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New Chapter of Growth for Include Youth

Include Youth are delighted to announce the appointment of their new Chief Executive Officer, Diane Hill.

February 26, 2024

News, Press Release

New Chapter of Growth for Include Youth

Include Youth are delighted to announce the appointment of their new Chief Executive Officer, Diane Hill.  Diane has extensive experience within the sector and brings a wealth of experience and strategic vision to lead Include Youth in this new chapter of growth. Diane is keen to drive the mission of Include Youth to ensure the rights of young people are upheld, and the transformative services continue to support young people to reach their full potential.

This announcement comes at an exciting time for Include Youth as they expand  their services into the Republic of Ireland working in partnership with Tusla on a 2 year pilot. This intervention will provide support to young people to build confidence, employability skills, life skills and improve opportunities to enter and sustain employment, education and training.  Highly skilled staff will provide an extensive holistic service tailored to individual needs. Young people will participate in social actions, team building, gain qualifications, avail of supported work experiences, and develop CV and interview skills.

The good news continues as Include Youth have also been awarded PEACEPLUS funding for their Strive project. This project supported by PEACEPLUS, a programme managed by the Special EU Programmes Body (SEUPB).  Strive is a cross-community and cross-border programme that engages young people in a transformative process, focusing on three core strands: good relations, citizenship and personal development.

Not only does the news of funding allow us to expand our service to young people, but it will also provide employment opportunities which will boost the community and voluntary sector as a whole in Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.

We are passionate about working with young people, ensuring their voices are heard and supporting them to advocate for change. As a leading children’s rights organisation, Include Youth continues to influence policy and inform decision makers of the reality of young people`s lives.  Include Youth are an active member of the Reimagine Children`s Collective, and alongside eight other leading children`s organisations are calling for transformational change in the delivery of children’s social care services. All our practice is underpinned by the voices of young people and is at the heart of all we do.

As we enter this new chapter of expansion, we are keen to build corporate partners whose values and ethos align with our own and who have a desire to make a social impact. If you are a corporate business and are interested in exploring how you can support  the work of Include Youth by championing the vision to ensure young people reach their potential, then we’d love to hear about how we could partner with you.

The appointment of our new CEO, the expansion of Include Youth Ireland, and recent funding news, marks a significant milestone and one in which we are excited to journey with Diane’s leadership and guidance.

“Include Youth is a fantastic reputable organisation that has been operating for over 40 years, with a committed team that work hard to support young people with care experience and from disadvantaged communities. I am excited to take this position and work with this dedicated team to work hard for young people. Together, we will ensure young people’s voices are heard, their individual needs are supported, and their accomplishments celebrated”

— Diane Hill