politics in action
London
We are delighted to welcome our new Executive Director Paul Smyth, who comes to
us with a wealth of experience and a strong reputation for ground breaking youth
work. I am thrilled to have taken up the post of Executive Director with
Politics in Action – and I want to start by congratulating my predecessor
Patricia O’Lynn on her election to the Northern Ireland Assembly. We live in a
turbulent time for politics around the world, nationally and locally – and this
makes the work of supporting young people’s role as active citizens more
challenging and even more important. We are emerging from a global pandemic
which has put unprecedented restrictions on the lives and freedoms of young
people, and which has impacted their learning, their social lives, their
relationships and for some their mental health. Politics in Action responded
proactively to these challenges by moving workshops online and ensuring
continuity. I am optimisticwe can return to largely face-to-face delivery of our
programmes with young people in schools and other settings, and can find new
ways of engaging with more young people and in particular those who are not
normally invited into conversations about politics and citizenship. Much of what
we already do is in collaboration with schools and with other youth
organisations. I see so much potential for additional collaborations that allow
our little charity to punch above its weight. One of the many attractions of the
role is the excellent Board of Trustees who provide strong governance,
leadership and vision for Politics in Action. They bring significant social and
political capital to the charity and use it in the interests of young people and
our shared future. I would love to hear your ideas about how Politics in Action
should direct our energies over the coming months and years. Feel free to drop
me a line and I am always up for a coffee and a creative chat!
