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Press release

Pilot local Creative Youth Partnerships Announced

Minister for Education and Skills, Mr Joe McHugh TD, today (13 December, 2018) announced the three Education and Training Boards that are to establish Local Creative Partnerships.

It is envisaged that these Partnerships will be networks which enable information sharing, collaboration between local creative youth service providers to bring about better use of existing resources, practices and initiatives in an ETB area.

The three successful ETBs are:

  • Kerry Education and Training Board
  • Laois and Offaly Education and Training Board
  • Limerick and Clare Education and Training Board

The Department of Education and Skills is making €300,000 available for this pilot. The pilot partnerships will engage with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to develop youth consultation processes for their area, which will allow for the voice of children and young people to play a central role in how these partnerships develop.

Speaking at the announcement, Minister McHugh said:

“I am delighted to be able to announce the successful applicants for this pilot scheme. There was significant interest from the ETB sector in this initiative and we received a high number of applications. I would like to thank all those who submitted applications for this initiative."

“This announcement confirms my department’s commitment to delivering the actions outlined in the Creative Youth Plan and is just one of the initiatives we are engaged in as part of the all-of-Government Creative Youth Programme. These Partnerships will help to deliver a wide range of activities for children and young people in these areas and I am hopeful that they will be a success."

“It is important that skills in creativity and flexibility are developed in our children and young people to equip them for the future.”

Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, Josepha Madigan TD, added:

“The Creative Youth Partnerships offer an important opportunity for Education and Training Boards to forge new partnerships and collaborations with their local cultural and creativity resources, which will complement the work of the formal school settings."

"A vital engine of the Creative Ireland Programme, these new partnerships will act as change agents within their local communities, unlocking new ways of working and supporting the creative and cultural education of thousands of our children and young people."

“I would like to congratulate the successful applicants and am excited to see how the youth consultation will help shape the direction that the partnerships will take.”

ENDS


Notes to the Editor:

The Creative Ireland Programme

The Creative Ireland Programme is a five-year all-of-Government, culture-based initiative that emphasises the importance of human creativity for individual, community and national wellbeing. It is led by the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht. The programme is grounded in the belief that every person has creative capacities, the development of which contributes to their personal wellbeing as well as to the general wellbeing of our communities.

The Programme consists of five pillars:

  • Enabling the Creative Potential of Our Young People
  • Enabling Creativity in Our Communities
  • Investing in Our Cultural and Creative Infrastructure
  • Our Creative Industries - Ireland as a Centre of Creative Excellence
  • Our Global Reputation – A Creative and Cultural Nation

Creative Youth – the plan for Pillar 1

In December 2017, Creative Youth – a Plan to enable the creativity of every child and young person was launched. The ultimate aim is to deliver the government’s commitment to ensuring that every child in Ireland has practical access to tuition, experience and participation in music, drama, arts and coding by 2022. The Creative Youth plan sets out a range of initiatives which will be piloted and implemented in the coming years, including Local Creative Youth Partnerships. The Department of Education and Skills, the Department of Children and Youth Affairs and the Arts Council are key partners in delivering Creative Youth.

Further information on the Creative Ireland Programme can be found at www.creativeireland.gov.ie or follow on Facebook and Twitter @creativeirl.