A specially commissioned train arrived at Cork today as part of 'All Aboard', a European Year of Youth initiative, which aims to raise awareness of local, national and European opportunities available to young people in Cork.
Over 200 young people were aboard the traind which travelled to Cork's Kent Station from Dublin's Heuston Station, stopping at Kildare, Portlaoise, Thurles and Limerick to collect invited young people, aged between 16-20, from schools and youth groups along the route.
Each carriage hosted a different workshop on topics such as sustainable travel, inclusion and equality, and climate change.
Speaking at Heuston Station ahead of departure, Léargas' EYY Coordinator, Emma Grainger, said: "That first journey away from home with friends can be an important right of passage for so many young people, whether it's a weekend away here in Ireland or a backpacking adventure across Europe. At Léargas, our role is to empower as many young people as possible, from every background and regardless of where they're enrolled in education or not at all, to access opportunities to travel, study, work or volunteer across Europe.
"Today, we'll be introducing these young people from Cork to the European Youth Portal to learn about all the opportunities available to them through the EU, such as Erasmus+, the European Solidarity Corps and Discover EU - which could enable them to travel Europe on a free rail pass. Our hope is that this will be just the first leg of a European journey for these young people and our team are here to help them discover what could come next!"
Further details of opportunities available as part of the European Year of Youth can be found at: www.leargas.ie/european-year-youth-2022/.
