Heather Humphreys (Cavan-Monaghan, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I am very pleased to have the opportunity to update Seanad Éireann on the Ireland 2016 Schools Programme. The programme was launched by the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, and me at CBS Westland Row, Dublin, last week. It was an ideal setting for the launch of the programme, as both Pádraig and Willie Pearse went to school in Westland Row. It is well known that the Pearse brothers, and Pádraig in particular, valued education, so I hope they would have approved of the diverse range of initiatives and projects that form part of the education programme.

The Ireland 2016 centenary programme is an invitation to everyone on the island of Ireland and the global Irish community to look back on the events of 100 years ago that shaped this nation, to consider the amazing things we have achieved over the last century and to look ahead to the next 100 years. We want children and young people to be at the heart of this programme because they, after all, are the guardians of the next 100 years. The Ireland 2016 project teams in my Department and the Department of Education and Skills have developed a diverse programme of activities for children and young people to help them reflect on the events of 1916 while also looking towards the future.

Earlier this month the Taoiseach launched the Flags for Schools initiative, under which the Defence Forces will deliver our national flag and a copy of the Proclamation to every national school in Ireland. It is very important that children and young people learn about the peaceful message behind our national flag. Members of the Defence Forces will visit more than 3,300 primary schools and talk to the children about the flag and the contents of the Proclamation. I saw how excited the children were in Mayo at that first event with the Taoiseach. They were so thoroughly engaged with their history and listened to every word the Army officer said as he explained the significance of the green, white and orange in our flag. The Thomas F. Meagher Foundation is also going to deliver the flag to secondary schools around the country. Through these flag initiatives we are bringing the commemoration programme right into the classroom, and I hope we will leave children with a positive memory of the events of 2016.

Another element of the programme in which I am particularly interested is the Proclamation for a New Generation project, whereby students across the country will write a new proclamation for their own schools to reflect the values, hopes and aspirations of the 2016 generation. This will start with an analysis of the ideals and principles contained in the 1916 Proclamation, and students will then be encouraged to reflect on their own aspirations. Who better to look to the future and to set out their vision for the next century than the children of 2016? This project entwines the historical and forward-looking elements of the programme. The children will look back on what happened in 1916 and on what informed the aspirations and ideals of the signatories; then they will consider their own experience today and what they would include in a proclamation for their own generation. We can then look forward to Proclamation Day, which will be a very special day held in all educational institutions on 15 March 2016. The day will start off with the raising of the national flag, followed by a reading of the Proclamation. It will be an opportunity for schools around the country to invite families and the wider community to come to the school as they showcase the work of their students, such as the results of the Proclamation for a New Generation.

As part of the 1916 ancestry project, children and young people will explore what life was like back in 1916 and what happened to their families during the Rising, and will perhaps even discover whether family members had any involvement in those tumultuous events. The ancestry project will give students and their teachers an opportunity to explore the wide range of material being made available online as part of Ireland 2016, including, for example, the parish records published by the National Library of Ireland, which provide a wealth of genealogical information. These records feature the baptism certificates of some very well known figures from 1916, including Pádraig Pearse and Thomas MacDonagh. It is my hope that as the children start exploring this information, it will also spark the interest of their parents and other family members.

A number of all-Ireland competitions focusing on the events of 1916 have been developed by the Department of Education and Skills in partnership with the Department of Education in Northern Ireland, including history, drama and arts competitions, which are open to students from both sides of the Border. A number of other competitions will also be run, including a special exhibition featuring work by students on the theme of Ireland 2016, which will be hosted by the National Gallery of Ireland in September 2016. Students will also be invited to write a short drama based around any aspect of the events of 1916, film the performance and submit the short video to RTE. A public vote will be launched to select the best plays, with the winning schools invited to perform on the stage of the Abbey Theatre in spring 2016.Our national cultural institutions, including the National Gallery and the National Museum, have been developing exciting programmes to engage directly with children. We have also been working with other organisations to run programmes and publications which will complement the main elements of the schools programme. On Wednesday, 23 September 2015, The Irish Timespublished a fantastic supplement called "Children and the Revolution," which was supported by my Department. This supplement was delivered to every school in the country and included a wealth of information on the Easter Rising. We are also working with the Irish Independenton an exciting series of supplements, which I will launch in the coming weeks. The Ireland 2016 project office has been working with The Irish Timeson a debating competition, which I will launch in the GPO next week. This high-profile competition for third-level students will focus on 1916 and will culminate in a final in February 2016.

As with all commemorations during the decade of centenaries, the Government is committed to an inclusive approach in marking the centenary of the 1916 Easter Rising. The Government's expert advisory group on centenary commemorations summed up this approach well when it stated that the aim of the commemorations should be "to broaden sympathies, without having to abandon loyalties." The Ireland 2016 programme is intended to give people scope to think about the events of 1916 and their legacy in a way that is personal and meaningful to each individual. There are many different perspectives and views on how the events of the 1916 Rising, and all those whose lives were affected by those events, should be appropriately remembered.

In addition to this comprehensive schools programme, communities are developing plans at local level for a whole range of events across the country, and I hope that children and young people will also get involved in their local communities and take part in the various events. We all remember inspirational teachers from our own childhoods. I thank teachers and principals around the country; their enthusiasm and interest in this programme will help the children to really understand the events of the past and unlock their potential for imagining the future. I acknowledge the role of our education centre network and teacher bodies, and the great support and resources that they make available to teachers. I thank my colleague, the Minister for Education and Skills, Deputy Jan O'Sullivan, and the many officials in her Department who have been so important in developing the schools programme. I extend my appreciation to Dr. Maurice Manning, chair of the expert advisory committee, and to the committee for its assistance with the development of the programme. The knowledge and experience of such a committee is invaluable to the Ireland 2016 programme. I am also very grateful for the commitment and input of the members of the Oireachtas all-party consultation group, some of whom are present this evening. My Department has also been working with the Department of Children and Youth Affairs to support the engagement of children and young people outside the formal education sector. Eight regional consultations are taking place with children aged between eight and 12 and with young people aged between 13 and 17 on the theme of "Imagining our future." The outcome of these consultations will be compiled in a report to be presented by children and young people to Ministers and decision makers at a major young people's event on 2 April 2016.

There really is something for all interests in the programme and I look forward to seeing the outcomes throughout 2016. Further details on all of the events taking place under the Youth and Imagination strand of the Ireland 2016 centenary programme can be found on the website www.ireland.ie. I thankMembers for the opportunity to outline the Ireland 2016 Schools Programme.