A SUGGESTION by a nine-year-year-old Limerick schoolgirl has prompted Mayor Daniel Butler to create a special Ideas Box for young children.
During Culture Night, Olivia Chan, who is in third class at St Paul’s National School in Dooradoyle took part in Children’s Speaker’s Corner where she proposed the provision of a suggestion box where local children could post ideas to make a better Limerick for all.
After meeting with Olivia, Mayor Butler has confirmed that an online Ideas Box has been opened specifically for primary school children.
It will be hosted by the online portal MyPoint and will be open for the month of March.
The Mayor has written to all primary schools across the city and county asking them to take part and is calling on parents and guardians to discuss the project with their children and make suggestions.
“I was taken by how passionate Olivia was about Limerick and her drive to ensure that young people have a say in the future of the city and county,” he explained
“It is wonderful that young people are concerned about their localities and we need to ensure that we listen to them and act on their ideas. This project shows how democracy at a very local level works and how, even one child can make a difference.”
Stating that she was excited to see what ideas children could come up with to make Limerick a better place, Olivia Chan said she thought of the Ideas Box when she went to the Children’s Speaking Corner during Culture Night last year.
“The theme was ‘If I was the Mayor…’, and I thought of this idea,” she recalled.
“Children come up with brilliant ideas and they just need a voice and someone to listen to them. Children can think clearer than grown-ups who sometimes over-complicate things.”
All ideas will be reviewed and assessed by the Mayor.
