Primary school pupils from Crecora National School and the Mid West School for the Deaf have made it to the national final of the 2018 Our World Irish Aid Awards.
They, along with pupils and teachers from 10 other primary schools across Ireland, will travel to Dublin Castle on Wednesday 20th June 2018 to showcase their projects as they compete for the overall ‘Our World Irish Aid Awards’ trophy. Additionally, Castleconnell National School was presented with a Special Distinction Award at today’s regional final of the annual Our World Irish Aid Awards.
The schools attended today’s event at Mary Immaculate College, Limerick which saw 15 primary schools from the region compete for three of 12 places at the national final, Best Regional Newcomer, and Special Distinction Awards. As well as exhibiting their work and taking part in a number of activities, pupils and teachers heard from special speaker Arran Towers from Gorta Self-Help Africa who shared his own first-hand experience of the developing world.
Congratulating the teachers and pupils at all three schools, Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development, Ciarán Cannon T.D. said that this year’s Award entries had shown exceptional creativity and understanding of the Awards’ theme ‘Transforming Our World’.
“I would like to extend my warmest congratulations to the teachers and pupils at Crecora National School, the Mid West School for the Deaf and CastleconnellNational School on their success at today’s regional final.
“This year primary school pupils across the country have not only discovered how they, as global citizens, can help transform our world, but they have also presented their learnings, ideas and the ways in which they have already started effecting change as part of their projects.
“As the Minister of State responsible for International Development, I am enormously encouraged by the level of engagement in the Our World Irish Aid Awards and by the willingness of our young people to play an active part in the international effort to transform our world. The Our World Irish Aid Awards, bring Irish Aid’s work to build better futures for some of the world’s poorest communities directly into the classroom, challenging the next generation to ensure that it is made an ongoing priority.
Now in their 13th year, the Our World Irish Aid Awards help primary school pupils learn about the lives of children and their families in developing countries, and how Ireland and 192 other countries are working together to create a safer and fairer world and a better future for all the world’s children through the U.N. Global Goals for Sustainable Development.
Each entry was assessed on its creativity, understanding of the theme and its impact. All 15 schools present at today’s regional final were presented with an ‘Our World Irish Aid Award’ plaque.
The schools that go on to compete in the national final will contend not just for the overall Our World Irish Aid Awards trophy, but also the titles of Teacher of the Year and Best Newcomer School.
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