Creative Ireland Programme

Creative Ireland Programme
The Creative Ireland Programme is an all of government five-year initiative that seeks to place creativity at the centre of public policy and at the heart of everything we do as a people. The Programme is built around five key pillars: Enabling the Creative Potential of Every Child; Enabling Creativity in Every Community; Investing in our Creative and Cultural Infrastructure; Ireland as a Centre of Excellence in Media Production; Unifying our Global Reputation.

Local Authorities have been mandated to take the lead on encouraging creativity in every community and to this effect 31 City and County Plans (representing the 31 Local Authorities in Ireland) have been put together. These strategies were drawn up around the country in consultation with local artists, creatives, cultural and heritage organisations, community groups, people involved in the creative industries, and many more besides. The Strategy aims to provide meaningful opportunities for citizens and local communities, together with our Local Authorities, to nurture, sustain and facilitate participation in cultural and creative activities. The Strategies were recently launched on the National Level by An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar TD., joined by Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht Josepha Madigan TD., and Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government Eoghan Murphy TD.

Speaking at the launch in Dublin the Taoiseach noted “Creative Ireland is all about improving access to culture and creativity in every county nationwide, to improve public wellbeing. Through Creative Ireland we are prioritising and promoting arts and culture at a local, national and international level because an active and engaging cultural sector can enrich every aspect of our society and every stage of our lives. Through these Culture and Creative Strategies, we hope more and more people will become involved in artistic and cultural pursuits in their own local area, with all of the vitally important social, and indeed economic, consequences that follow.”

The County Cork Culture and Creativity 5-Year Strategy will be launched at the local level on November 9th 2018 as part of the Creative Ireland County Cork Conference, which will be held in Baile Mhúirne. More information  on the strategy launch and the conference will be available over the coming weeks.