Helen McEntee (Meath East, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

As I mentioned in my opening statement, we need to bring Europe closer to the people. That means continuing to communicate and giving public representatives a platform to communicate with the people they represent and also with those they do not. We can only do that by reaching out, by having public engagements and civic dialogues and by encouraging other organisations that have the capability and ability to do that. I was pleased, a couple of days ago, to announce €100,000 in funding for voluntary community and other organisations to help engage with people on Europe in various different communities. An example of this type of project is the special Blindboy Boatclub podcast at the MindField arena at Electric Picnic, which might find an audience that does not necessarily engage regularly. We are running a young innovators for Europe project, which is to be undertaken as part of the Young Social Innovators programme. There is also the launch of My Big Friendly Guide to the European Union. The latter will complement the EU's Blue Star programme, which Senator Hopkins mentioned. It is a fantastic project, one of a kind in Europe, and it will ensure that, from a very young age, our primary school students will learn about other traditions and cultures, about tolerance and about how to communicate and engage with other people. They will also learn to understand their schoolmates who have come from other countries. It is about communication, education and engagement with every platform and format we can, including the Council of Europe and the various different committees, including health, finance and education committees.