Transition Year UNICEF Programme

Sinead O Mahony, Aoife  Godwin Combes and  I Rhiannon Finney took part in UNICEF Virtual Work Experience from the 1st-5th of November. The aim of this course was to teach students across Ireland about the rights of the child. 

What  Sinead had to say?

On Monday we learnt about children's rights. First, we did a kahoot on children's rights. We learnt about UNICEF and the work they do. We learnt about The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which has been ratified in every country in the world except the USA. The UNCRC is a collection of children's rights. They cover the basic rights every child is entitled to. We were sent into breakout rooms to do workshops on the UNCRC. We all worked on a mural which is like an online poster that everyone can edit. I was really surprised with how interactive the workshops were.

On Tuesday we did income inequality. We did a kahoot on income inequality. We did an auction on advantages. The way the game worked was that every group had a different starting amount to use in the auction. My team had the least amount of money by far, and we didn't win anything since everyone could easily out bid us. The group with the most money at the start of the game won the most in the auction. We looked at a website called dolar street which had different families' income and what they are able to buy with that income. It was interesting to see how people's priorities change the more money they have.

On Wednesday we did discrimination. We looked at the causes of discrimination and how discrimination effects people. We watched one video and also looked at women's rights across the world.

What Rhiannon had to say?

From the 1st to the 5th of November I attended the UNICEF Activision Weeklong Training Course. It was held via Zoom and over 30 students were involved. It was hosted by Vieveine Perry. The first day of the course focused on the rights of the child. We learned about The United Nations convention on the Rights of the Child and looked at case studies. We then broke into breakout rooms to discuss issues further. Breakout rooms gave us an opportunity to talk to students from all around Ireland, who had similar interests to us. 

On the second day we discussed income inequality. In groups we held a mock auction for different skills and resources that help you succeed in life, such as a stable job and a college education.  Some groups had thousands to spend while others only had a few hundred. This taught us about uneven wealth distribution. 

We covered discrimination on the 3rd day. We talked about racism, sexism, ageism, homophobia, transphobia and ableism . We looked at case studies and watched videos. We then discussed these topics with other people in breakout rooms. On the final day we talked about activism. We completed a quiz to tell us what type of activist roles would suit us best and then discussed these roles in greater detail. We then looked at activists around the world and learned about their causes. Some of the students from other schools then opened up about their struggles with discrimination and how they became activists. I found their stories very inspiring. Overall, I found the course very insightful and inspiring. I liked how it was interactive and that we had the opportunity to speak with people from all over Ireland,