Northern Youth Wings work Together on Sexual Health Strategy

The progress of the last ten years can be measured in terms of political insitutions, or particular initiatives, or in various statements and viewpoints of political leaders. But sometimes it's the smaller things that tell the most.

Recently a group of young people from Ógra, the SDLP, Green Party, the Alliance, the UUP and the DUP co-operated in an initiative to discuss a Sexual Health policy, an issue which affects all young people in the north, regardless of their background.





















Ógra were represented by Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire, Barry McColgan, Padraug Quinn, Eimear Ruane mcAteer, and Laura Gildernew.

Having agreed on a strategy, delegates from most of these parties attended a weekend residential from the 3rd to the 5th of September in St Columb's park house in Derry, who facilitated the initiative and the residential. After a relaxed friday evening the Saturday morning began with a series of highly stimulating discussions and talks. Firstly a interesting presentation from Ann Stewart a registered Nurse from the Western Trust area, who has been involved for many years in GUM clinics in Derry.

This was followed by a insightful and passionate presentation from Mary Crawford of the Brook, which provides confidential sexual health advice for under 25s, where she highlighted the difficulties young people face in getting proper sexual health advice and services.
Finally Dr Dirk Schubotz, a lecturer from the School of Sociology, Social Policy and Social Work in Queens, gave a sociological analysis of the current profile of young people in the north, their sexual behaviour and their attitudes towards sex and sexual orientation.

Following a break for lunch, the young activists went to do some sightseeing, with all present being taken out of their comfort zones. The Apprentice boys hall in the City was the first stop, where activists learned about the history of the organisation and about the seige of Derry, and about burning Lundy.




















Activists at the Apprentice Boys Museum

This was followed by a visit to the Free Derry Museum on the Bogside, where John Kelly, whos brother Michael was killed on Bloody Sunday, showed the activists around the various artefacts and put Bloody Sunday and the Battle of the Bogside in the context of the discrimination of nationalists in Derry at the time.




















Activists at the Free Derry Museum

The activists then returned to the attractive St Columbs park house for Dinner and further casual debate, before some departed and some set out for a night out in Derry, with the weekend drawing to a close on the Sunday Morning.

Commenting on the succesful weekend, National Organiser Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire had this to say 'Young people from parties as diverse as the DUP and Sinn Féin discussing issues such as sexual health in the North would have been seen as unimaginable, even as recently as five years ago, not to mind five years ago. I think it's extremely positive, and a sign of young people showing leadership, to see young people working together on concrete issues such as these, and coming up with progressive solutions that are workable.'



'We hope that having agreed on this policy, that we are now able to take this policy and campaign on it, and that we will all continue to work together on this crucial issue.'