The Ombudsman for Children needs YOU!

Opportunity to join the YAP team of young advisors.

Who is the Ombudsman for Children and what does she do?
Emily Logan is the very first Ombudsman for Children in Ireland. Because she looks after anyone under 18 in Ireland, she’s really the Ombudsman for Children and Young People even though she’s not officially called that.
 
Emily’s job is to make sure that all children and young people get a fair deal. She does this by promoting children’s rights and welfare. This means she makes sure the government and other people who make decisions about children and young people think about what’s best for them. She meets children and young people all the time to find out what things are important to them, and takes this on board in the work of her Office. When a young person or their family is not happy about how they were treated by a public organisation, Emily can look into their complaint.
 
Emily is the national Ombudsman for Children, so even though her office is in Dublin she travels all over the country to meet children and young people from different counties.
 
What exactly is YAP?
YAP is Emily’s team of young advisors who help her with lots of different parts of her work. They have done things like interviewed staff at the Ombudsman for Children’s Office (OCO), designed publications and promotional material, spoken at conferences and other places to let other young people know about the OCO and what it does.
 
The current YAP is made up of about eight young people from different parts of Ireland. They were part of a bigger group of young people who interviewed Emily for the job of Ombudsman for Children in 2003. Only three adults were involved in the interview process, so the young people really had their voices heard.
 
Because the current YAP has been involved with the OCO for three years, some of them are over 18 so its time to look for a new team. 
 
What will the new YAP look like?
Hopefully the new YAP will be made up of 20-25 young people aged between 12 and 17 from mixed backgrounds and from all over Ireland. 
 
What will the new YAP do?
Young people on the panel will participate as individuals who offer a youth view and understanding of things to the OCO. They will not be expected to represent other young people’s views and opinions.
 
The role of YAP members (in no order of priority):
 
-To be involved in the recruitment and selection of OCO staff 
-To ensure OCO’s external communications for children and young people (e.g. website, information pack, annual report, posters) are youth friendly 
-To advise the OCO on the best means of communicating with children and young people 
-To help inform the OCO of emerging issues for children and young people 
-To advise on planning and be involved in OCO events such as the launch of annual reports 
-To assist in the ongoing design and development of OCO young people’s space 
-To assist in planning and be actively involved in promoting OCO’s work
-To assist the Office with media work 
-To act as a sounding board for the OCO on emerging policy and research issues

How long are you a member for?  
The panel (20-25 members) will be appointed for a two year period in beginning March 2007.
 
How often will they meet and where?
Members of the YAP team will meet mainly at the OCO office in Dublin every 6 to 8 weeks.  
They will be reimbursed expenses for attending OCO meetings and events - things like travel expenses, lunches and so on.
 
How do you get involved?
The OCO is asking young people to apply to be a member of YAP by filing out an application for to say why you are the right person for the panel. The OCO will then short list the applicants – this means narrowing down all the people who have applied to a small number. These people would then come along to meet some of the current YAP and OCO staff. 20 -25 young people will then be picked to be part of the new YAP.

    Closing Date for Applications:  Monday 26th February!
Download the application form from the OCO website.

Read one young person's experience of being involved with the YAP.     

See www.oco.ie for more information.