Special Initiatives

Imagination and the Nation / Samhlaíocht agus An Náisiún

During 2019, President Higgins attended or hosted 27 events related to the “Samhlaíocht agus An Náisiún – Imagination and The Nation” initiative, which is aimed at highlighting the powerful and transformative role of art and creativity in the evolution of Ireland as a republic and an idea.

The creative arts have often played an important role in bringing together the many strands of Ireland’s past, present and future, teasing through the tangle of history, taking up hidden threads in our social fabric and weaving new possibilities for the future.

Art allows us to reflect on different lived experiences, past and present, bearing witness, bringing healing and calling to action. It is intrinsically inter-generational – allowing for connections and conversations to be forged and renewed in different times and changing circumstance.

The Imagination and the Nation initiative is grounded in the themes President Higgins has put forward as part of his vision for Ireland, including Equal Participation and Sustainable Communities. It highlights the necessity of art and creativity in contemporary Irish life and its power to engage, challenge, transform and empower, and celebrates moments of collective creativity and vision-making – imagining and achieving a more equal republic and a better shared future.

Unveiling a sculpture in honour of Luke Kelly, January 2019

Shared Ireland, Shared Island

Helping to uphold respectful and peaceful relationships between the people and communities of this island is at the heart of the President’s “Shared Ireland, Shared Island” initiative.

The ‘Shared Ireland, Shared Island’ initiative is aimed at sparking an inclusive discussion on how we can all thrive on the island of Ireland, while living in harmony with respect for our complex history.

In the past year, President Higgins attended or hosted nine events relating to this Special Initiative.

Since his 2011 inauguration as President of Ireland, President Higgins has spoken of the importance of safeguarding and deepening our warm relationships with the communities of Britain, Europe and the wider world, and his meetings and visits abroad have all been aimed towards strengthening international and inter-communal relations.

President Higgins has invited thinkers from various backgrounds, communities and cultural groups to Áras an Uachtaráin, working to sustain positive relationships between everyone on this island, and with our neighbours. The ‘Shared Ireland, Shared Island’ initiative reflects the spirit and intent of the Good Friday Agreement and builds on its architects’ great work to ensure reconciliation remains central to our future notwithstanding the potential strains of international developments and political uncertainties.

Opening Áras Uí Chongaile in Belfast, April 2019. Photo: Kelvin Boyes

Dr. Mary Murphy, Prof. Mariana Mazzucato and Prof. Ian Gough were guest speakers at the seminar on Rethinking the Role of the State, November 2019

Rethinking the Economy

Since his inauguration in 2011, President Higgins has sought to promote greater public debate about societal change, engaging with a number of significant topics. One of those key themes has been the issue of economic policy, and policy-making.

In many of his speeches, President Higgins has spoken of the importance of promoting greater understanding of, and public engagement with, economic policy, of decision-making processes, and of the policies that might replace those that have resulted in growing inequality and threats to the planet.

With this new special initiative, the President is seeking to encourage spaces and actions that will facilitate the necessary steps towards new models of re-defined development, balancing economics, ecology, ethics and social cohesion.

In November 2019, the President hosted a seminar on 'Rethinking the Role of the State in Fostering a Sustainable and Inclusive Economy', chaired by Dr. Mary Murphy of Maynooth University, which was intended as a founding discussion on how to promote the new “ecological-social paradigm” of which the President has been speaking, with a view to reversing social and environmental damage, reducing inequality and lessening the risks to social cohesion.

In his presentation, President Higgins argued that we are asked to respond to a set of inter-connected crises, requiring a sharing of intellectual work and consciousness. Professor Gough outlined how an alternative paradigm, rooted in the concept of human need, can champion gender equality, and a fairer distribution of income, wealth and resources, and Professor Mazzucato discussed why economic theory needs to move away from a focus on fixing market failures, towards actively co-creating and shaping markets to deliver outcomes for the public good.

During 2019, President Higgins hosted or attended six other events related to this new initiative.

Remembering the Great Flu Pandemic

In May 2019, President Higgins hosted a seminar marking the centenary of the great flu pandemic of 1918-1919.

