Youthreach Miltown Malbay have been announced Overall Winner for the best tobacco industry message at the Irish Cancer Society Youth Awards 2015. The students from Youthreach Miltown Malbay scooped the award for their film project called “project X” which was showcased at the recent event in the Lighthouse Cinema in Smithfield.
Over 41 youth groups from Ireland’s first smoke-free generation competed in the Irish Cancer Society’s X-HALE Youth Awards 2015. Calling themselves #theXgeneration, the youth groups showcased films and community action projects which they created on the issue of smoking. The X-HALE Youth Awards is an initiative of the Irish Cancer Society which aims to empower young people to create awareness around the issue of smoking in their own communities.
Youthreach Miltown Malbay was awarded the title of Overall Winner of the best tobacco industry message for their film “Project X”. The groups involved competed under various categories with winners selected by an independent judging panel comprising of people from the entertainment, film and healthcare industries.
In line with the messages highlighted by the young people taking part in X-HALE, youth smoking rates in Ireland have continued to decline in recent years, giving this generation of young people the power and the opportunity to make sure that they are Ireland’s first tobacco free generation.
There were 41 youth groups from around the country participating in the X-HALE Youth Awards. They decided to take on smoking in their own communities and the results are extremely powerful. The film which they have developed shows that #theXgeneration is here to stay. They can be Ireland’s first smoke-free generation and they are telling us in their own way that the time is up for the tobacco industry in this country.
Congratulations to Youthreach Miltown Malbay for taking part and for making a positive impact on their health and that of their peers. We need to look at what the Youthreach Miltown Malbay students and the rest of the #theXgeneration are saying. They are educated on the issue of smoking and are refusing to let their health be affected by tobacco.
This is the fifth year of the X-HALE Youth Awards which began in December 2010 when the Irish Cancer Society invited applications from youth groups from all over Ireland for funding under the scheme. Since its inception, the Society has invested approximately €130,000 support for youth groups across the country.
The film projects from the X-HALE Youth Awards can be viewed online www.cancer.ie/xhale2015 .Follow the X-HALE conversation on social media using #theXgeneration or ‘like’ the X-HALE Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/XHaleYouthAwards.
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