ActionTalks National Speech Writing Competition

ActionTalks is a national speech writing competition for young people aged 14 to 18 across Ireland. Since its inception, more than 1,000 young people have entered the competition from over 200 schools across the country.

The competition is an opportunity for young people to explore the root causes of global injustices and inequalities. To enter research and write a five-minute or 600-word speech on one of the following topics:

What does a fair, fossil fuel-free future look like and what actions can we take to get there?
If we want a fairer, stronger, and more equal world, we must start with education. And we must start with girls. Discuss.
If we want a world where women and girls are safe, equal, and free, we must support the women’s rights organisations already working to make that world a reality. Discuss.

Then ask your teacher to email the speech to [email protected] with your name and school clearly in the heading. Competition closes on Friday January 16th 2026.

Why enter?

ActionTalks is a great opportunity for young people to develop writing and research skills and deepen their awareness of social issues. It might be of particular interest to students studying CSPE, Politics & Society, or English. For Transition Year students that competition is a wonderful way to take part in society as outlined in the new programme. We hope students will come up with innovative, well-researched, and creative speeches, using their own unique perspective. In addition, there is a €50 voucher prize for regional winners, with a first-place prize of a €500 voucher, with an additional €100 for their teacher.

For any further infromation visit our FAQ page here or contact [email protected]

Download Resources:

We highly encourage both students and teachers to use our resources. For secondary school teachers our resources are recommended for English, CSPE, Politics and Society and Transition Year classes. These resources include three presentations and lesson plans, all of which feature videos, group work, and interactive elements. Each presentation is under this year’s themes of the climate crisis, the role of education in gender equality and the importance of funding women’s rights organisations.

Simply enter your details below to download the resources.

Download ActionTalks Resources

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Taking Further Action:

Do you want to take further action on the issues you have learned about as part of the competition such as contacting a local politician or writing a letter to your local newspaper? If so, you can download our free take-action guides here to support you to take further action.

Download ActionTalks How To Guides

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Global Citizenship Education

Our annual ActionTalks Speech Writing Competition is a part of our Global Citizenship Education work, supported by Irish Aid. We are members of the Irish Development Education Association and are signed up to their code of conduct for Global Citizenship Education to ensure our resources, formal, non-formal and informal, meet the best possible standards.

Submission guidelines

To submit just email your entry to comms.ireland@actionaid.org, with your name and school clearly in the heading.

After submission, each entrant must fill out the following short survey, available here.

By submitting a speech, the student and school are giving permission for the speech and the student and school name and image to be publicized on the ActionAid website and in third party publications. Only finalist speeches will be published.

The competition in 2026

In 2025, students wrote speeches on fossil fuels, the importance of women’s rights organisations for ending violence and how education is crucial for girls. This year the competition received 136 entries from 33 schools across 14 counties, highlighting the passion and awareness of young people across the country.

Emma O’Sullivan, a student at Pobalscoil Inbhear Scéine, was announced as the winner at the national held in the LinkedIn Community Space in Dublin in March. For winning first place she received a €500 voucher, and her teacher received a €100 voucher.