Wallace student becomes only pupil from NI to take part in a vital covid research project

Elodie Bloomer is 13 years old and is a Year 10 pupil at the Lisburn school.

Following an interview process, she has been selected as one of fifteen UK school and university pupils to be Co-Researchers on the University of Oxford Co-Space Japan Collaboration 2024.

The Co-Space study was initially set up to assess the UK wide impact of the Covid Pandemic and its myriad effects on health, education, work and family life.

The latest project, the Co-Space Japan Collaboration will continue to look at this alongside a comparative approach to the impact and outcomes of the pandemic in Japan. Elodie will be conducting research, helping devise and seek responses to questionnaires, collating results and helping to draft a research paper on the outcomes of the study.

The Oxford University Co-Space research will be shared with key governmental decision makers; public health bodies, community organisations and charities and will be used to help inform and guide future governmental policy and responses to future pandemics.

Elodie will also be working alongside 15 Japanese school and university students to look at the effects of Covid in Japan. She is the only Northern Irish pupil to be selected and is the youngest co researcher.

"The Covid pandemic has had life changing effects on all of us,” said Elodie.

“Many people suffered tragic and negative outcomes and many have been left with long term health issues.

"It is very exciting to be involved in a project that will consider how people based in the UK were affected by Covid and then will look further afield to see how the Japanese population coped and responded, in an attempt for us to find solutions and better outcomes for future pandemics.”

Elodie is also involved in local and UK wide youth social action.

She is a national UK Youth #iwill ambassador where she undertakes research in youth matters and puts a focus on issues affecting young people such as equality, education, the environment and mental health. She has recently attended Westminster in London in relation to this role.

She is also on the Youth Panel for the Northern Ireland Commissioner for Children and Young People, looking at Youth human rights with a focus on the UN Convention of the Rights of the Child. Elodie is also on their environmental subgroup.

And as if that isn’t enough, she has been part of the Northern Ireland Youth Policy Collective based in Lisburn which was set up by Pure Mental.

The group focussed on the interaction of young people within the political system in Northern Ireland, where they researched youth issues, met and interacted with politicians and considered issues such as education, mental health, social media, equality and the standard of living crisis.

They also drafted and presented policies to political representatives over the course of their year of study.

Elodie is also the Wellness representative for Year 10 in Wallace High School and plays hockey for their U14A team.