National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI)
The Challenge
The National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) represents the collective voice of youth organizations and young people across Ireland. With a mission to influence public policy and highlight issues impacting youth, NYCI champions the development and delivery of evidence-based strategies for improved youth welfare, services, and political engagement. As part of its campaign to advocate for increased funding for youth work services in the upcoming 2025 budget in 2024, NYCI and We the People created a campaign to amplify young peoples voices in media, as well as provide a platform for youth workers. This included sharing the NYCI’s manifesto, which included recommendations on decreasing the voting age to 16 in Ireland, as well as funding recommendations for critical youth services.
The Approach
We crafted and distributed a series of targeted press releases supported by polling data conducted by NYCI and youth-focused research. We worked closely with Kathryn Walsh, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the National Youth Council of Ireland, to deliver consistent and compelling messaging across national and regional media. In addition, we collaborated with young people, or “local champions,” from across Ireland who have directly benefited from Youth Work services. This helped ensure the campaign had both an authentic voice and broad geographic reach.
Our strategy focused on achieving strong visibility at both national and regional levels, encouraging wide engagement from young voters and key policy stakeholders. The releases, issued throughout September, October and November, highlighted NYCI’s evidence-based recommendations and explored how current government policies are affecting young people. Each release was carefully timed to align with key moments in the political calendar, including the national budget, to ensure NYCI’s key messages became part of the wider national conversation.
The Results
Our campaign delivered outstanding results, with 58 media placements and a total reach of 48,398,872. Highlights included:
Broadcast Coverage:
Featured across top national stations including Today FM, Newstalk, RTE 2FM, Spin 1038, and Classic Hits FM, delivering high-frequency messaging across bulletins.
Regional stations such as Midlands 103, Highland Radio, and Galway Bay FM reinforced local relevance.Print & Online Media:
National exposure in The Irish Times, Irish Examiner, and Irish Daily Mail.
Robust regional footprint through Limerick Leader, Wicklow Times, and Dundalk Democrat.
Digital amplification through platforms like BreakingNews.ie, IrelandLive.ie, and Cork96FM.ie.Key Messages Delivered:
82% of youth say the housing crisis disproportionately impacts them.
66% feel youth facilities are inadequate in their areas.
41% say their communities lack access to youth services.
Strong public support for extending voting rights to 16-year-olds and restoring youth work funding to pre-austerity levels.
Increased funding for youth services in Ireland of €15 million in the 2025 budget.
Impact
This campaign ensured NYCI’s election manifesto and policy positions reached millions, significantly increasing visibility and framing youth issues as election priorities. The campaign’s key messages were included as part of the national conversation surrounding the 2025 budget but also amplified youth voices at a crucial political juncture.
