Dallas Woman Wins Alliance Scholarship

Susan Ager of Dallas, Texas, is the 2004 winner of a scholarship that covers tuition and housing for a full undergraduate degree from Trinity College Dublin. Chances to win the scholarship were sold at seven Irish festivals around the country from February until September, 2004.

The opportunity to win an annual scholarship is provided by the US-Ireland Alliance, in association with several Irish universities. In 2005, a scholarship will be given for attendance at Dublin City University, and then in 2006 for the University of Limerick. Last year’s winner, Jim Tillie from Fallston, Maryland, won a four-year tuition and housing scholarship for the University of Ulster.

The winner may use the scholarship or transfer it to someone else, and it will be redeemable for an 18-year period. Ager, who purchased the winning ticket at the North Texas Irish Festival, is a violinist with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra. 

Her two sons, college-age Forrest Wilbur and high-schooler Benjamin Wilbur, have been greatly influenced by their mom’s love of music, building on their own interests of acting, writing, and musical performance. Ager and her son Forrest attended the Irish festival to hear some of the traditional music acts. "I just love Irish music," said Ager. 

"I first visited Ireland in 1997 when the DSO played in Dublin. I was enamored by Trinity College Dublin and the Book of Kells, and I remember meeting some wonderful Irish people as we traveled around the city, even a few who were students at Trinity. It’s hard to believe that now I can send a son to study there, at one of the most prestigious universities in Europe." Forrest is also fascinated with Gaelic language, myths and legends, and playing Celtic music on the piano for his own enjoyment. 

Kathleen Long, who attended the festivals on behalf of the US-Ireland Alliance, spoke of the continued success of the initiative: "After again traveling around the United States this past summer, it is clear that parents and students alike are interested in learning about international higher education opportunities. 

The Alliance is in a great position to spread the word about the affordability and high caliber of the universities and degree programs on the island of Ireland. By also providing information to parents and students on cost comparisons to American universities, we're hopeful that they will consider the Irish university option even if they didn't win the scholarship."

Information on next year’s scholarship opportunity with Dublin City University will be posted on the Alliance website – www.us-irelandalliance.org – in January, 2005.

Corporate sponsors of the US-Ireland Alliance include CRH, Cross Atlantic Capital Partners, the Crucible Corporation, Diageo, IONA Technologies, and Jurys Doyle Hotel Group.
 

Irish Emigrant Celebrates 10 Big Ones

The Irish Emigrant, the leading newspaper for the Irish-American communities in Boston and New York, will celebrate its 10-Year Anniversary with a special anniversary edition on Monday, Dec. 6, 2004. Also, to commemorate this milestone, The Irish Emigrant is launching two new Web sites for the Boston and New York editions.

Just as the print editions have focused on Irish-American community news in Boston and New York for the past decade, the expanded Online presence of The Irish Emigrant will focus on community news, institutions, events and sports that shape the views and opinions of community activists, leaders, opinion makers and citizens in New York. 

The Web site will feature an easy-to-use search engine and offer an efficient way for users to explore what is new on the entertainment and social scene. With close integration to Irish Emigrant Publications‚ Web site www.IrishEmigrant.com - the new Web sites will offer advertisers over 500,000 pageviews each month.

The Dec. 6, 2004 edition will celebrate the history and key milestones of The Boston Irish Emigrant and The New York Irish Emigrant, and will include photos of individuals and events that have been covered over the past 10 years. The anniversary editions will be flush with memories commemorating the past, while the launch of the new online edition will celebrate a leap into the future ˆ one that will be filled with many milestones to come.

The Irish Emigrant up-to-date and comprehensive news about Ireland. Two print editions, Boston and New York, are published weekly and a total of 25,000 print copies are distributed each week to over 700-plus outlets. The company operates three Web sites. The company’s core purpose is to enrich and enhance the Irish-American communities on the East Coast by creating, collecting and distributing high-quality news, information, sports and entertainment.

IEF Launches Grant Program

The Integrated Education Fund (IEF) in Northern Ireland has launched a new round of grants for schools actively working to contribute to a society where people of different cultures and traditions understand and respect their differences and recognize and appreciate what they hold in common. The Promoting a Culture of Tolerance (PACT) Program is open to all schools in Northern Ireland, as well as organizations and groups working within schools.

The PACT program was set up in 2000, with support from the Northern Ireland Fund for Reconciliation, established by Sen. George Mitchell and the pro-Good Friday Agreement parties. Since then, more than 125 schools have benefited directly and indirectly, from a grants program budget of over £300,000.

Previous grant recipients include the Partnership in Community Transformation, an organization founded by Fortwilliam Park Presbyterian Church and the Holy Family Parish that brings together churches, local schools, community and voluntary groups to help build long-term, committed relationships between communities in North Belfast.

A project by Loughshore Education Resource Centre in North Belfast focused on promoting a culture of tolerance by providing an understanding of local Asian, Chinese and Indian ethnic minority groups.

A drama production written, produced and performed by New-Bridge Integrated College in Banbridge also benefited from the PACT Program. The production was loosely based on the events in 2001 at the Holy Cross Primary School in North Belfast and was short-listed for the National Student Drama Festival.

David Heyworth, Chairman of the Integrated Education Fund commented: "We are committed to making the funding accessible to as many people as possible. The success of PACT and the growing interest in the program is testimony to the determination that exists in schools across Northern Ireland to contribute to peace building and to undertake vital cross-community work."

Applicants applied for a limited number of grants available from £1,000 to £5,000 and projects must be completed by May 2005. For more information, contact Sarah Turner, Integrated Education Fund, 41 University Street, Belfast BT7 1FY; 028 9033 0031 or email sarah@ief.org.uk.

The Integrated Education Fund (IEF) is a charitable trust established in 1992 to provide a financial foundation for the development and growth of Integrated Education in Northern Ireland. The Fund launched its development plan in October 1998 with the aim of increasing the number of school places from 3% to 10% within 10 years and to raise £10million to support this growth. To date the Fund has raised approximately £6million and has allocated the same amount in grants to schools, groups and other organizations. 

Integrated Education
In Northern Ireland, 95% of children attend segregated schools i.e. either predominately Catholic or Protestant. The first integrated school, Lagan College, opened in 1981 with 28 pupils. In September 2003 there will be 50 integrated schools in Northern Ireland, 32 primaries, many with pre-school facilities, and 18 second levels, educating over 16,500 pupils. This represents almost 5% of the total school going population.

The underpinning principle of Integrated Education is that by educating together both Catholic, Protestant and children of other faiths and none, children can learn to understand, respect and appreciate those who differ from them as well as to recognize what they hold in common. By choosing an Integrated Education, children and their parents are contributing to the peace and reconciliation process in Northern Ireland.

Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education
Established in 1987, the Northern Ireland Council for Integrated Education (NICIE) is a voluntary organization partly funded by the Department of Education. It works with parent groups to start new integrated schools, supports existing integrated schools and helps schools seeking to become integrated through the transformation process. 

Northern Ireland Community Relations Council Report 
A report commissioned by the Northern Ireland Community Relations Council found that just over half (51%) of all three year olds were able to demonstrate some awareness of the cultural/political significance of at least one event or symbol. By the age of six, a third of children are identifying with one of the two main communities and just under 15% are making sectarian statements. A key educational policy recommendation from the report was that children, from the age of three, should be encouraged to explore and experience a range of different cultural practices, events and symbols and to appreciate and respect difference and cultural diversity.