Eilish Rice, a law student from Atticall, participated in the UK-Germany Youth Summit in Berlin from 19 to 22 March. The event gathered 35 students from the UK, selected from 1,300 applicants, with 35 German students.

Rice was one of five Northern Ireland participants. She applied through the School of Law at Queen’s University Belfast, where she is in her second year of a law degree.

Delegates engaged in discussions and workshops on disinformation, diversity, civic engagement, and democracy. Rice described the schedule as 12-hour days from 9am to 9pm and noted challenging conversations about regional democracies.

Participants represented their areas and shared experiences with counterparts from the UK and Germany. Rice highlighted the value of discussing Northern Ireland's political challenges and democratic resilience.

At the summit's conclusion, students presented policy reform proposals to UK and German politicians. Rice said the experience aided her public speaking confidence.

The summit stems from the Kensington Treaty, a 2025 UK-Germany agreement on cooperation in culture, education, science, and society.