A group of children from a Carlow primary school are getting their voices heard in Europe today.
The group of 12 fifth and sixth class children from Carlow Educate Together National School are visiting the European Parliament in Brussels this afternoon, by the invitation of Ireland South MEP Mick Wallace.
Outdoor education, conservation of the Strawhall Woodlands and the environment are just three of the topics that will be up for discussion.
It’s not the first time that children from the school have spoken in a parliamentary setting – last year, a group also spoke at a children’s committee sitting of the Oireachtas.
Speaking from Brussels, Educate Together teacher Mark O’Brien says its important that children feel listened to:
“We’ve had a lot of engagement over the last year or two in our school with politics, and we’re trying to give the children a chance to use their voices at a political level. We’ve also had a lot of engagement with local county councillors and also at national level, when a group of children from our school addressed the Oireachtas Committee for children last year about their lived experience of what it’s like to be a young person in Carlow town.”
