Like kindness, confidence doesn’t always come with a lot of noise. It can occasionally develop subtly, molded by empathy, reinforced by a sense of community, and magnified by connection. A remarkable movement is changing the lives of young people throughout Northern Ireland, where empathy is the foundation of change and kindness is the seed of confidence.
Children from VOYPIC, or Voice of Young People in Care, came together at a small gathering in Lisburn to introduce their illustrated storybook, Kindness and Superpowers. In the book, Maya, a young child in foster care, learns that her greatest strength may be kindness. Children who have experienced care write each chapter, expressing their lived emotions and their desire to be seen, heard, and understood. Their straightforward but profoundly touching project is a representation of empathy-based change.
| Key Initiatives | Details |
|---|---|
| VOYPIC (Voice of Young People in Care) | Supports over 600 young people in Northern Ireland each year, promoting their rights, confidence, and social inclusion. Reference: The National Lottery Community Fund |
| Hope for Youth NI | Provides funding for cross-community projects in arts, music, and sports to help young people build friendships and confidence. |
| Pushkin Trust – Pushkin Pathway | Inspires secondary school students through creativity, writing, and environmental exploration, helping them discover imagination and empathy. |
| YouthAction NI – Life Skills | Uses the LIFEMAPS framework to nurture happiness, emotional intelligence, and mental resilience among young people. |
| Wilton Park Youth Framework (UK Gov.) | Promotes empathy, inclusion, and integrated education to support a more confident and connected generation. |
VOYPIC has been a safe haven for children in care for almost thirty years, making sure their voices are heard by the right people. VOYPIC works with children in foster homes, residential care, and kinship arrangements, providing annual support to more than 600 young people. Building confidence via voice, self-expression, and shared experience is their compelling and unambiguous mission. Surprisingly, 84% of participants report increased self-esteem and better friendships, and 99% say they feel more confident after participating in their programs. Despite being statistical, those figures have a very human pulse.
Where kindness leads, confidence frequently follows. According to research by the Mental Health Foundation, doing good deeds can greatly increase happiness and optimism. In Northern Ireland, this idea has become a reality. Once reluctant to speak up or take part, young people in care are now at the forefront of conversations with local representatives, influencing perception and policy. The change is intentional rather than abrupt, like steady rain fostering slow growth.
#SeeMe, one of VOYPIC’s most recent campaigns, aids educators and educational institutions in comprehending students who have experienced care. The materials, which were uploaded to the Education Authority’s library, have been accessed by 40 special schools and more than 190 post-primary schools. They urge teachers to use human understanding in place of sterile, administrative language. It’s a small but remarkably effective shift in the way society views and interacts with those who most need to feel loved and respected.
The impact of this shift in tone extends well beyond classrooms. In a similar vein, Hope for Youth NI, a long-standing charity that promotes harmony between communities, is fostering kindness as a basis for confidence. The organization unites young people from historically divided backgrounds through sport, music, and art. Its recent assistance with REACH Across, a youth initiative with 120 participants, has had a particularly significant impact. Every session, from joint sporting events to creative workshops, teaches young people that unity, not division, is the source of strength.
Inclusion is central to Hope for Youth’s philosophy. It has been held for more than two decades that when young people collaborate creatively, friendships are formed that extend well beyond the boundaries of the program. These friendships then serve as conduits for confidence, demonstrating to participants their competence, worth, and merit for opportunity.
Through its Pushkin Pathway, the Pushkin Trust furthers this idea of emotional development by fusing art and environmental consciousness. The program, which is held at the magnificent Baronscourt Estate, invites students from various schools to participate in environmental exploration, dance, and creative writing. Many participants are working with peers from different backgrounds for the first time. They learn about imagination as a unifying force through the experience, which is both humbling and exhilarating. According to teachers, students return with greater empathy, reflection, and expressiveness—qualities that serve as the silent foundation for long-lasting confidence.
The UK government’s Wilton Park Conference on Northern Ireland’s youth offered a remarkably progressive vision in tandem with these grassroots initiatives. It emphasized the value of empathy, integration, and sustained youth engagement and was held to commemorate the 25th anniversary of the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement. In order to guarantee that young voices influence the future of the area, the discussion advocated for the inclusion of children from all backgrounds in decision-making processes. These talks are “a reflection of Northern Ireland’s extraordinary transformation and an inspiration for its next chapter,” according to Minister of State Conor Burns.
A mosaic of contemporary Northern Irish youth culture is created by this blending of government and community-led programs, emphasizing empathy as a fundamental component of education. As a result of being taught to care, rather than being told to be, this generation has grown more self-assured.
Through group activities, such as communication workshops and outings, VOYPIC’s advocacy also helps families reestablish connection and trust. 89% of families who finish these programs say their relationships have significantly improved, and they feel happier and more united. Kindness naturally strengthens confidence at home when it becomes ingrained in family dynamics.
Young people themselves may have the most poignant influence of all. Many people with caregiving experience who once had low self-esteem are now advocates, mentors, and storytellers. Some have passionately and dignifiedly represented Northern Ireland’s youth in their speeches before the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. Others direct social projects, act in plays, or produce educational resources for their peers. They are the new ambassadors of kindness, not just its recipients.
Northern Ireland is subtly changing the definition of confidence through these tales. It isn’t brash or noisy. It is collective, sympathetic, and grounded. It can be seen in the student who decides to listen before answering, the instructor who substitutes patience for judgment, and the peer who extends their hand rather than withdrawing.
Young people in Northern Ireland are discovering that kindness can boost confidence and that the strongest self-belief is shared. Their journey serves as a message of hope and resilience, demonstrating that compassion is still the most effective teacher when faced with adversity.