The conferring of the Foundation Certificate Programme in Youth Leadership and Community Action took place in NUI Galway on October 22nd 2011. In the academic year 2010/2011, 114 students from across Ireland, between 16 and 18 years of age, successfully completed the programme and attended the conferring ceremony.
Ireland’s two UNESCO Chair holders came together on October 24th to launch an innovative and exciting programme dedicated to improving the rights and well being of children and young people across Ireland.
“Young voices from around the world will tell us our future, but the world must listen”, according to Professor Pat Dolan, Director of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre and Chair in Children, Youth and Civic Engagement at NUI, Galway. Professor Dolan and colleagues attended the 7th UNESCO Youth Forum held in UNESCO Headquarters in Paris from 17 to 20 October 2011.
Minister for Children and Youth Affairs, Frances Fitzgerald, T.D. named the 10-person Task Force on Friday, 23rd September to advise the Department of Children and Youth Affairs on the necessary transition programme in establishing a dedicated Child & Family Support Agency. Among the main responsibilities of the Agency are to advise the Government on the appropriate service responsibilities of such an agency and their delivery.
Cillian Murphy, actor and patron of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre paid a visit to site on 15th July 2011. He was introduced to staff and colleagues of the centre following his successful world premiere on the one man show ‘Misterman’ at the Galway Arts Festival. During his visit he was briefed on the centre’s programme of work and witnessed at first hand the work being done by staff.
In 2009 the Office of the Minister for Children and Youth Affairs commissioned the Child and Family Research Centre to undertake a Study of Young Carers in the Irish Population. In writing the Report the CFRC worked closely with Ireland’s Carers Association, particularly in the recruitment of participants. The Report was launched at the Carers Association’s annual national conference in 2010.
The Minister for Children, Frances Fitzgerald, T.D., officially opened the fifth biennial conference of the UNESCO Child and Family Research Centre at NUI Galway. The conference, entitled Protecting Children Through Family Support, took place over two days, running from 16 to 17 June, in the Áras Moyola Building at NUI Galway.
The Lifecourse Institute (LCI) at NUI Galway held its annual Honorary Public Lecture on Wednesday, 18 May entitled "Inequality and Diversity across the Lifecourse: Intercultural Perspectives". The main speaker, UNESCO Chair, Professor Jagdish Gundara addressed the issues of interculturalism, diversity, inequality and how groups of children and families, older people and people with disabilities are affected. The lessons learnt from interculturalism in the UK and elsewhere were drawn on, as well as the Irish perspective and where we stand now within a recession context and going forward.
The PhD in Child and Youth Research is a collaboration between Trinity College Dublin and the Child and Family Research Centre, the School of Political Science and Sociology, and the School of Psychology at NUI Galway. As a structured four year programme, students will take taught modules in the first two years, and in years three and four concentrate on a dissertation begun in year one.
Dr. Bernadine Brady and Dr. Connie O’ Regan from the Child and Family Research Centre, were recognised by NUI Galway at a special ceremony when they were conferred with a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) from NUI Galway President, Dr. James J. Browne on Thursday, 24th March 2011. Bernadine and Connie both undertook research in the area of youth mentoring in Ireland.
