Alicia excited to represent Ireland as a UN youth delegate

LOCAL activist Alicia O’Sullivan has been appointed as one of Ireland’s United Nations Youth Delegates for 2023 and 2024.

The 22-year-old Skibbereen woman is a final year law student at UCC, and her advocacy and activism journey began at a young age. 

She recently completed an internship on Capitol Hill where she worked with Senator Edward J Markey in Washington DC. And now she will bring this experience to her new position as a UN delegate. 

‘Being able to fight and lobby for change and achieve it has been something I am passionate about and while interning in the US my interest in foreign policy and diplomacy grew and led me to apply to the programme,’ said Alicia. 

‘I am excited to see how both my degree and my new position can be propelled by one another.’

Alicia joined Cork County Comhairle Na nÓg in 2017 and worked on the national executive, and on the Student Voice project at post-primary level to improve student engagement and learning experiences. 

In 2018, she began working with YMCA Ireland, developing her digital media skills, while she sat on the National Youth Council of Ireland’s Young People’s Committee and was elected education officer at the Irish Second Level Students’ Union in 2020. Last week Alicia flew to New York for the Sustainable Development Goals summit and the general assembly – where she will represent young people in Ireland, alongside the other appointed delegate, Mohammad Naeem from Claremorris in Co Mayo.

The UN youth delegates will work closely with the Department of Foreign Affairs, including Ireland’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, Irish Aid, and the National Youth Council of Ireland throughout their year in office. 

Alicia will represent Irish young people this month at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) High Level Week and the Third Committee, which focuses on human rights issues.