Entering its fourth year, Dublin-based youth summer camp Inside Out Camps is launching a Junior Leadership Programme for alumni aged 16+ to mentor this year's participants.

The Junior Leadership Programme will be sponsored by Grant Thornton Ireland, which founder Tracey Moran Russouw said was an "incredible endorsement," adding that the corporation "took her hand off immediately" when presented with the opportunity.

“We’re beyond excited to have Grant Thornton Ireland on board,” she added in a statement.

“Their support shows a real commitment to investing in youth development and future-ready leadership”

Inside Out is open to secondary school children aged 12-15 and offers a course of physical and mental challenges as well as a mandatory time away from smartphones.

The two-week-long camps at St Columba's College in the foothills of the Dublin Mountains take place every July and are open to 80 kids per week.

Moran Russouw, who is a mother and owner of the Red Cow Moran Hotel and Wren Urban Nest, started attending Thrive Experience retreats with leadership coach Shane Cradock nearly a decade ago before coming up with the idea for Inside Out Camps.

"It was at one of them five years ago that I came up with the idea that, while we're all doing this self-searching, working on ourselves as adults, trying to figure ourselves out, trying to develop and learn more about ourselves at 40, 50, 60 years of age, this was something that we should and could be doing so much younger to pave an easier path for ourselves," she explains.

"Away at Thrive, the idea is that you have time out from phones, digital detox, you're hanging out with people you don't normally hang out with, you're doing physical and mental challenges.

"It gives you perspective and time to really consider and to think outside the box."

Inside Out Camps are similar to American summer camps in structure and are designed so that teens develop their confidence, communication skills and soft skills as well as practical skills such as bicycle repair and bushcraft.

The first camp was held shortly after Covid, and it was the first time that many of the teens had been away from home.

The introduction of the Junior Leadership Programme is the latest evolution of the camp, with 10 people set to participate this year.

Moran Russouw had certainly noticed a difference in children post-Covid, and says the digital detox aspect of the camp is important for getting participants to stop using their phones as a crutch and engage in uncomfortable social situations.

Of course, in the first year, when the kids were told phones would be banned, Moran Rossouw and the team met with a lot of resistance.

The organisers ultimately allowed them to use their phones in the evening, but clamped down in year two due to the negative, anxious feelings they found that phone use inspired.

Resourceful campers have sought to get around the phone ban with some even bringing in burner phones, but most see the benefit of the digital detox, including Moran Russouw's own son, who found that the week off had been a break for his brain from their constant need to check in.

Director of operations Hillary Netsiyanwa and programme director Paul McDermott are responsible for the day-to-day running of the camp and the programme of activities.

In a nutshell, Monday is about breaking down barriers, engaging the children and getting them out of their comfort zone with fun activities and games.

This year, the campers will do some drumming with Jabba Jabba Jembe on opening night to ward off potential homesickness.

Tuesday opens with a 'Nod to Nardus,' which is so named for Moran Russouw's late husband Nardus who died shortly after she set up Inside Out Camps, with the children learning a programme of practical skills geared towards sustainability, such as cooking and mending/repairs.

Wednesday is about "owning your own brand," ie teaching the children to find confidence within themselves rather than the outside world through interactive workshops with John Murray, and Wednesday night is campfire night with s'mores and hot dogs.

Thursday is about "finding your physical," encouraging the kids to get into the habit of exercise for the benefit of their physical as well as mental health.

In the first year, Olympic taekwondo fighter Jack Woolley spoke to the campers.

Thursday night is Camp-chella, the camp's party night with a barbecue and "lots of silliness, skits, fun, dance routines and music," again without smartphones to inhibit anyone, and Friday is another day of fun with sports day challenges, team building activities, ice cream, and pizza before every goes home.

Parents who left their kids filled with anxiety and worry at the camp on Monday arrive on the Friday to collect them and find they don't want to leave, says Moran Russouw.

"We're all caught on this massive treadmill of life ... and we have all this noise coming at us.

"Taking those few days without the noise, without the phones, without the habits, allows you to gain a little bit of perspective."

Registration for camps this summer is open now.

Photo: Alex Deale, Charlie McFeely and Leon Russouw who will return to Inside Out Camps as Junior Leaders this summer together with Alex Kiernan. (Pic: Supplied)