Shared Island Initiative: Creative Youth on a Shared Island
Overview
Overview
The Creative Ireland Programme was set up to enable the creative potential of people and communities, to enhance their wellbeing and the collective wellbeing of our society.
They focus on encouraging and supporting new ways and opportunities to participate in creative and cultural activities. The Creative available at www.creativeireland.gov.ie.
Encouraging creativity at all stages of life is a key element of their approach, and supporting young people from all walks of life to celebrate and explore their creativity is at the heart what they do.
Together with young people and communities, they have created the first ever day celebrating the creativity of children and young people. Cruinniú na Óg, or the gathering of young people. It takes place in June every year and showcases this creativity with 700 events — including inaugural events taking place on an all-island basis in 2023 — engaging thousands of young people.
The events range from dance to gaming, rap music, circus, drawing, theatre and more. All communities are included and encouraged to share their creativity and encourage other young people to become part of the celebration.
They are focused on enabling the creativity of every child and young person in Ireland, working collaboratively with Government departments and agencies to make our 5-year Creative Youth Plan a reality.
The Shared Ireland Dimension
The Creative Ireland Programme has the opportunity, under the Shared Island initiative to explore creative opportunities to connect and create a shared sense of community, through social interaction, dialogue and engagement.
The Shared Island initiative is a whole of Government priority to engage with all communities and political traditions to build consensus around a shared future on the island, underpinned by the Good Friday Agreement. The Shared Island initiative is backed by the Government’s Shared Island Fund, with at least €1 billion out to 2030 ring-fenced for delivery of all-island investment commitments and objectives in the Programme for Government and revised National Development Plan 2021–30.
The Shared Island dimension to the Creative Ireland Programme seeks to deploy creativity on a shared island basis to:
- Increase opportunities for cross-community cultural and creative initiatives between children and young people;
- Support local authorities to enhance networks of creativity in support of vibrant and inclusive people-to-people and community-to-community partnerships;
- Position Ireland as a global leader in demonstrating the value of creativity and mental health including in post-conflict societies;
- Deepen collaborations for a more environmentally and socially sustainable island.
What do they want?
Creative Youth on a Shared Island wants to reach children and young people across the island of Ireland. Their aim is to harness the experience and expertise of organisations working in the creative, cultural, arts, community and youth sectors to engage young people. Together we can bring children and young people together and nurture a sense of collaboration, understanding, and hope for the future, through a creative medium. The objectives of the initiative should be reflected in the projects that are applying.
They want to see cultural projects, based outside of school, within the community, that adopt a creative approach and are designed and steered by the input and participation of children and young people. You may already have an ongoing project or pilot that could be expanded with this funding. The projects must encourage collaboration between young people — the critical factor is opportunities for people across the island of Ireland to meet and engage creatively together
Applicants will be asked to demonstrate how their proposed project will:
- Connect and engage children and young people across all communities and traditions;
- Ensure children and young people are at the heart of decision making in the development of the creative project using best practice;
- Commit to supporting children and young people to access culture, creativity and the arts; and
- Evaluate and report on the process and outcomes, with input from the children and young people involved.
Creativity Element
Creativity involves innate human abilities and learned skills. Everyone has the capacity for creative engagement and expression; and this experience is an act of personal fulfilment. The forms of creativity for the projects may include, but are not limited to: Circus, — Film — Literature — Creative Writing — Music (All Genres) — Dance (All Types) — Street Arts And Spectacle — Theatre — Traditional Arts — Visual Arts — Cultural Heritage — Architecture — Multidisciplinary Arts — Podcasting — Augmented /Virtual / Mixed Reality — Fashion — Comedy — Design (All Kinds) — Digital Games — Creative Digital Technology — Animation — Coding — Cooking.
Funding Levels
They are seeking projects from partnerships that are of significant scale and ambition. They envisage a maximum grant of €180,000 per project and envisage funding at least 3 projects. Each project should be delivered by a number of partners working in collaboration. The timeframe for the projects to run are June 2024 to December 2025
Who can apply
Applications must be jointly made with at least one partner based in Ireland, and at least one partner based in Northern Ireland with a lead partner identified for the project and for the process of application.
Applications are sought from the following types of organisations:
- Youth organisations
- Community development organisations
- Arts and cultural organisations or institutions
- Family Resource Centres
- Local Authorities (not as lead partner but as part of a partnership)
- Registered Charities or not-for-profit organisations
- Philanthropic and research bodies and Foundations
- Arts and cultural organisations or institutions
- Creative organisations, networks, museums, galleries and art centres
- Education and Training Boards (ETBs)
- Social enterprises
- Business, commercial companies
As a community initiative, it is not open for schools to participate, however activities may take place in a school premises outside of school hours.
Organisations based in either jurisdiction can apply on behalf of the partnership. In your application you should clearly state who each of the partners are, and their role in the project.