Ten Cork primary schools named regional finalists in Our World Irish Aid Awards

Ten Cork primary schools have been named regional finalists in the prestigious annual Our World Irish Aid Awards, including  pupils and teachers from Liscarroll National School and Newmarket Girls National School, who will showcase their projects alongside five other schools at the regional final event which will take place in Cork on Thursday, 18th May. Congratulating the teachers and pupils at all ten Cork primary schools who made it to the regional final, Minister of State for the Diaspora and International Development Joe McHugh T.D. said that the standard of project entries this year had been exceptionally high. “The standard of entries this year was exceptionally high and, having met to choose the regional finalists, the judges now have a difficult task ahead of them in order to decide which of the 60 entries across the four regional finals will go on to the national final event,” he said.
Now in their 12th year, the Our World Irish Aid Awards help primary school pupils learn about the lives of children and their families in developing countries, and how Ireland and 192 other countries are working together to create a safer and fairer world and a better future for all the world’s children through the U.N. Global Goals for Sustainable Development. This year more than 1,300 primary schools across the country have been exploring the theme of ‘For People and Planet’ which was designed to help pupils understand the interdependence between people and the natural world, and how the wellbeing of people, wildlife and the environment is interconnected.  Through online teaching and learning materials, they have learnt specifically about the lives of children and their families in Irish Aid’s eight partner countries. Each entry was assessed on its creativity, understanding of the theme and its impact. All schools chosen to participate in the Cork regional final, which is one of four regional finals, will be presented with an ‘Our World Irish Aid Award’ plaque, and three schools will be selected to compete alongside nine other schools in the Our World Irish Aid national final in Dublin Castle on Tuesday 13th June, at which the overall winner will be presented with an ‘Our World Irish Aid Awards’ trophy.  There will also be additional special awards for the Teacher of the Year and Best Newcomer School.