YSI Ignite Community Programme × Tech Curiosity Club

Find the issue.
Build the fix.

A community-powered challenge that takes young people from identifying a real social problem in their area all the way to building and sharing an AI-supported solution.

8 stages · community to code
Ages 14–25
YSI Ignite × Tech Curiosity Club
💡
This programme weaves the YSI Ignite Community Programme together with Tech Curiosity Club's hands-on AI session model. Young people start by understanding a real issue in their world — then use AI tools to build something that responds to it.
The full journey

From community issue
to working solution.

Each stage builds on the last. By the end, young people don't just understand their community better — they've created something real in response to it.

1
🌍

Identify a Social Issue

Ignite Community Stage

Young people explore their local community and name a social issue that genuinely matters to them — loneliness, food poverty, mental health, the environment, lack of safe spaces. The issue must feel real and relevant to their lives.

TCC Session
Explore → Spark

Run a guided TCC session to surface issues. Start with the Explore step: present real community data, news clips, or local stories. Then use the Spark prompt — "What's one thing in your area you wish was different?" — to open the conversation.

  • Use AI tools to research local statistics and news stories
  • Run a silent post-it vote — each person writes their top 3 issues
  • Cluster themes together and vote on a focus area as a group
2
🤝

Connect with Others

Ignite Community Stage

Young people connect with peers — locally or across the border — working on the same or similar issues. This builds solidarity, sparks new thinking, and helps them see they're part of a wider movement for change.

TCC Session
Explore → Create

Use the Explore step to surface what others are already doing about this issue. Then in the Create step, young people use AI tools to map initiatives, write outreach messages, or draft questions for a panel conversation with another group.

  • Research similar youth-led projects using AI research tools
  • Draft a connection message or social post using AI writing tools
  • Identify one organisation or peer group to reach out to
3
🗺️

Build a Community Map

Ignite Community Stage

Young people map their community in relation to the issue. Maps can take different forms: geographical, services, stakeholder, or social issues. This step builds real understanding of the landscape before trying to change it.

TCC Session
Create → Improve

In the Create step, young people use AI tools to build their map — generating a stakeholder list, finding local services, or visualising the issue geographically. The Improve step is used to refine: what's missing? What needs to be added or challenged?

  • Use AI to generate a stakeholder list for the chosen issue
  • Build a visual map using a digital whiteboard tool
  • Annotate with insights: who is affected, who has power, what already exists
  • Identify the biggest gap in current provision
4
🧑‍🤝‍🧑

Develop a Persona

Ignite Community Stage

Young people create a detailed persona — a fictional but grounded person directly affected by the issue. This goes beyond statistics; it puts a human face on the problem and ensures any solution is rooted in real lived experience.

TCC Session
Explore → Create → Improve

Use the Explore step to research real stories about people affected by this issue. Then in Create, young people use AI to help draft the persona — who they are, their daily life, the challenges they face, what they wish was different. The Improve step deepens it: push past surface assumptions.

  • Research real case studies or news stories using AI
  • Use an AI writing tool to draft the persona profile
  • Give the persona a name, age, daily routine, fears and hopes
  • Ask: "Would this person recognise themselves in our solution?"
5
⚡

Prototype Challenge

Ignite Community Stage

A fast, hands-on creative sprint where young people experiment with possible solutions. This is not about perfection — it's about a "try it and see" mindset before committing to a full idea.

TCC Session
Create → Improve → Share

This is where the TCC session model does its best work. In the Create step, young people build a rough prototype using AI tools — a chatbot, a simple webpage, a visual concept, a short video. Improve is a fast iteration loop: test it on the persona, identify what doesn't work. Share is a mini-demo to the rest of the group.

  • Set a 20-minute timer: build anything that responds to the persona's need
  • Use Lovable, ChatGPT, Canva AI or similar tools to create something tangible
  • Present back in 60 seconds: what did you make? What did you learn?
  • Vote on the most promising idea to develop further
🔥 Spark
🌍 Explore
🛠 Create
🔧 Improve
🎤 Share
6
💡

Develop an Innovative Idea

Ignite Community Stage

Using the community map, the persona, and the prototype challenge, young people develop their full idea for addressing the social issue. Creative, realistic, and rooted in real community need.

TCC Session
Spark → Explore → Create

Open with a Spark that revisits the persona: "What would change for [name] if this existed?" Then Explore existing solutions globally using AI research. The Create step develops the idea in full — using AI to stress-test it, identify gaps, and refine the pitch.

