Trinity and Tallaght Community School celebrate launch of Dublin Learning City Festival
Posted on: 04 April 2022
Trinity is delighted to announce the return of Dublin Learning City Festival, the annual festival comprising in-person and online events taking place from Monday 4th – Wednesday 6th of April 2022.
The aim of the Dublin Learning City initiative is to ensure that education and learning is accessible and free for all individuals, regardless of age or cultural background, in traditional and non-traditional settings.
In celebration of the event, Trinity welcomed students and staff from Tallaght Community School (TCS) on campus to visit Provost Linda Doyle, and to share their thoughts on learning and hopes for the future.
The Trinity Access Programmes-linked school is proud of its 20-year connection with Trinity.
Dr Linda Doyle, Provost, said:
“Trinity is very proud to be a part of this wonderful festival. Recently, I had the pleasure of meeting students and teachers from Tallaght Community School and they spoke about their futures and the importance of breaking down barriers to education. This festival, with its commitment to openness, inclusion and lifelong learning provides so many new and exciting opportunities that will be of major benefit to Dublin and beyond. I strongly encourage people to engage with the festival’s programme of events.”
Several events are taking place on the Trinity campus this year including tours of the Berkeley, Lecky and Ussher libraries, a Med Day event for Trinity Access Programmes (TAP)-linked secondary schools, and a Bookmarks exhibition – a collaboration between TAP, the Library of Trinity and the School of English, where books written and illustrated by primary school students will be on display.
Alison Gilliland, Lord Mayor, said:
“I am delighted to offer my support to this wonderful event, celebrating and encouraging learning for all. Dublin has enormous potential to stimulate and support learning among its citizens in ways that can help tackle existing issues, strengthen social cohesion and solidarity, and transform the prospects of communities for the better. Lifelong learning is a key element in creating a sustainable city and society; by striving to promote Dublin as a learning city.”
Denise McMorrow, Co-Chair of Dublin Learning City, added:
“This year, we are excited to bring you our biggest and best festival yet. Winning the UNESCO Learning City award last year is a testament to the hard work that goes into Dublin Learning City, particularly our annual learning festival. It’s a very prestigious award that recognises the value in creating an inclusive educational environment in our city, not just for those who can afford it, but for people from all walks of life. We are constantly working hard to establish sustainable inter-generational learning communities in the city in order to promote lifelong learning.”
Seán Delaney, Co-Chair of Dublin Learning City, said:
“We hope that our event will help people from all backgrounds to see the fun in learning and the many diverse and different ways there are to learn. We believe that lifelong learning is crucial to the quality of an individual’s life; it boosts self-esteem, increases employability, helps individuals to meet new people from a range of different backgrounds and transcend social boundaries, all while enriching local communities.”
The project is fully funded by the Higher Education Authority (HEA) Access Initiative that brings together people and organisations including Trinity and other main education providers (UCD, NCAD, MIE, IADT, RCSI & DCU) to work targeting socially disadvantaged learners and encourage and support them to take up learning opportunities at all stages of their lives.
For more information on the Dublin Learning City Festival, visit: www.dublinlearningcity.ie/home/