Creative Ireland Programme meeting in Navan on Tuesday

Enabling creativity in every community is a core pillar of the Creative Ireland Programme, an ambitious five-year initiative, from 2017 to 2022, which will place our strongest assets – our culture and creative communities - at the centre of public policy. In 2016, Meath County Council demonstrated their unique capacity to activate and support community engagement and participation in marking the Centenary year through a wide range of arts, culture and heritage initiatives.

Creative Ireland aims to build on this success by leading on the development of a dedicated Culture and Creativity plan for Meath County based on the premise that participation in cultural activity drives personal and collective creativity, with significant implications for individual and societal wellbeing. 2017 will see a special focus on children and young people with the specific objective of fast-tracking the Charter for Arts in Education, which will significantly increase access and participation for children in high quality arts and culture experiences.

A network of highly experienced arts officers, heritage officers and librarians has been set up across all 31 local authorities to lead on each county’s Creative Ireland Programme and a series of public meetings will be held over the next four weeks to share ideas, develop collaborations and explore opportunities for increased investment in local arts, culture and creative industries. Additional funding to support the initiative will be made available through the Creative Ireland Programme in 2017 with the potential for further investment over the next four years. Ciarán Mangan has been appointed Creative Ireland co-ordinator for Meath County Council.

In addition, all the agencies of Government, including national cultural institutions, state agencies, Government Departments, organisations, individuals and communities will be activated to embed creativity across all aspects of their work – and use that creative potential to foster collective wellbeing and social cohesion.

Meath County Council and the Creative Ireland national team will host an open meeting on Tuesday 11th April at 7.30pm in Solstice Arts Centre, Navan to share details about the Programme and to explore opportunities to increase access, engagement and collaboration in the local arts and creative industries in Meath.

Speaking in advance of the public meeting, Jackie Maguire, Chief Executive, Meath County Council said: 'Through our recently established Culture Team, with expertise drawn from across the organization, Meath County Council looks forward to strategically leading and engaging with the Creative Ireland Programme (2017 to 2022), which places creativity at the centre of public policy.'

All are welcome, but booking is required via Eventbrite.

https://www.eventbrite.ie/e/creative-ireland-information-evening-meath-tickets-33042572223