Popularly known as the Spanish Flu, the 1918-1919 pandemic infected an estimated 500 million people worldwide - some 800,000 in Ireland - and killed 3-5% of the world’s population. The pandemic is estimated to have killed 23,00 people in Ireland.

As Ireland marks the "Decade of Centenaries", highlighting the seminal events of the 1912-1922 period, President Higgins invited researchers, scholars and journalists to mark the Spanish Flu pandemic of a hundred years ago.

The seminar was entitled 'Commemorating The Great Flu of 1918-1919' and featured contributions from President of Ireland Michael D. Higgins; Dr. Ida Milne, Lecturer in European History at Carlow College; Dr. Patricia Marsh, Curatorial in The Public Records Office of Northern Ireland (PRONI); and Professor Guy Beiner, professor of modern history in Ben-Gurion University of the Negev.

Gaisce – The President’s Award

Gaisce - or ‘great achievement’ - is a self-development programme for people between the ages of 15-25. Founded in 1985, the programme is a direct challenge from the President of Ireland to young people in Ireland to do their utmost to make a difference in society.

Since his first inauguration in 2011, President Higgins has been a strong supporter of the Gaisce programme, as part of his focus on active citizenship and the promotion of a more inclusive society, paying tribute to Gaisce volunteers for their community work and their support for civil society groups, and highlighting the important role of the President’s Award Leaders, who guide the young people in the development of their talents.

Acutely aware of the importance of extending access to the programme, President Higgins has been encouraging Gaisce to place more emphasis on engaging with disadvantaged young men and women, by expanding the “President’s Challenge” programme to include people in detention and in direct provision centres.

As well as presenting Gold awards to 77 young men and women in Dublin Castle in December 2019, in the past year President Higgins has also presented Gaisce participants with awards in the Midlands Prison and in Loughan House, and in June he invited representatives from the Irish Prison Service and Gaisce to Áras an Uachtaráin, to mark the growing collaboration between the two organisations.

In February 2019, President and Sabina Higgins visited a memorial commemorating the Birmingham pub bombings of November 1974.

The memorial in central Birmingham was designed by artist Anuradha Patel and features three metal trees carrying the names of the victims. The memorial was unveiled in late 2018 and was a project driven by the Birmingham Irish Association, with the support of victims’ families and Network Rail.

In October 2019, President Higgins hosted an event for families campaigning for justice for the Birmingham bombing victims, and for representatives of the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation.

Celebrating the work of Ireland’s women researchers, 8 March 2019

Women’s Days

Each year President Higgins hosts an event to mark 8 March, International Women’s Day, and each year, the President chooses a different theme for this event.

In 2019, President Higgins used the International Women’s Day event to highlight the work of women in the sciences. The reception at Áras an Uachtaráin aimed to apply the international motto for the day, ‘Balance for Better’, to the realm of academia, emphasising the benefit of diversity in academic work and paying tribute to the work of Ireland’s female researchers.

Internationally and in Ireland, women are largely underrepresented in science and academia, with only 30% of scientific researchers worldwide being women. Research suggest that various practices in academia are causing this gender inequality, including the organisation of academia and academic networking, the way academic excellence is constructed, and the lack of informal support systems for women. The 8 March event was aimed at addressing this latter point, by providing a place for women researchers to meet and share experiences.

President and Sabina Higgins invited some 150 female researchers to Áras an Uachtaráin, in celebration of the value of science and the work of female scientists, whether they are young researchers at the beginning of their academic careers, or internationally renowned experts.

Throughout the year, the President hosted a range of events aimed at encouraging and celebrating women’s empowerment, and he also paid tribute to organisations and initiatives aimed at reducing violence against women.

To mark the 16 Days of Action and the International Day for the Eradication of Violence Against Women in November, President Higgins hosted a reception for the International Women's Club of Dublin. The event was one in a series of events at which the President has highlighted the serious issue of gender based violence, and President Higgins used the reception to highlight the fact that each year, 50,000 women worldwide are killed by their partners or family members.

Meeting the International Women’s Club of Dublin, November 2019

President and Sabina Higgins visiting Listowel to celebrate its success in the Tidy Towns competition, May 2019