  • Use AI to research whether this idea already exists and what works/doesn't
  • Draft a one-paragraph "idea statement": what it is, who it's for, why it matters
  • AI stress-test: ask Claude or ChatGPT to challenge the idea — what could go wrong?
  • Refine based on the challenge responses
7
📋

Make an Action Plan

Ignite Community Stage

Young people turn their idea into a practical, realistic action plan: what they're going to do, who's responsible, what resources are needed, and a clear timeline for making it happen.

TCC Session
Create → Improve

In the Create step, young people use AI to draft the action plan structure — then populate it themselves with real tasks, roles and timelines. The Improve step asks: is this actually doable? What's the one thing most likely to block progress?

  • Use AI to generate an action plan template tailored to the idea
  • Assign real roles: who does what by when?
  • Identify one key resource or support they still need
  • Set a 2-week milestone as the first proof point
8
🎤

Share It with the World

Ignite Community Stage

Young people share their idea, their journey, and what they've built. This builds confidence, inspires others, and starts to create real impact — whether through a community pitch, social media, an event, or a direct presentation.

TCC Session
Create → Share

The final TCC session is a full Create → Share sprint focused on the presentation itself. Young people use AI tools to build the artefact they'll share — a deck, a short film, a live demo, a social post — then present it in the Share step to a real audience.

  • Choose a format: pitch deck, website, short video, live demo or blog
  • Use AI to help write, design and refine the presentation
  • Practise with honest feedback: does the story land?
  • Present to a real audience — peers, community, local organisations
The output

Every group leaves with
a real solution.

This isn't a classroom exercise. By the end of the programme, young people have identified a genuine community need, built something in response to it, and shared it publicly. The solution takes whatever form is most useful.

🌐

A working website or app

Built using AI-assisted tools like Lovable or similar, addressing their chosen social issue directly — a resource hub, a signposting tool, a community platform.

🤖

An AI-powered tool

A custom chatbot, a content generator, or an AI-enhanced resource — something that didn't exist before and genuinely responds to the needs of their persona.

📢

A campaign or movement

A social media campaign, community event, or awareness initiative designed with AI support — built to reach and mobilise real people around the issue.

🏗️

A social enterprise concept

A business model for a youth-led social enterprise — with a value proposition, target community, action plan, and pitch-ready presentation.

TCC Session Flow — Embedded Throughout

🔥
Spark
Opens each stage with a provocation
🌍
Explore
Research, context & empathy
🛠
Create
Hands-on AI tool use
🔧
Improve
Reflect, refine, challenge
🎤
Share
Present to a real audience
Stage 8 in action

Ways to share the work.

Young people choose how to share based on what fits their idea and their community. Every format is supported with AI-assisted creation during the TCC session.

For youth leaders

Facilitator hints.

Quick-reference cards for each stage. Open the one you need, read the spark question, use the AI prompt, and know when to move on.

