“If you’re interested in seeing change in your country, being politically involved is an important and valuable thing to do.” Minister Roderic O’Gorman tells students north and south of the border
29/4/21: Minister for Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, Roderic O’Gorman TD encouraged students to become politically active if they want to make change happen and have their voices heard. He also addressed questions from students on issues ranging from the Covid-19 vaccine rollout to the Irish Sea Border; support for the LGBTI+ community to Brexit; data transparency to ending direct provision.
Minister O’Gorman was speaking to over 60 senior students yesterday from Ballyclare High School and Dominican College, Co. Antrim, Loreto Community School, Co. Donegal and Dublin’s Luttrellstown Community College as part of the Glencree/Politics in Action North South Post Primary School Civic Action Programme. Encouraging students to engage in politics to bring about change Minister O’Gorman said: “Political activism can bring about real and very substantive change and in a much quicker timeframe than you might think. If you’re interested in seeing change in your country, being politically involved is an important and valuable thing to do.”
The Glencree/Politics in Action Programme promotes dialogue and exchanges between senior students from different backgrounds north and south of the border on issues of mutual concern as they learn about each other’s traditions, identities, commonalities and differences. It also provides opportunities for engagement with politicians and leaders in civil society to foster awareness and participation in politics and leadership for the future.
The event with Minister O’Gorman was facilitated by Therese Cullen, Politics in Action and developed in collaboration with the students, teachers and Principals from the participating schools. It is the fourth student-politician meeting in the Glencree/Politics in Action Programme series.
To view other student-politician meetings in the series in this Glencree / Politics in Action civic action programme, click on these links:
About the North South Post Primary Schools Civic Action Programme
An initiative of Glencree and Politics in Action, the North South Post Primary Schools Civic Action Programme promotes dialogue and exchanges between senior students from different backgrounds north and south of the border on issues of mutual concern and so they can learn about each other’s traditions, identities, commonalities and differences. It also provides opportunities for engagement with politicians and leaders in civil society to foster awareness and participation in politics and leadership for the future.
Funded by the Reconciliation Fund of the Department of Foreign Affairs and supported by the Department of Education, the programme, which is now in it’s second phase, relates to part of the Irish Government’s commitment set out in the policy document ‘New Decade, New Approach’ , the agreement to restore devolved government in Northern Ireland (Jan 2020) to: “Build(ing) on the success of the recent pilot programme of bringing pupils together – from schools North and South of the Border, from Nationalist and Unionist communities, and from the Integrated Schools sector – to meet, discuss issues of mutual concern and visit sites of significant shared historic relevance, we will expand the scheme over the lifetime of the next Government with a target of achieving 100 such cross border engagements per annum within a 5 year programme.”
The objectives of the programme are to:
Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation works with people who have been impacted by conflict including victims/survivors, combatants and marginalised minorities regardless of generation and gender, and with the stakeholders who share our vision of sustainable peace, from community leaders to politicians, diplomats to faith groups. Our Peace Education and Young Adult work connects and engages students and young adults on a cross border, north-south basis. For further information www.glencree.ie; Twitter & Facebook @Glencree Centre, #Glencree4peace.
Politics in Action (PIA) aims to prepare young people for the challenges of leadership in whichever career or profession they chose to follow. We will help them learn how to listen to debates as well as contribute to discussions, to demonstrate respect for those who hold opposing views and to develop the key skills necessary to reach a mutually beneficial solution. This year we have a “New Normal” theme, which asks pupils to look at issues that can be improved, and help Northern Ireland recover after the pandemic. For further information www.politicsinaction.org.
#glencree4peace
