10 Years of Care Day

To mark 10 years of Care Day, we asked EPIC Advocates Brenda, Edel and Peter to tell us more about the development of Care Day and what it has meant for EPIC over the past decade.

Care Day was established in February 2016 by young care-leavers from Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales. It was created to celebrate the positive experiences and contributions of children and young people with care experience. A community that rises every day and overcomes challenges most of us will never experience.

From the beginning, Care Day focused on pride, visibility and community. It created space to challenge stigma, recognise achievements and ensure that the voices of children and young people with care experience were heard where it mattered.

Care Day began as a joint initiative across five children’s rights organisations, now known as the 5 Nations 1 Voice (5N1V) alliance:

• EPIC Empowering People in Care (Ireland)
• Become (England)
• Who Cares? Scotland (Scotland)
• Voices from Care (Wales)
• Voice of Young People in Care (VOYPIC) (Northern Ireland)

Over the past decade, Care Day has grown beyond its original five nations. It is now recognised internationally, with countries including Holland, Finland, New Zealand, Australia, Spain, Croatia and Italy participating in Care Day celebrations.

The idea for Care Day originated when members of EPIC’s Youth Council joined young people from across the five nations in Scotland. Through discussions about their experiences of care, young people identified a shared concern: public understanding of care and aftercare systems was limited, contributing to stigma and persistent stereotypes.

They envisioned a day that would celebrate achievements while also improving public understanding of care systems and the realities faced by children and young people. A key objective was to build a sense of community – a space where young people could support one another and confidently identify as care-experienced.

The first Care Day was celebrated across the five nations in 2016. Since then, EPIC’s Youth Council has played a central role each year, including setting themes, organising events, leading promotion and engaging with national media to raise awareness of care-related issues.

From the first celebration in 2016 in the Ombudsman for Children’s Office, to large-scale national events, virtual Care Days during the Covid-19 pandemic, touring exhibitions and creative showcases, Care Day has continued to develop and expand.

Key milestones include:

• Early poetry and creative projects led by young people
• Football blitzes and sports events
• Regional coffee mornings and welcome days
• Virtual Care Day in 2021, with webinars on equality, justice, education, disability and LGBTQI+ issues
• The It Takes a Village theme in 2022, featuring exhibitions and international youth-led events
• Touring exhibitions such as Embrace Our Stories in 2023 and again in 2025
• The Care Day Carnival in 2024
• The EPIC Times, a Care Day newspaper produced in 2025

As Care Day reaches its 10 year milestone in 2026, it is both an opportunity to reflect and a prompt to look ahead and this year, the EPIC Youth Council and Care Community chose the theme: “The Future Starts With Us”. Each year, young people leave care with ambition, plans and potential, yet too many continue to face barriers in policy and practice as they transition to adulthood.

Care Day 2026 focuses on recognising care-experienced children and young people as leaders of the future – innovators, activists, artists and decision-makers shaping the Ireland of tomorrow. It is also a clear call to action for government, communities and wider society to strengthen aftercare, expand eligibility and meaningfully invest in young people’s futures.

As EPIC’s Care Community emphasises, the future of Ireland is not written by chance. It is written by those who are supported to reach their potential.

To learn more about Care Day and how to get involved, visit www.careday.ie.