Speak Out forums let students get their message across, writes Louise Holden

Because thousands of young social innovators all over Ireland are busy making the world a better place, you may already be familiar with a project near you.

Letting people know about social innovation is one of the most important jobs of a Young Social Innovators team, because when the public is aware of a problem it's easier for innovators to get their projects moving.

To help, eight regional Speak Out events are taking place over the next two months. Everyone is invited to come and find out how their local teams are tackling social issues in their communities and beyond.

It's not enough, though, to stand up in front of an audience with a PowerPoint presentation. "Edutainment" may be an irritating neologism, but it captures the idea of informing by engaging. YSI teams use the Speak Out forums to present their projects in creative and stimulating ways, using drama, music, art and dance.

Last year Loreto Secondary School in Clonmel, Co Tipperary, put on a puppet show - using human puppets. Its project focused on body image and the dangerous fashion for size-zero figures - sparked, perhaps, by models such as Kate Moss - and students there used a puppet show to explore body image with primary pupils. At the Speak Out they extended the theme with "live puppets", to help people understand how outside influences can harm their self-image.

The YSI team at Mercy Heights Secondary School in Skibbereen, Co Cork, collected photographs of everybody who had drowned the previous year, then presented them at a Speak Out as part of a project to raise awareness of the dangers of stealing or vandalising lifebuoys.

Others used tableaux, T-shirts, choirs, sketches, candles, choreography and a range of other artistic tactics to grab the attention of audiences and get their message across.

Rachel Collier, chief executive of Young Social Innovators, hopes that many types of people will come to the forums to be entertained and to get a new perspective on the social issues affecting their communities.

"It's a great opportunity for parents, community leaders, businesspeople, local government and many other groups to engage with young people on issues of common concern," she says. "This is a platform where young people feel that they are being listened to; that their voice is being heard by those in authority at local level; and that they actually could make a difference."

Speak Outs add a new dimension to the rich learning process that YSI participants go though, she says. "Social-awareness education helps people to reflect critically on their world. In the YSI programme young people explore social issues, but they also communicate their response creatively. Students learn in different ways, and, by presenting issues in the ways that suit their learning styles, they take more from the experience."

• Are you interested in trying your hand at social-affairs journalism? Transition Times invites young social-affairs reporters to write about the YSI Speak Outs. What did you see there; did a particular issue stand out for you? E-mail your reports to lholden@irish-times.ie. We'll publish our favourites in March. The forums are at Griffith College, Dublin (Jan 29), Ardilaun Hotel, Galway (Feb 7), Regency Airport Hotel, Dublin (Feb 19), Clarion Hotel, Sligo (Feb 21), Woodlands Hotel, Waterford (Feb 26), Fairways Hotel, Dundalk (Feb 28), City Hall, Cork (Mar 4) and Red Cow Moran Hotel, Dublin (Mar 6). See  www.youngsocialinnovators.ie