Diageo Liberties Learning Initiative

This is a wonderful example of neighbours working together for the better of the community.

Yes this Government is committed to developing the Digital hub and making it accessible to everybody.

Yes this Government does subscribe to Tip O’Neill’s belief that: ‘All Politics is local’.

And yes, it is in Diageo’s interest to invest in corporate social responsibility.

But today’s launch is not about grabbing the latest issue and running with it.

My colleagues and I have always supported the concept of investing in local issues for over 80 years: Long before Tip O’Neill said those words.

And Diageo have been part of this community and investing in this community for over 300 years.

In those days the company was known locally as Guinness-es !

The Liberties Learning initiative will, I believe, ensure that those who live near the Digital Hub will have the opportunity to get the skills needed to live in a digital age

And with those skills have the chance to be at the top of the list to fill key positions in the digital media industry.

The Digital Hub is a great asset for the community, for the technology industry and for Ireland.

I am heartened that there are now eighty companies located in the district employing over five hundred people.

This coupled with the recent establishment of the National Digital Research Centre (NDRC), which is also located here, signifies exciting times for the Digital Hub.

Indications are the global digital media market will be worth over one billion euro by 2009. This represents growth of more than thirty five percent in just two years.

Currently in Ireland there are between 400-500 technology companies in Ireland and they employ almost 3,500 people.

As the Digital Hub grows in the future, the digital media space will be a realistic platform for the next wave of innovative Irish entrepreneurs to flourish.

And I hope some of them will be from the surrounding areas.

Engaging the local community and creating new learning programmes and approaches are very important achieveables.

I am particularly heartened to see that these learning initiatives are having a positive effect in the schools and local community.

I welcome the fact that the Liberties Learning Initiative has gone a considerable way towards formulating a distinctive approach to digital literacy in teaching and learning within the project schools.

The Schools Programme experience offers a viable template that allows teachers nationwide to use digital tools in a cross-curriculum manner.
We are moving closer to having technology as a valuable day to day tool in the teachers’ repertoire as the blackboard, textbook or marker.

As many of you will be aware, Minister Mary Hannafin recently announced her intention to convene an advisory group from a range of disciplines, to advise on the best way to develop the €252 million ‘ICT in Education’ element of the National Development Plan.

The Digital Hub, and specifically the Diageo Liberties Learning Initiative, has played no small part in placing ICT, as an enabler, firmly on the educational agenda.

I am very heartened by the effectiveness of the community programme and the positive ripple effect it has had.

I believe that this initiative holds considerable potential to address the digital imbalance in this locality.

Effectively it has shown a proven ability to address the “digital divide” that exists between those who have technology, literally, at their fingertips and those who do not.
Perhaps the most powerful aspect of the Initiative has been the real engagement with the residents and community groups in this historic part of our capital city

It has also underlined the importance and impact of learning that is ‘life-long’ and not just confined to the classroom.
Its success is a testament to the sense of community and partnership that has been fostered through a shared vision.
The second phase of the Digital Hubs Development Plan, which was launched last month, is the embodiment of that vision.

Today is an opportunity to take heart from the progress made in recent years and look to building on the success of the respective programmes.

As we look to the future, the Diageo Liberties Learning Initiative and the Digital Hub itself is emerging as a beacon of what is possible with technology from an economic, social and learning perspective.

I quote Robert Kennedy: “It is not enough to understand, or to see clearly. The future will be shaped in the arena of human activity, by those willing to commit their minds to the task.”

I commend the willingness and commitment of the team who have made such progress in recent years and continue to create the very fabric of our future educational endeavours.

As the Hub embarks on an important phase of its journey, I hope it will establish itself as a unique ‘test bed’ for examining the potential impact of technology across numerous strands.

The Digital Hub is a unique space that will embrace the challenges of technology and digital media.

Together with a committed and willing community spirit, it will demonstrate how technology can enable and empower many aspects of our daily lives.

This Government is committed to working with local communities, industry and academia to improve the quality of life for all of us.

Having quoted two great leaders in this speech, I would like to finish with a quote from one more, our Taoiseach, speaking at his party’s Ard Fheis:
‘Together, we can win and secure the future, for our families and for Ireland.

We can realise our dream of one nation that gives every man and woman the chance to make the most of their lives; that gives every boy and girl the best possible start;
That takes care of the elderly; and leaves no one with a disability behind.

One Ireland, that treats every citizen with equality. One nation where, within the next decade, poverty will be ended once and for all.

The Digital Hub and the Diageo Liberties Learning Initiative can and will contribute to making this a reality

Thank you

ENDS