SpunOut.ie is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

non-governmental organisation A non-governmental organization (NGO) or non-governmental organisation (see spelling differences) is an organization that generally is formed independent from government. They are typically nonprofit entities, and many of them are active in ...

focused on providing online youth information. Its tagline is “by young people, for young people”. The organisation's stated mission is to “help create an Ireland where young people aged between 16 and 25 are empowered with the information they need to live active, happy, and healthy lives.” SpunOut.ie is the sole project of Community Creations CLG. It was founded in

Donegal Town Donegal ( ; , "fort of the foreigners") is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. The name was also historically spelt 'Dunnagall'. Although Donegal gave its name to the county, now Lifford is the county town. From the 15th until the early 17th c ...

Ulster Ulster (; ga, Ulaidh or ''Cúige Uladh'' ; sco, label=Ulster Scots, Ulstèr or ''Ulster'') is one of the four traditional Irish provinces. It is made up of nine counties: six of these constitute Northern Ireland (a part of the United Kin ...

in 2004 by

Ruairí McKiernan Ruairí McKiernan is an Irish author, social entrepreneur and campaigner on youth, community, health, and social justice issues. In 2012, he was appointed to the Irish Council of State by President Michael D. Higgins. He has been named by As ...

. SpunOut.ie was previously based in

Ballyshannon Ballyshannon () is a town in County Donegal, Ireland. It is located at the southern end of the county where the N3 from Dublin ends and the N15 crosses the River Erne. Incorporated in 1613, it is one of the oldest towns in Ireland. Location ...

and

Galway Galway ( ; ga, Gaillimh, ) is a city in the West of Ireland, in the province of Connacht, which is the county town of County Galway. It lies on the River Corrib between Lough Corrib and Galway Bay, and is the sixth most populous city ...

and is now situated in Seán MacBride House in Temple Bar,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...

Online

SpunOut.ie reaches over one million website users each year, providing thousands of pages of youth information and supportive factsheets on topics such as

sexual health Sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a field of research, healthcare, and social activism that explores the health of an individual's reproductive system and sexual wellbeing during all stages of their life. The term can also be further de ...

mental health Mental health encompasses emotional, psychological, and social well-being, influencing cognition, perception, and behavior. It likewise determines how an individual handles stress, interpersonal relationships, and decision-making. Mental hea ...

politics Politics (from , ) is the set of activities that are associated with making decisions in groups, or other forms of power relations among individuals, such as the distribution of resources or status. The branch of social science that stud ...

education Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty. ...

and employment. The website includes true-life stories from young people who have overcome difficulties in life, hundreds of articles by young contributors on the issues that affect them, and signposting to numerous services and organisations on the island of Ireland. SpunOut.ie also runs regular media campaigns on issues such as

youth unemployment Youth unemployment is the situation of young people who are looking for a job but cannot find a job, with the age range being defined by the United Nations as 15–24 years old. An unemployed person is defined as someone who does not have a job ...

gambling Gambling (also known as betting or gaming) is the wagering of something of Value (economics), value ("the stakes") on a Event (probability theory), random event with the intent of winning something else of value, where instances of strategy (ga ...

awareness, and

Youth Engagement

The overall direction and policies of SpunOut.ie are set by its Youth Action Panel, a group of more than 150 young people from across the island of Ireland divided into several regional divisions. Action Panel members act as ambassadors and role models for SpunOut.ie, set the organisation's campaigning and content priorities, and assist full-time staff team based in Dublin.

Events and Forums

SpunOut.ie organises events and forums that connect young people with decision makers, politicians and influential people. These have included the NESDO Futures Ireland Youth Forum, the Presidential Youth Forum with the 2011 Presidential Candidates, and the POSSIBILITIES 2011 social change summit (with Afri and Children in Crossfire) that featured the Dalai Lama, Mary Robinson and a programme of music, theatre, poetry and inspirational speakers.

Media

SpunOut.ie has been featured in national media outlets in Ireland including RTÉ TV news, Nationwide, 360, iWitness, Seoige and O’Shea and TV3 news. It has been featured in the Irish Times Health Supplement and the Irish Times magazine and on RTÉ Radio's Today with Pat Kenny, Today FM's Ray D’Arcy Show amongst others.

Advocacy

SpunOut.ie has made representations to

Oireachtas The Oireachtas (, ), sometimes referred to as Oireachtas Éireann, is the bicameral parliament of Ireland. The Oireachtas consists of: *The President of Ireland *The two houses of the Oireachtas ( ga, Tithe an Oireachtais): **Dáil Éireann ...

(Irish parliament) committees and met the

Irish President The president of Ireland ( ga, Uachtarán na hÉireann) is the head of state of Republic of Ireland, Ireland and the supreme commander of the Defence Forces (Ireland), Irish Defence Forces. The president holds office for seven years, and can ...

, Ministers, TDs, Senators and MEPs to advocate for youth participation in public life and adequate investment in young people. SpunOut.ie supported a Yes vote in the 2018 Referendum on the Repeal of the Eighth Amendment.

Outreach

SpunOut.ie visits schools, colleges and community settings to do talks and workshops on youth and civic issues. SpunOut.ie staff and volunteers also speak at youth, health, media and civic events and conferences. SpunOut.ie has published a range of publications including the ‘Our Stories’ journal of selected youth media, the ‘Be The Revolution’ social change booklet, and the ‘Youth Rising’ magazine, all of which have been distributed throughout Ireland.

Awards

SpunOut.ie has won several awards including: Junior Chambers International, National Award for Social Entrepreneurship; Net Visionary Award,‘Social Contribution' category; Interactive Media Award (Youth); Irish Digital Media Award; Ulster Bank Business Achievement Award; Global Young Social Entrepreneur Award (nominated); HSE Innovation Award in Communications and Technology;

Social Entrepreneurs Ireland Social organisms, including human(s), live collectively in interacting populations. This interaction is considered social whether they are aware of it or not, and whether the exchange is voluntary or not. Etymology The word "social" derives from ...

Award ’06;

Barnardos Barnardo's is a British charity founded by Thomas John Barnardo in 1866, to care for vulnerable children. As of 2013, it raised and spent around £200 million each year running around 900 local services, aimed at helping these same group ...

Young Volunteer of the Year Award. In 2012 SpunOut.ie won the Bronze Award at the Nokia Digital Media Awards in the category "Best Charity/Non Profit Use of Digital Media". In September 2013, following a redesign of the SpunOut.ie website, SpunOut.ie won two Dot.ie Net Visionary Awards. Jason Coomey collected the "Most meticulous and cutting edge web developer (individual or agency)" and the organisation also won ""You Did Good" - Best Use of the Internet for Social Good" for its work with young people in Ireland. In 2013 SpunOut.ie also won an EU Youth Media Award for High Impact Digital Solutions in the Create your Culture! category.

References

External links

SpunOut.ie
Youth organisations based in the Republic of Ireland