Care Day
Celebrating and connecting the care-experienced community!
Care Day was established in February 2016. It is a day 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.
Young care-leavers from Ireland, Northern Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales created the Care Day concept in 20216. Today, it is a joint initiative across five children’s rights organisations, which are now known as the 5 Nations 1 Voice (5N1V) alliance. The 5N1V alliance includes, Become (England), Who Cares? Scotland, Voices from Care (Wales), Voice of Young People in Care (Northern Ireland), and EPIC.
While discussing their different care experiences, they agreed that the public were not fully aware about care systems, and that this contributed to their shared experience of stigma and negative perceptions and stereotypes about children and young people who are or have been in care. They envisioned a day that would highlight the achievements and celebrate children and young people with care experience, while also educating the public about the care system itself.
Another primary objective of Care Day was to create a sense of community across the world for those with care experience, to help children and young people support each other and be proud of who they are and what they have achieved.
Care Day 2026
Care Day 2026 falls on Friday the 20th of February. Each year, EPIC Care Community and Youth Council members develop a Care Day theme. For their Care Day 2025 celebration, they have chosen, ‘The Future Starts With Us’.
The Future Starts With Us
Care-experienced young people are shaping Ireland’s future. They are leaders, creators, innovators, and changemakers, bringing ideas, energy, and vision to their communities and beyond. Their voices, talents, and ambitions are vital to building a more inclusive Ireland – and Care Day 2026 is a moment to recognise and celebrate that contribution.
Every year, young people leave care to build their own future full of ambition, plans, and potential. But barriers in policy and practice still hold too many back.
Care Day 2026 aims to change that story. It celebrates care-experienced children and young people as leaders of the future. They are innovators, dreamers, activists, artists, and changemakers, shaping the Ireland of the future.
Care Day 2026 is also a call to action – for the government, communities, and society as a whole – to better support young people as they transition to adulthood.
