Over 1,000 students from schools north and south of the Border have come together to take part in four concerts aimed at exploring education in Ireland and encouraging greater links between education and business. The first of the concerts took place in the City Hall, Cork, last night and the others will be performed over the next three nights in Dublin, Belfast and Derry.
Set up as part of the North/ South Ministerial Council on Education, DOORS - Celebrating Lifelong Learning, will involve students from schools and colleges from Cork, Dublin, Belfast and Derry in four evenings of music and theatre. The event is seen as an opportunity to demonstrate the artistic talent of Irish students but this is no Riverdance.
Loosely based on the Shakespearian concept of the seven ages of man, the piece is structured around the lifelong challenges of a single student. One of the organisers, Maura Grant, an inspector with the Department of Education and Science, says: "We see the student at the age of five, 15 and 23. During a dream sequence the student meets up with a guidance councillor and has to make up her mind with regard to career options. She gets a glimpse of what the future might hold when in retirement."
The organisers have sought to be as inclusive as possible in its representations. A number of schools from disadvantaged areas are taking place, as are students with special needs from the Cope Foundation.
A number of deaf students and some retired people from Navan - five of whom are over 80 - will also take part. Some 50 schools (primary and second-level) are involved in this huge exercise. DIT's conservatory of music and drama has pitched.
The programme for the Cork concert last night included a piece of contemporary dance which portrayed the birth of the universal child (Firkin Crane Dance Centre in Cork), as well as a piece showing the learning process in a social context tots by the Early Start Programme at St Mary's on the Hill, Knocknaheeny, Cork.
For the concerts, Gearoid Grant composed an original score and the theatrical direction is supplied by Roland Jamison from the Belfast Royal Academy. The international award winning Cross Border Orchestra also played. Regardless of problems at a political level, most people agree that it is events like this that will really build bridges for future generations. Some 190 companies are involved in links with 270 schools. The North-South Council is very much hoping the event will be an important occasion in encouraging new links with business and strengthening established ones.
The audience is drawn from the leaders of industry, business, the public and voluntary sectors and education, who will, Maura Grant promises, experience an educational journey which examines the doors of opportunity potentially open to the young people of Ireland. After the show, patrons are given questionnaires and literature aimed at encouraging them to continue their engagement with schools.
A good example of this is the work of the Dublin Chamber of Commerce's Dublin schools business partnership programme which runs activities and projects to foster self development and employability in 11 disadvantaged schools. However more can be done and it is hoped that the event will inspire more companies and businesses to sign up.
To date, the event has received substantial support from Marks and Spencer, Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC), the Northern Ireland Business Education Partnership (NIBEP) and Business in the Community.
The venues for the three remaining concerts are the National Concert Hall, Dublin, March 22nd (tomorrow); Waterfront Hall, Belfast, March 23rd, and the Rialto Entertainment Centre, Derry, March 24th.
