Irish soldier to visit St David’s for Global Schools initiative

St DAVID’S in Greystones is one of 40 schools nationwide to be selected as a pilot under the new ‘Global Schools’ programme.

Minister Simon Harris, a past pupil of St David’s, said that students will receive a special presentation about Ireland’s impact overseas.

An Irish soldier and diplomat will visit the school on Thursday, January 10 to tell students about ongoing efforts to restore peace in some of the world’s most volatile locations.

Minister Harris said the visit will provide students of St David’s a unique opportunity to hear first hand of the work Ireland’s diplomats and peacekeepers are doing around the globe.

‘A central theme of the programme is Ireland’s role in a changing world, and the importance of ensuring that Ireland continues to have a strong international presence across multilateral organisations,’ said Minister Harris.

‘Ireland has been committed to multilateralism since the foundation of the State, and we have been active and committed members of both the UN and the EU since our admission to those bodies,’ he said.

Minister Harris said that the programme will shortly be rolled out to every secondary schools so that all students in Wicklow can benefit During the course of the ‘Global Schools’ programme, which will run throughout 2019, it is planned that staff from the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade who have served abroad, accompanied by Irish UN peacekeepers, will visit each of the 770 secondary schools in Ireland to engage students in the concept and ambition of ‘Global Ireland’, and present each school with a UN Flag and a copy of the UN Charter.