Steven Hardiman from Castledaly being presented with their MyEU50 Certificate by Gabrielle Leleu and Ryan Levis from European Movement Ireland at the competition exhibition day in University College Cork.

Westmeath student honoured at prestigious EU event

Published: Tue 16 May 2023, 1:42 PM

Last updated: Tue 16 May 2023, 5:11 PM

A local student was honoured at an exhibition day for MyEU50 Third Level competition finalists which took place recently in University College Cork.

Steven Hardiman from Castledaly was a finalist of the Third Level competition for their entry titled ‘This is Democracy’.

MyEU50 is an initiative of the Government of Ireland, led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and managed by European Movement Ireland to mark the 50th anniversary of Ireland’s EU membership with competitions open to students in Irish Primary schools, Post-Primary schools, and Third Level Institutions. Over 5,000 students participated in this nationwide competition.

Students from Third Level Institutions had been invited to express their views on the EU’s core values such as human dignity, freedom, democracy, equality, rule of law, and human rights.

The guest of honour was Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin, who said that: “The MyEU50 youth competition gave students an opportunity to think about what being an EU citizen means to them. The creativity, experience, and opinions expressed by the students showed their appreciation of Ireland’s 50-year-old membership of the EU.

“An important objective of the competition has been to recognise young people’s voices and to interact with them about topics related to the European Union that are most important to them.

“The knowledge, self-assurance, and capacity of today's young people to influence change may surpass those of any preceding generation. Young people can make contributions to the dialogues taking place right now that will shape their future. Let us continue to work and push for progress and make the next 50 years as successful as the last.”

Tánaiste, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence, Micheál Martin and European Movement Ireland CEO Noelle O'Connell with the MyEU50 Third Level competition finalists, including Steven Hardiman (Bottom left).

CEO of European Movement Ireland Noelle O'Connell said: “We were blown away by the range of entries we received. From podcasts on the rule of law to posters on equality & justice and speeches on the impact the EU has had on the youth of Ireland, we were highly impressed not only by the creativity of the entries but the level of research that went into each and every one.

“The entries demonstrated the students unique, emotive and personal relationship to the EU and their values.”