Youth Advisory Panel

Listening to young people's voices is key to our work promoting children's rights in Ireland. For this reason, we created the OCO Youth Advisory Panel, also known as the YAP.

The OCO YAP is a representative panel of young people aged 13-17 from across Ireland who share their insights on children’s rights issues experienced every day.

The YAP advise us on an ongoing basis about emerging concerns for young people and through our participation work, we work together to highlight their opinions to people who make decisions that affect them.

In 2025, the YAP wrote their own Youth Manifesto for the new Government, developed a youth-led campaign around smartphones in schools, appeared in front of the Oireachtas Committee on AI and travelled to Brussels to speak directly with MEPs.

The YAP also plays an important role in informing the work of the OCO. They provide input into our policies, projects and communications, ensuring that children’s voices are at the centre of everything we do.

If you have any questions or queries about our Youth Advisory Panel, you can email education@oco.ie. Recruitment for the YAP is managed by the team on an outreach basis, through contact with schools and youth groups, as opposed to receiving applications. This is to ensure our panel is as inclusive as possible.