Dáil Éireann Debate, Thursday - 21 February 2019
38. Deputy Marcella Corcoran Kennedy asked the Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht the outcome of the Culture Ireland Global 2025 conference that took place in Dublin Castle in January 2019; and if she will make a statement on the matter. [8517/19]
Amharc ar fhreagraUnder the Global Ireland 2025 initiative, Culture Ireland convened a conference of cultural stakeholders to discuss how best to establish cultural programmes that advance our global visibility and strengthen our global relationships. The conference took place on 24th January 2019 in St Patrick's Hall at Dublin Castle. Culture Ireland is aiming to increase our cultural footprint internationally through the promotion of Irish arts, heritage and culture, reaching new generations and new audiences across the world.
The conference was attended by almost 300 cultural stakeholders and was live-streamed on the Culture Ireland website and also by RTE, which increased the reach significantly. The delegates came from all areas of the arts sector and the day provided a unique opportunity for all stakeholders to network and exchange views.
A questionnaire seeking formal feedback has issued to all delegates and Culture Ireland will be reporting on the finding of that survey in due course.
The conference provided an important opportunity for the arts sector to engage with international programmers and media and to and discuss current issues facing the sector. Two of Ireland’s newly appointed Cultural Ambassadors took part in the panel discussions and the conference provided an excellent opportunity for a discussion on the importance of their role.
The conference also provided an opportunity for some Irish artists to present their work to the audience and there has been a strong interest from international programmers in providing touring opportunities for the artists featured at the conference. Subject to feedback from the delegates, it is hoped to arrange a follow up conference in the future to provide updates on progress and to further discuss the progress on the overall aim of increasing our cultural footprint.
