Miss Northern Ireland, Judith Wilson, is following in the work of her late grandfather Gordon Wilson. As a newly appointed Trustee of the Spirit of Enniskillen, the charity with which he was so involved, she's taken time out of her trip to the 'Miss World' pageant in South Africa to encourage other young people to take part in the organisation's 2009 international learning programme.
"My grandfather", she said, " would be very proud indeed to know that his work is continuing to have such a strong impact on many hundreds of young people across Northern Ireland, and that they are now becoming positive role models for dialogue and change in their own schools and communities," she said.
Applications for the Explore 2009 programme are now open to all young people aged between16 and 19 who are interested in developing their leadership, communication and organisational skills. The Explore project will involve 50 young people, led by experienced past-participants of the same programme. They will find out how cultures and societies overseas are dealing positively with contentious and difficult issues.
On their return home, many of these individuals will then go on to facilitate learning with others, particularly through the Spirit of Enniskillen Schools' Together programme of dialogue, workshops, conferences and weekend residentials.
Ingrid Hoeritzauer, the new Chair of the Spirit of Enniskillen Trust is a former Explore participant. Commenting on programme she said: "We know from long experience that, as young people, we need to face up to our differences, and when we do that, we gain so much. We also see the excellent work that our volunteers are delivering in schools across the divide in helping 6th Form pupils contribute to the shaping of their own society."
Explore overseas 'host destinations' for 2009 include Penobscot Job Corps and the School for International Training in the USA. In addition, there are youth exchanges with Cyprus, Sweden and Canada.
The programme is accredited for participants and co-ordinators through the Open College Network NI. The deadline for final applications to Explore 2009 is Monday, 22nd December 2008.