Step 1 🌍 Identify a Social Issue ▼
⏱ Typical time: 20–40 mins
🔥 Open with this
What's one thing in your area you wish was different — something that affects you or people you know?
🤖 AI prompt to use
We are a group of young people in [your area]. Give us 5 real social issues affecting young people locally, with one key fact for each.
😶 If the group goes quiet
Give everyone a post-it. Ask them to write one issue in silence, no talking. Then stick them on a wall and group similar ones together. Vote with dots.
✅ You're ready to move on when…
Every young person can name the issue the group has chosen and say — in one sentence — why it matters to them personally.
Step 2 🤝 Connect with Others ▼
⏱ Typical time: 20–30 mins
🔥 Open with this
Do you think your group is the only one working on this? Who else might care about this problem — nearby or further away?
🤖 AI prompt to use
Find 3 youth-led or community projects in Ireland or the UK working on [issue]. For each, tell us what they do, who runs it, and one thing we could learn from them.
😶 If the group goes quiet
Ask them to imagine they're sending a message to another youth group — what would they say? Draft it together in two minutes, then read it back.
✅ You're ready to move on when…
The group has identified at least one other person, group or organisation working on the same issue and discussed what they could learn from them.
Step 3 🗺️ Build a Community Map ▼
⏱ Typical time: 30–45 mins
🔥 Open with this
Before we try to fix anything — who are all the people involved in this problem? Who's affected, who has power, and what already exists?
🤖 AI prompt to use
For the issue of [issue] in [area], list: (1) who is most affected, (2) organisations already helping, (3) people or groups with power to change things, (4) gaps in current support.
😶 If the group goes quiet
Draw three circles on a whiteboard: People Affected / People with Power / Services that Help. Ask the group to shout out names for each circle. You write, they direct.
✅ You're ready to move on when…
The group has a visible map (digital or physical) and can point to the biggest gap — where support is missing or weakest.
Step 4 🧑‍🤝‍🧑 Develop a Persona ▼
⏱ Typical time: 30–40 mins
🔥 Open with this
Statistics tell us how many people are affected. But let's make it real — who is one specific person living with this problem every day? What's their name? How old are they?
🤖 AI prompt to use
Create a detailed persona for someone directly affected by [issue] in [area]. Include: name, age, daily routine, the main challenges they face, what they wish was different, and what's stopped them getting help so far.
😶 If the group goes quiet
Ask them: "Think of someone you know — or someone you could imagine — who lives with this. What would their morning look like?" Start there. The detail builds quickly once it's personal.
✅ You're ready to move on when…
The persona has a name, a face (even a sketch), and the group can answer: "Would this person recognise themselves in what we've written?"
Step 5 ⚡ Prototype Challenge ▼
⏱ Typical time: 40–60 mins
🔥 Open with this
We have 20 minutes. Build anything — a webpage, a poster, a chatbot, a plan — that would help [persona name]. It doesn't have to be perfect. Go.
🤖 AI prompt to use
I want to build a simple tool to help someone like [persona name] who is dealing with [issue]. Suggest 3 different quick prototypes I could make today using free online tools. For each, tell me what it would do and how to start.
😶 If the group goes quiet
They might be stuck on "is this good enough?" Remind them: this is a sketch, not a solution. The point is to make something and learn from it. Even a bad prototype teaches something.
✅ You're ready to move on when…
Every person or pair has made something they can show — even a rough idea on a page. They should be able to say in 60 seconds what they made and one thing it taught them.
Step 6 💡 Develop an Innovative Idea ▼
⏱ Typical time: 45–60 mins
🔥 Open with this
Looking back at our map, our persona, and our prototypes — what's the ONE thing we could build or do that would make the biggest difference for [persona name]?
🤖 AI prompt to use
We're a group of young people developing an idea to address [issue] for people like [persona]. Our idea is [brief idea]. Challenge this idea: what are the 3 biggest problems with it, and how could we fix each one?
😶 If the group goes quiet
Try the "yes, and..." exercise. Someone says the idea. The next person says "yes, and we could also…" Keep building for 5 minutes without criticism. Then review what you've got.
✅ You're ready to move on when…
The group can describe their idea in one paragraph: what it is, who it's for, and why it will work. They've also heard at least 3 challenges to it and have answers.
Step 7 📋 Make an Action Plan ▼
⏱ Typical time: 30–45 mins
🔥 Open with this
Ideas are easy. Making them happen is hard. So: what is the very first thing we need to do — this week — to move this forward? Who does it? By when?
🤖 AI prompt to use
We want to build [idea]. Create a realistic 6-week action plan for a group of young people with limited time and no budget. Break it into weekly tasks, assign roles, and flag the biggest risk in each week.
😶 If the group goes quiet
Action planning can feel overwhelming. Break it down: "What do we need to do first — before anything else?" Just get that one task agreed, with a name and a date. The rest follows.
✅ You're ready to move on when…
There is a written plan with at least 3 specific tasks, each with a named person responsible and a realistic date. The group knows what "done" looks like for each task.
Step 8 🎤 Share It with the World ▼
⏱ Typical time: 45–90 mins
🔥 Open with this
You've done the hard work. Now — who needs to hear this? And what's the most powerful way to tell your story so people actually listen?
🤖 AI prompt to use
Help us write a 2-minute pitch for our idea. We are young people from [area]. The issue we tackled is [issue]. Our solution is [idea]. Our audience is [audience]. Make it compelling, personal and clear — start with a story about [persona name].
😶 If the group goes quiet
Stage fright is real. Do a "bad pitch" warm-up first — ask someone to deliberately present the idea as badly as possible. It breaks the tension and usually produces great material by accident.
✅ You're ready when…
The group has practised their presentation at least once, received honest feedback, and made at least one change based on it. They know who their audience is and what they want that audience to do.