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Inaugural Lecture:
UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth and Civic Engagement March 4th 2009
Professor Chris CurtinSchool of Political Science and Sociology
NUI Galway
Dr James J. Browne President
NUI Galway
Mr Nicholas BurnettAssistant Director-General for Education
UNESCO
President of Ireland,
Mary McAleese
Róisín Dolan Student
NUI Galway
Professor Pat Dolan UNESCO Chairholder
NUI Galway
Children and Citizenship: Lesson from History, Messages for the Future
Professor Pat Dolan UNESCO Chair, NUI Galway
“The best of life is life lived quietly, where nothing happens but our calm journey through the day, where change is imperceptible and the precious life is everything”
(John McGahern - Memoir)
In this Lecture….
1. Consider- Family Support and prevention - Initial Connection to Civic Engagement
2. Lessons from History 3. Locate Civic Engagement in Children/Youth –
Rights, Social Support and Resilience4. About our UNESCO Agenda & Programme5. Provide some view to the future
• There is the prospect that with support, children can and do overcome adversity – Echoes McGahern
• Core to the mission of Ireland, UNESCO, as well as the wider United Nations family
• Family Support builds on the strengths of children, their families and communities
• Recognise children’s strengths as a resource - their civic activation gives this expression
Starting Point
Understanding the centrality of Family Support
• Nuclear and extended kinships, friends, school and community resources as proven sources of help
• but unsung heroes / often overlooked (Cutrona 2006)
• Child and Family Research Centre - advancing Family Support -key way to help children in adversity.
• But not alone in this quest!
• Valuing Young People today - not just into future• Children’s proven capacity to be civically active in
communities• Examples: Tsunami - 9/11• Should not take extreme events to see this• Major Benefit in Family Support - by being
supportive to others young people benefit themselves,
• Such Capacity - A particular issue for disadvantaged children
Initial Connecting ofFamily Support to Civic Engagement
What I have learned• Life/work experience and from my research
• For those in adversity, civic engagement can lead to significant improvement - and help rebuild key relationships
• But I am on a journey (with others) – new beginning to find out!
Some Lessons from the Past
Thomas John Barnardo
Victor Bewley
Those who realised Children need for Prevention and Intervention
Early recognition of Children as Valued Citizens by Pioneering Women of the state
“The Countess” et al! “Children’s Patriot Treat”Assembled 30,000 children in Dublin 1900 (McCoole 2004)
Lessons From the Past – Children & Youth With Value and Voice
Charles Dickens(1812 – 1870)1. Young Pip!2. The Urania Project3. The Ragged Schools• Led by Children and
Youth Participants• Early Mentoring(Hartley, 2008)
Rights, Social Support and Resilience as aspects of Children, Youth and Civic Engagement
Respect for Children and Youth
• Underpinning Rights as part of Civic Engagement• Social Justice in Children and Youth (Honneth
1995) – “Recognition” • Hypothesis: If children and youth are valued,
they will be civically engaged (political and social)
Social Support - Player in Civic Engagement
“Acts of Assistance Between People”“Bread and Butter of Relationships”
Sources, Types & Qualities (Weiss 1976)
Proven Buffer to Stress - (Cassells, 1974)
Civic Engagement Playing Pitch
Resilience“Doing Better than expected”“Bouncing Back” “overcoming the Odds” (Masten 2004)
Weighing Scale - Protective and RiskSuccess in Hobbies (Gilligan 2009) How can this
be built through Civic Engagement?
Civic Engagement & Child Rights Internationally
• Bound by issues such as religion, class and genderExamples of Issues in:• Republic of Ireland• Countries in transition• Sub-Saharan Countries
Reciprocal learning Need for Cultural Competence (Husain, 2006)
particularly in North South Relationships (World Bank 2006)
Rights and Respect for Children/Youth
Rights and Respect for Children/Youth
Civic EngagementActivation
Enlisted Social
Support
Enabled Resilience
For C & Y (universal)For C & Y
In Adversity
Central for Fóroige Mission and CKI NUI Galway Programme
The incoming UNESCO Programme on Children Youth and Civic Engagement
Programme Components
Research
Teaching
Programme Development & Assurance
Policy and Advocacy
Evaluated over time
Programme Components
Research
Teaching
Programme Development & Assurance
Policy and Advocacy
Evaluated over time
Initial Partners & Countries
Zambia
Lithuania
Bulgaria
Other States to Follow Countries Post Conflict?
Reciprocal Learning Between Partners
Children &Youth
NGOs/State
Universities
Ireland
1.Assumptions 2.Mechanisms3.Barriers4.Most effective interventions5.Effects on young people6.Impact on the communities
Core research questions that will guide the programme include:
• All-Island Baseline on Wellbeing/Civic Engagement of Children with University of Ulster (Policy)
• Intergenerational Research - Wisdom/Support with Zambia (Research)
• International MA in Youth Leadership - CKI (Teaching)
• Active Citizenship and Youth-led Mentoring with Lithuania/Bulgaria Fóroige (Programme)
Examples of Products
Finally, we will be successful if…
“Enable Great Expectations”
• Younger people are respected, included more, active & engaged citizens.
• With enhanced social support - greater resilience,
Experiencing life in John McGahern mode:
‘precious’ with ‘calm journeys’ through each day
Thank You
To the memory of my parents
Mollie and Michéal Dolan, and my brother Matt Dolan.
Inaugural Lecture:
UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth and Civic Engagement March 4th 2009