Luison Lasala
Anchor Youth Centre
Born in Valencia, Spain, he studied Philosophy and Economics in UCD and obtained an MA in Economics from NUI Galway in 1987. He has worked in the IT industry since graduation, getting his first job with Digital Equipment Corp., and taking on various responsibilities in management, marketing, training and consulting in Ireland and the UK. At present he is a freelance IT consultant based in Dublin.
He has been involved in youth work on a voluntary capacity for the last 20 years. At present he is the chairman of the Anchor Youth Centre in Artane, and director for youth affairs of Brosna Educational Centres Ltd. Through his experience working with teenagers he has come to appreciate how social networking websites have become very much part of young people’s lives.
He has carried out extensive research on this area, and conducted the benchmark “Anchor-WatchYourSpace” surveys on social networking usage by Irish teenagers in 2007 and 2008. He delivers presentations on internet safety to parents, teachers and children in schools and youth organisations, highlighting the pros and cons of these websites, and providing tips and guidelines for parents and teachers to stay abreast of this technology.
He has written numerous articles on social networking for the Irish media and for publications abroad. He was recently appointed to the Internet Safety Advisory Council of Ireland.
