Methodology
Beginning the report:
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- We formed the Working Group and met to outline the main focus of the report.
- We met with UNICEF and CERI to discuss prior work on children’s rights and the climate crisis and how this report can contribute to the wider conversation.
- We decided to structure the report around 4 key articles of the UNCRC and how they relate to children’s rights and the climate crisis: Articles 2, 6, 12 and 22.
- We created a timeline to plan out the report.
Collecting data:
In order to make sure our data was as representative of the population as possible, including children of all backgrounds and levels of familiarity with the climate crisis, we collected research through a variety of methods.
Survey:
We conducted a survey of children across Ireland regarding Articles 2, 6, and 12. The survey included questions around participation, impacts of the climate crisis, feelings of security, and much more. The full survey can be viewed here.
The survey was shared across youth activism networks as well as our social media page. With the aim of reaching young people not already involved in the climate movement, we reached out to organisations, that work with young people, who kindly shared our survey with their networks.
When we closed the survey, we validated all responses to ensure they were from young people and to avoid duplicate responses.
Focus Groups:
On August 16th, 2021, we held an online event with Focus Groups of young people from across Ireland to discuss Articles 2, 6, and 12. The Focus Groups were formed through an open sign-up online on our social media and shared with a variety of youth organisations.
The groups discussed Article 12 in the morning, and Articles 2 and 6 in the afternoon. Discussions were centered around prompt questions drafted by the group and evolved from these. We used collaborative online tools such as Mural to allow participants to work together in real-time. These virtual whiteboards were then used to ensure our data captured what the young people were saying to the best of our ability.
Article 22:
To collect data regarding Direct Provision, its link with the climate crisis, and its impacts on children’s rights, we contacted Abolish Direct Provision- a group working to further the rights and protections of those living in Direct Provision. They kindly agreed to meet with us and conducted an interview, centered around the issue of the climate crisis and the rights of refugees We recorded their answers and have compiled this alongside secondary data.
Other sources of data:
We received input from the ISSU Debate Your Decision-Makers event in April 2021 and conducted secondary research throughout this report.
Analysing and Compiling the Data:
- When we had finished collecting data, we began to analyse it and compile this report.
- We met in person, in line with COVID-19 restrictions, and reviewed all the data we had collected section-by-section, bringing together data from all of our sources. We identified the key trends and formed recommendations from what was said by participants.
- After this, we wrote the sections together and reviewed them as a group.
Report Organising Team
Caitlin Faye Maniti

Caitlin Faye Maniti is an 18-year-old student activist from Donegal. Through her involvement in Green schools at a Primary and Secondary school level, she fostered her passion for climate justice slowly but surely. In 2019, she became more active; taking part as a delegate at the RTE Youth Assembly for Climate, advocating to students’ rights as an elected officer for the Irish Second Level Students Union(ISSU) and so much more. Currently, she has helped highlight the power of rural young voices and climate activism in her region. Caitlin had success in implementing the An Taisce #love30 Campaign in her town, bringing awareness about the MICA Crisis and its effects on students and uplifting students’ voices as a member of the ISSU.
Rose Guy
My name is Rose Guy. I am 18 years old and studying at the National University of Ireland, Galway.
Jessica Dunne

Jessica Dunne is a 17-year-old student activist from Dublin, Ireland. She got involved in activism through the climate crisis and this led to her becoming involved in general activism, realising the connectivity between all social injustice. She is a member of Fridays For Future, working on a local, national, and international level. She was the DLR regional officer for the Irish Second-Level Students Union from 2019 to 2021 and she is a TEDx speaker and mentor, giving a talk stressing the importance of intersectionality in 2020.
Áine Dempsey
Áine Dempsey is a 19-year-old climate activist from county Clare. She is currently studying for her Bachelor in Civil Law at Dublin City University. Áine began her journey in climate activism in 2019, organising her first school strike for climate justice as a member of Fridays for Future. She went on to act as a delegate for Clare in the RTE Youth Assembly on Climate in 2019, where her proposal ‘outlawing acts of ecocide in Ireland’ was selected by her fellow delegates to feature on the Assembly’s declaration. Áine had the opportunity to discuss her work on the RTE programme EcoEye in 2020 and looks forward to publishing this report.
Beth Doherty

Beth Doherty is a 19-year-old activist from Dublin. She first got involved in the climate movement in February 2019 as an organiser of the school strikes. She attended the Climate Case Ireland Supreme Court hearing in July 2020, which overturned Ireland’s climate legislation, and has also represented Irish second-level students as the Sustainability Officer of the ISSU. She is currently studying Law at the University of Cambridge, working on advocacy within the university as well as conservation of the poles. She sees this report as a key mechanism for ensuring the voices of young people are represented and protected in decision-making on the climate crisis.
Theresa Rose Sebastian
Theresa Rose Sebastian is an 18-year-old climate & social justice activist. She is of South Indian heritage but has also resided in Ireland for many years. Theresa has been involved in climate activism ever since the summer of 2018 when her state of Kerala was flooded by torrential rains that swept destruction & death throughout the land she called home. Ever since, she’s been actively organising and channelling change throughout national & international systems. This report is the product of the values of youth power, climate justice & community organising that she and her fellow co-writers share and strongly believe in.