The President of Ireland, Mary McAleese, officially launched the Link Schools Programme: Partners in Development on 7th October 2010
President of Ireland Mary McAleese launches the Link Schools Programme: Partners in Development October 2010 from Link Community Development on Vimeo.
The launch took place in The European Public Space, European Union House, Dublin 2. Guests included teachers and coordinators involved in the Link Schools Programme and Global Teachers Programme, African diplomats, public representatives, members of the education and development education sectors and LCD Ireland supporters and donors.
Children from Killegney National School in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, told President McAleese about their link with Karabuguma Primary School in Uganda and displayed some of the the work they and their partner school have done through the Link Schools Programme.
President McAleese also spoke with Global Teacher Catherine Galvin, who told the President about her experience as a volunteer teacher in Uganda as part of the Global Teachers Programme, and about the follow-up work she has done in her own school since.
Launching the programme, President McAleese said "The Link Schools Programme is about person to person links. It is about a journey of friendship, support and solidarity between pupils and teachers in Ireland and in Uganda, South Africa, Malawi and Ghana. It is about developing a strong commitment to global justice, a better understanding of development issues, a respect for other cultures, ethnicities and perspectives, a sense of shared responsibility for ending the awful waste of endemic poverty in our world and delivering an up-front and personal engagement between the Link Schools Programme’s participants across continents." Read the full speech delivered by President McAleese.
Welcoming President McAleese, LCD Ireland Chairperson Niall Roche said that the idea of active global citizenship central to the Link Schools Programme drew on a long tradition in Ireland of people taking action in support of those in poverty in many parts of the world.
Pictured: Members of the African Diplomatic circle, Mr. Nkhotha Machachamise (Lesotho), Ms. Sylvia Katete Gavigan (Uganda), His Excellency Mr. Azwindini Jeremiah Dingaan Ndou (South Africa) and Her Excellency Ms Catherine Muigai Mwangi (Kenya), with President McAleese and Cathal O'Keeffe, Executive Director, LCD Ireland. Photograph: Tommy Clancy.
Link Schools Programme: Partners in Development
President McAleese also spoke with Global Teacher Catherine Galvin, who told the President about her experience as a volunteer teacher in Uganda as part of the Global Teachers Programme, and about the follow-up work she has done in her own school since.
Launching the programme, President McAleese said "The Link Schools Programme is about person to person links. It is about a journey of friendship, support and solidarity between pupils and teachers in Ireland and in Uganda, South Africa, Malawi and Ghana. It is about developing a strong commitment to global justice, a better understanding of development issues, a respect for other cultures, ethnicities and perspectives, a sense of shared responsibility for ending the awful waste of endemic poverty in our world and delivering an up-front and personal engagement between the Link Schools Programme’s participants across continents." Read the full speech delivered by President McAleese.
Welcoming President McAleese, LCD Ireland Chairperson Niall Roche said that the idea of active global citizenship central to the Link Schools Programme drew on a long tradition in Ireland of people taking action in support of those in poverty in many parts of the world. Pictured: Members of the African Diplomatic circle, Mr. Nkhotha Machachamise (Lesotho), Ms. Sylvia Katete Gavigan (Uganda), His Excellency Mr. Azwindini Jeremiah Dingaan Ndou (South Africa) and Her Excellency Ms Catherine Muigai Mwangi (Kenya), with President McAleese and Cathal O'Keeffe, Executive Director, LCD Ireland. Photograph: Tommy Clancy.
Link Schools Programme: Partners in Development
The Link Schools Programme brings together schools from Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland and the USA with schools in sub-Saharan Africa to work in partnership, to learn from one another and to support quality education – as partners in development. The programme enables Irish and African schools to set up and sustain mutually beneficial partnerships, which bring development education alive and promote school improvement in Africa.
In 2010 the Link Community Development group received a European Union grant worth €1 million, which will enable Link to significantly improve and expand its Link Schools Programme. Subsequently, in April 2010, LCD Ireland was awarded an Irish Aid grant to support this work. This Irish Aid and EU funding will enable LCD Ireland to significantly expand and improve the quality of the Link Schools Programme over the next 3 years.
Pictured: Cian Daly, Podge Stafford and Yasmin Collyer from Killegney National School in Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford demonstrate their link with Karabuguma Primary School in Uganda. Photograph: Tommy Clancy.
The benefits of this improved model for school linking include:
The benefits of this improved model for school linking include:
- Themed development resources, devised by development consultants to contribute to curricular aims while encouraging development education learning.
- Increased and more efficient support for linked schools in Ireland and Africa.
- A newly devised Teachers’ Pack containing information on how to get the most from your school link, how to address potential problems, and how to involve the broader school community in school linking.
- Opportunities to make local and regional connections and to further improve your linking experience by attending cluster training sessions for link coordinators.
