MAGHERA’s Liam Hayes was one of five representatives for Ireland to attend an exchange discussing the European Union and its policy making process.
Last month, Liam was one of the Irish Youth representatives that attended the seven-day Youth4EU Youth Exchange in Berlin.
Germany, Ireland, Romania, Greece and France were the five countries with representatives at the exchange which discussed the European Union and the policy making process. There was a strong focus on empowering young people in the respective countries also discussed by participants.
A son of sitting Cllr Pat Hayes (FF), Liam is currently a final year politics, international relations and history student at the University of Limerick.
Of the exchange Liam commented, “We immersed ourselves in discussions focused on promoting youth engagement in politics and nurturing a stronger European identity amongst Irish citizens. In my application, I emphasised the significance of integrating Erasmus+ into more university courses across Ireland as a means to grow and protect this shared European identity”.
He added, “Throughout the week, we engaged in negotiation simulations, prompting us to reflect on our negotiation strategies, collaborative efforts and the pursuit of collective welfare. We also dissected policy formulation from inception to implementation. As part of this, I created a poster illustrating the policy cycle, using the 20th anniversary of Ireland’s Smoke Ban as a perfect example. It was a proud moment to share how Ireland led the way in implementing this policy, subsequently adopted by the majority of EU countries”.
A highlight for participants during the exchange was the visit to the German Bundestag plus a trip to Europa House where they had an opportunity to engage with EU officials.
