In the process of working on their project ‘tackling disability stereotypes, misunderstanding
and discrimination’, one of the things that became clear to Cork City Comhairle members is
that there are countless barriers to access for young people with disabilities in Ireland. For
many young people it is harder or sometimes not possible to access youth spaces and
public spaces or to meet peers outside of school hours.

Cork City Comhairle na nÓg decided to host a pop up youth space as part of Cruinniú na
nÓg with the help of funding from Creative Ireland and Cork City Council and focused on
removing barriers to access for the event. Comhairle members consulted with students from
the Scoil Bernadette Youth Council who helped the Comhairle plan the day, design the
poster and gave feedback on our project. The group also worked with Donna O’ Keeney who
works with Child Friendly Cities Cork, Graffiti and the Breaking Barriers theatre group and
has a lot of experience and knowledge when it comes to accessibility.

The group wanted their pop up youth space to act as a blueprint so that other people
organising youth events and working in youth spaces can incorporate the steps they took
into their events and worked with Youth Worker and artist Aleesha Wiegandt to design a Zine
with the help of Donna ‘O Keeney and support from Creative Ireland. We encourage you to
download and print the zine and incorporate the steps into your events and youth
conferences. There are lots of ways you can build upon our ideas and we would love to see
what you come up with, please tag us and let us know how you are removing barriers to
access for young people at your events!

Cork CNN Inclusive Space Zine A6 2025Download