Success for local schools in Irish World Aid awards

PRIMARY school pupils from Cloghroe National School and Clogagh National School have made it to the national final of the 2017 Our World Irish Aid Awards.

They, along with pupils and teachers from 10 other primary schools across Ireland, will travel to Dublin Castle on Tuesday, June 13, to showcase their projects as they compete for the overall ‘Our World Irish Aid Awards’ trophy.

Additionally, Cloughduv National School was presented with the award for Best Newcomer (Regional) while Newmarket Girls National School received a Special Distinction Award at this week’s regional final of the annual Our World Irish Aid Awards.

All four schools attended the regional event at the Triskel Arts Centre. As well as exhibiting their work and taking part in a number of activities, pupils and teachers heard from special speaker Kinsale student Sophie HealyThow who has not only been named in Time Magazine as one of its Top 25 influential teens but has also been a Global Youth Leader for Mobilising Zero Hunger at the United Nations General Assembly 2015 and is now a ONE Campaign Youth Ambassador and a Young Trustee on the board of ActionAid UK.

Congratulating the teachers and pupils at all four schools, Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development, Joe McHugh, said that this year’s award entries had shown exceptional creativity and understanding of the awards’ theme ‘For People and Planet’.

“This year more than 1,300 primary schools across the country participated in the awards, exploring the interdependence between people and the natural world, and how the wellbeing of people, wildlife and the environment is interconnected. They have also been learning about the lives of children and their families in Irish Aid’s eight partner countries through the use of online teaching and learning materials.

“The Our World Irish Aid Awards help children to develop an understanding around issues that affect us all and highlight our responsibility to help support those most vulnerable in our world,” the minister added.

Now in their 12th year, the Our World Irish Aid Awards help primary school pupils learn about the lives of children and their families in developing countries and what steps can be taken to help them.