On 3 October the Integrated Education Fund (IEF) and the Integrated AlumNI hosted a very special ‘Education Unplugged’ event in Ulster University.
The event focused on the opportunities and challenges facing the first Integrated Irish-medium primary school due to open in 2025, while touching on the other many issues within the education sector in Northern Ireland.
Integrated AlumNI trustee Grace Boyle hosted the event with keynote addresses from Irish Language advocate Linda Ervine MBE and IEF Chair Peter Osborne. The event brought together Integrated school alumni, educationalists, Ulster University students and representatives from the East Belfast Community.
Grace opened the event with the statement:
‘Integrated Education is a powerful catalyst for peace and reconciliation.’
The positive contribution of Integrated Education in Northern Ireland’s post-conflict society was a common theme weaved throughout the evening.
The first keynote speaker was Linda Ervine, the founder of the Irish language project ‘Turas’ and co-founder of Scoil na Seolta, the first Integrated, Irish-medium primary school and nursery school in East Belfast. Linda shared her experience of coming from a working-class background to becoming a teacher herself. She highlighted the inequalities and class barriers that she saw first-hand in the education system, which led to her embracing bilingual immersive education, she commented:
‘We didn’t see immersive education as a cure-all but it’s one of the things that might help.’
Linda continued to explain her passion for Irish language and also for Integrated Education:
‘Determined it would be an Integrated school, we don’t believe in segregating children at three years old.’
She also commented on ‘Integrated Education as the future’, highlighting the power of integration to make a real difference, ‘Integrated opens the door and makes sure everyone comes in.’
Peter Osborne, Chair of the IEF Board of Directors, has been involved in good relations and reconciliation most of his life working in the private sector and with many public agencies and Councils. He responded to Linda saying that she was ‘shifting the paradigm’ with this ‘courageous step’ in East Belfast. He also commended Linda for her work supporting the Irish language, saying:
‘Unfortunately, the Irish language has been wrongly perceived as belonging to one side of the community, but not the other.’
Peter took the opportunity to raise the important issue of funding in the current education system in Northern Ireland. He raised the issue of the cost of division, focusing on the significant cost of busing children to school and driving past several other local schools on the way. Peter highlighted the importance of dismantling ‘conflict architecture’ and how Integrated Education was a key proponent for peace and reconciliation in Northern Ireland.
Paul Collins, Head of Public Affairs and Advocacy at the IEF, said:
‘The IEF is an independent charity that supports the growth and development of Integrated Education in response to demand from parents and schools. Therefore, the initiative to establish an Integrated Primary School through the medium of Irish is something the IEF is pleased to support. An Integrated school seeks to educate children of different cultures and beliefs and of none and also reasonable numbers of both Protestant and Roman Catholic traditions. We wish the project every success moving forward. Thank you Linda for sharing your passion for both Irish language and Integrated Education with us here tonight.’
The event closed with an engaging Question and Answer session.
For more information on the Integrated AlumNI see: https://www.integratedalumni.org/
To see more about the Integrated Irish Medium school, Scoil Na Seolta see: https://www.scoilnaseolta.org/
