Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 19 November 2020
153. Deputy Bernard J. Durkan asked the Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport and Media the degree to which interest in the arts and Irish culture can be generated through the electronic social media; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [37669/20]
View answerMy Department is actively using electronic social media, alongside traditional print and broadcast media, to raise awareness and interest amongst the public in the arts and Irish culture. My Department’s Twitter feed has 12,500 followers, the Facebook page has 8,250 followers and 6,800 people follow my Department’s activities on Instagram.
The stories and content broadcast daily across these electronic social media platforms are all devised and delivered by my officials, who regularly collaborate with Cultural Institutions, Festivals, Events, artists and schemes to ensure a steady stream of engaging, colourful and relevant stories, photography and short-form video for public presentation across the social media platforms.
My officials also regularly create social media content in Irish, and about life, sports and culture in the Gaeltacht.
The public response to this activity has been strong, and followers and engagement levels continue to grow across my Department’s platforms.
In addition, Culture Ireland, a division of my Department, is charged with promoting Irish arts worldwide, creating and supporting opportunities for Irish artists and companies to present and promote their work at strategic international festivals and venues. In 2020, in response to the challenges posed by COVID-19, it has supported the presentation of outstanding Irish work to international audiences, through online showcases at key global arts events, promoted through social media. There is also wide ranging use of social media by bodies under the aegis of the Department to host and promote Irish arts and culture events to a global audience.
Earlier this year, in direct response to the devastation wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic on the arts and cultural sector, my Department harnessed the reach of electronic social media to deliver an innovative approach to ensuring that citizens could continue to access arts and Irish culture, despite curtailments on audiences and gatherings, and also to ensure that artists could still connect with their audiences in Ireland and around the world.
The Cultural programme developed included:
Ireland Performs : A partnership with Facebook: 120 live online performances by Irish artists from their homes, supported by Culture Ireland. This attracted a global audience of 821,000 people over the six weeks of its run.
Courage programme: A series of live concerts (online and RTÉ) broadcast from a number of National Cultural Institutions, and other landmark venues, delivered by Other Voices with support from my Department. The series reached 2,700,000 people worldwide.
The Hot Press Lockdown Young and Emerging Series supported young and emerging acts joining Hot Press on Instagram for a special live performances.
In addition in 2020, as a response to the impact of the pandemic of arts and culture, my Department’s Creative Ireland programme used online and social media to:
(i) pivot Cruinniú na nÓg 2020, the annual national day of free creativity for young people, to online delivery, straight into families’ homes
(ii) support the national #ShineYourLight initiative to support frontline healthcare workers
(iii) develop and implement the #createathome initiative for the general public
(iv) establish the Positive Ageing and Creative Well-being Scheme to support older members of society
Electronic social media is a very useful channel through which my Department generates interest amongst the general public in arts and Irish culture. It is now in everyday use by my officials, and my Department will continue to work in collaboration with the sector and use its social media channels to further build on this.
