ABOUT THE MILLENNIUM FELLOWSHIP - CLASS OF 2024
United Nations Academic Impact and MCN are proud to partner on the Millennium Fellowship. This year, 52,000+ young leaders applied to join the Class of 2024 on 6,000+ campuses across 170 nations. 280+ campuses worldwide (just 5%) were selected to host the 4,000+ Millennium Fellows.
UNITED NATIONS ACADEMIC IMPACT AND MCN PROUDLY PRESENT KATIE CAELAINN O'SULLIVAN, A MILLENNIUM FELLOW AND CAMPUS DIRECTOR FOR THE CLASS OF 2024.
University College Dublin | Dublin, Ireland | Advancing SDG 16, SDG 4 & UNAI 2
" I believe that a high level of citizen participation in the electoral process is crucial, as it empowers individuals to directly address the social justice issues they care about. I am therefore committed to encouraging voting and simplifying the perceived complexities of the electoral process. Being a Millennium Fellow will enable me to amplify my efforts and expand the impact of my work. "
Millennium Fellowship Project: The Student Voter Empowerment Project
A disinterest in electoral participation has been a problem in Ireland for years and was clearly demonstrated by the low voter turnout in Ireland’s March 2024 referendums.
Our project was therefore dedicated to increasing voter engagement by educating individuals on the importance of participating in elections and empowering them to become active and informed voters. We strove to make the electoral process more accessible and inviting to all. With the Irish Parliament (Dáil) elections aligning with the duration of our project, they became our primary focus, serving as a platform to initiate a practice of voter participation amongst UCD students.
Our approach involved three goals: the first was developing a handbook establishing the mechanics and purposes of voting in an easily digestible manner. The second was conducting a campus survey to help us make the handbook as useful as possible. The third was hosting a voter registration drives across campus to reach students with no obvious link to politics.
Through these efforts, we sought to establish a culture of consistent voter engagement, empowering individuals to participate in the elections that will shape Ireland’s future.
About the Millennium Fellow
Katie O’Sullivan is a final-year BCL Law with Politics student at University College Dublin. She is pursuing a career in international human rights law. In the lead-up to the 2024 European Parliament Elections, she organized politically neutral events across Ireland with Together.eu to encourage voter turnout. She has also organized a range of panel discussions and debates on issues of public importance. Katie was a delegate at the 2023 Our Rule of Law Academy in Brussels and the 2024 European Student Assembly in Strasbourg. Additionally, she is an ambassador for both her university and Eurodesk Ireland.
