth Media Team
CONNECT is the Science Foundation Ireland Research Center for future Networks and Communications. Its mission is to research ad develop innovative solutions for the communications challenges facing society today. The internet of things, 5G networks and new broadband architectures are the Center’s main areas of focus.
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Denis and Cara interviewed John Frank at #DataSummitDublin
John Frank is Microsoft’s Vice President, EU Government Affairs. In the role, John leads Microsoft’s government affairs teams in Brussels and European national capitals on EU issues. John was previously Vice President, Deputy General Council and Chief of staff for Microsoft president and Chief Legal Officer Brad Smith
Denis and Cara
Youth Media Team
On our trip to the European Parliament in Brussels last week, Amy and Roisin interviewd Jelena Radkovic, Parliamentary Assistant to Sean Kelly MEP. Jelena told us how being a Serbian camogie player led to her working with the former President of the GAA, Sean Kelly MEP! She spoke about her job in the Parliament and her deep affection for and great kndge of the issue affecting Ireland.
Amy and Roisin
Youth Media Team
Lorcan and Amy interviewed Henry Wasung from the Visitor’s Centre in the European Parliament. Henry had spent some time with our group early in the morning to get an idea of the areas of EU policy that we were interested in, such as opportunities for study and working in the EU. Everyone was also very interested in the potential impact of Brexit, especially on Ireland. Henry met us again after our visit to the plenary room of the parliament and gave a presentation about the areas of interest that we had identified. Amy and Lorcan asked him about his work in the EU and also about his interesting situation as a citizen of the UK working in the Eu parliament.
Lorcan and Amy
Youth Media Team
Caitlin and Lorcan interviewed Sean Kelly MEP in the European Parliament. Sean invited the team over to Brussels and we were very fortunate to interview him during our visit.
Sean spoke to us about his work and the successes and challenges that come with it. He also told us how important it is for us to follow the work of the parliament and the work and study facilities they provide. We also asked him about Brexit and how it will effect rural Ireland but also us, young people.
Thanks so much to Sean for giving us the chance to learn about how the parliament works as well as exploring Brussels and the surrounding regions.
Caitlin and Lorcan
Youth Media Team
This is the story of four YMT-ers and three proud (well we hope you are proud!) mammies on a whistle-stop tour of Brussels, Waterloo and Bruges!
How did we come to be here? Well … during Easter our long-suffering mentor Pam O’ Brien received an interesting email from Ireland South MEP Seán Kelly which offered an exciting opportunity to participate in a trip to Brussels. He was emailing Pam to recognise the great work done by YMT- Seán is familar with our work as we had interviewed him at previous events.
So… after much negotiating and discussion, flights to Brussels were booked and hotel rooms secured. It was official, YMT were becoming #YMTontour and our famous red t-shirts were going to grace the European Parliament.
Our flight was an early one – 6.20am from Dublin, so there was a subdued silence when we met in Dublin Airport. Locked and loaded, we set out for Brussels on a packed Ryanair flight and arrived to the ‘another flight on time’ trumpet (I secretly decided that this fanfare was in fact to welcome YMT to Brussels 😂) Bernie Carroll was waiting patiently in the airport with a sign saying ‘Seán Kelly MEP Group’ and we felt like celebrities. Once the group (16 in total) was gathered, we headed for our coach for the short journey into Brussels city centre.
Home for the 2 nights was the stylish and uber eco-friendly Hotel Thon Europe in the European district. This hotel was buzzing with business people and the staff were really friendly. What was very interesting was all the eco stuff in the hotel- they had a 1st floor garden, a bike in the foyer to generate electricity and also give their left-over toiletries to charity. Nice!
Caitlin, Lorcan, Roisin & Amy
Youth Media Team