Garden party at the Áras

The Centre's SPIEPS (Strengthening the practice of intercultural education in primary schools) project committee were delighted to be welcomed to Áras an Uachtaráin yesterday as President Michael D. Higgins hosted a garden party to emphasise the work of Irish organisations that support positive integration of refugees and migrants. The event was organised in conjunction with the Department of Justice and the UN refugee agency in order to mark World Refugee Day. The project promotes and supports the positive integration of migrants within Irish primary schools, through effective intercultural education for all children. It engages the wider school community, contributes to an alternative narrative on migration and fosters global citizenship. The project builds on the Centre’s extensive experience of managing and delivering intercultural education, human rights and global citizenship education programmes for teachers and will specifically work to strengthen the competence and confidence of 150 teachers at primary level in Ireland to integrate intercultural education in their teaching practice and wider school environments. Members of the project committee include: Paula Galvin, Adekunle Gomes, Alina Horlescu, Tian Yu Loyd, Cecelia Gavigan and project coordinator, Malgosia Machowska-Ksociak, For more information about the project or its upcoming summer schools for teachers, please contact malgosia.machowska-kosciak@dcu.ie