Young Ukrainians arriving in Ireland can now benefit from free artistic supports and creative activities across the country.
The Creative Ireland programme is supporting events which are free of charge for children and young people and are now facilitating the full participation of young Ukrainians in a variety of ways.
Many of these events are part of the Cruinniú na nÓg programme of activities on 11 June. Cruinniú na nÓg – which involves local authority partners – is Ireland’s annual national day of free creativity for children and young people under 18.
Events leading up to and taking place on this day include free craft classes, storytelling, drama, art, Lego play groups, doll making lessons and circus workshops.
New projects for Cruinniú na nÓg are being registered on an ongoing basis, and parents and guardians are encouraged to check regularly for updates. See list below (in Notes) for an outline of key events which facilitate the participation of Ukrainian children and young people this year.
The Arts Council, the government agency tasked with developing Arts and Culture, is also playing a key role in supporting young Ukrainians arriving in Ireland, It is expanding its access costs protocol to ensure schools are aware they can apply for additional funding to engage translation, or other access services needed, to meet their needs and that of other migrant children. This funding is available to all schools participating in the Creative Schools programme and meets the costs of access supports for the children and young people, their teachers and Special Needs Assistants. It will enable them to engage with a Creative Associate or other creative practitioners working with them as part of their Creative Schools programme activity. The Arts Council is currently engaging with schools identified as having a high number of new Ukrainian pupils to ensure they benefit from the supports available.
Further resources and professional development is also being offered by the Arts Council to its 100 Creative Associates who work with schools nationwide to enable them to ensure full inclusion of Ukrainian children and others in the creative schools programme of activity. The additional support given will include peer learning in communities of practice, and expertise from other organisations that have experience in working with refugees and migrants. Creative Associates work closely with schools to support them in the creative schools journey and offer advice, support and guidance to participating schools. This work is ongoing in the Arts Council Creative Associate communities of practice, and will feature in all planned training events for all Creative Associates in the autumn.
Welcoming the initiatives which can help thousands of Ukrainian children now in Ireland, the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media, Catherine Martin, said:
“No child should see or hear the horrors of war. The least we can do for young Ukrainians arriving in a new and unknown country is to give them opportunities to grow their creativity, both for their own wellbeing and education. “
“I also wish to commend the work of the Arts Council, who are working in close collaboration with the social inclusion unit of Department of Education to ensure schools which have a particularly high proportion of refugee or migrant children are aware of the opportunity to participate in Creative Schools.”
For a full overview of creative activities go to www.creativeireland.gov.ie.