London 2012's Cultural Olympiad races ahead
Friday, 16 October 2009Four new London 2012 Inspire marks have been awarded in Northern Ireland.
Congratulating the latest recipients of the London 2012 Inspire Marks, Culture Minister Nelson McCausland said: “I am very pleased to see local organisations engaging with the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games so enthusiastically.
“The Inspire mark process brings a different dimension to how new projects are driven forward. The requirement to demonstrate innovation combined with excellence and the development of new partnerships is very stimulating.
“The legacy will be how those new partnerships develop in the future and the way in which Inspire mark activity contributes to the delivery of local objectives.
“I would encourage everyone to look at their future projects and consider using the London 2012 Games as an inspiration to raise their profile and enhance the experience of their participants.”
The Volunteer Development Agency has two new projects – GoldMark and Creating Volunteer Champions - which will support and enhance the quality and experience of volunteers for major sports and arts events including the London 2012 Games.
There is good news for the ImagineAction Project led by Beam (Bardic Educational Arts and Media) in Donaghmore. This is the first Legacy Trust programme to be awarded a London 2012 Inspire mark. The Legacy Trust Programme ‘Connections’ will help deliver a lasting legacy from 2012 through inspiring young people and sharing best practice with the arts and sports sectors.
Libraries NI has the fourth project approved for the Inspire Mark. 'All our Saturdays’ which is a celebration of Northern Ireland's sporting excellence, is based around the former sporting newspaper, “Ireland’s Saturday Night”. More detail will be announced about this project later in the year.
Roisin McDonough, Chief Executive of the Arts Council, which leads on the Legacy Trust programme and the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad said: "I would like to congratulate the latest recipients of the London 2012 Cultural Olympiad Inspire Marks. These activities are at the forefront of bringing the cultural values of the Olympic movement right to the heart of Northern Ireland and making sure all of us get a chance to participate in the run up to the celebrations in 2012.
Irene knox, Chief Executive of Libraries NI added: "I am delighted that our proposal for a travelling exhibition has been selected for an Inspire Mark, by London 2012. The exhibition will showcase many of this country’s sporting heroes as portrayed over the years in the pages of Ireland’s Saturday Night.
“I know that it will generate much debate and discussion, particularly among those who queued every Saturday evening to secure a copy of the paper and I am sure it will bring back many happy memories. We will also be using the exhibition to stimulate a range of activities with our young people to inspire and encourage them to strive to achieve their own personal best just like the Olympians will be doing in London in 2012”
Wendy Osbourne, Director of the Volunteer Development Agency which liaises with London 2012 on its plans for recruiting Games Time Volunteers said: “Creating Volunteering Champions is about helping organisations recognise the importance of volunteer involvement and supporting them to make a commitment to good practice in volunteer management; therefore improving their existing and new volunteers’ experiences.
“By engaging with Creating Volunteering Champions organisations are commencing on a journey to fully commit to creating a culture that values, protects and empowers volunteers.”
Notes to Editors:
1. The Inspire mark is London 2012’s non-commercial brand and is assessed by their board and the IOC. This independent approval means that projects are viewed objectively and on their merits of excellence, innovation and inspiration by the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Awards are given only to initiatives of real quality and value.
2. The award of an Inspire Mark enables local projects to link their activities to the London 2012 Olympic brand and inclusion substantially raises the profile in the media both locally and across the UK.
3. The London 2012 Inspire programme is London 2012’s participation programme spanning arts and culture; sport; volunteering; education; sustainability and business skills.
4. The Inspire programme is open to non-commercial organisations to apply to be part of it and who want to use the power of the Games to drive change.
5. The latest approval of Inspire Mark awards brings the total awarded to Northern Ireland’s events and projects to twelve in total since the UK-wide programme was launched.
· Goldmark - is a dynamic volunteer initiative designed to promote and recognise sports volunteering among young people aged 16-24. It will build on the existing successes of Millennium Volunteers and include the specific inspiration of 2012 to ensure sport is included as a widely recognised voluntary activity.
· Creating Volunteer Champions - is a programme of volunteer management training for sport and arts. It is a one day training course aimed at individuals who volunteer or work in a sports club / organisation. Creating Volunteering Champions expects to enable volunteers or staff within sports clubs / organisations to be inspired by the valuable contribution volunteers bring to sport, understand how they, the sports organisation / club, can engage more effectively with potential volunteers and appreciate the responsibility in motivating and retaining volunteers.
· ImagineAction introduces sports-minded young people to the world of dance. The piece has ‘personal best’ as its central theme and will illustrate key components of success including respect, attitude, challenges, motivation and commitment, using a variety of sporting skills matched to each of the themes. For example, for ‘respect’, this will be highlighted by a martial arts routine; for ‘set goals’ the programme will use a variety of ball games including soccer, basketball, rugby etc. The performance will be followed by eleven further workshops on drama, scriptwriting, puppetry, martial arts as dance and more. The project includes ‘masterclasses’ with experts from the world of sports, dance and drama and continues over the years towards a Theatre Champions festival in 2012, delivering an all new, full length stage production which will be written with the children.
· ‘All Our Saturdays’ has been made by Libraries NI to create an exhibition and side activities at over 50 libraries across Northern Ireland. The exhibition will revolve around over a century of the publication of Ireland’s Saturday Night - Northern Ireland's best-selling community sports newspaper which now no longer exists. Much of this will tie into schools and the development of sports journalism and sports writing, education packs, inter-generational learning, reminiscence work and a key part of the project is the collecting of the general public's memories of great Northern Ireland sporting moments and achievements.
6. For more information about the London 2012 Inspire programme see www.london2012.com/beinspired or contact lorraine.conlon@dcalni.gov.uk
7. For information about volunteering contact: Lyne Greenwood, Volunteer Development Agency Tel: 028 9081 8319 lyne@volunteering-ni.org
8. For Cultural Olympiad contact: Cian Smyth, 2012 Creative Programmer for NI csmyth@artscouncil-ni.org Tel: 028 9038 5273
9. Media enquiries to DCAL Press Office on 028 9051 5047 or email: press.office@dcalni.gov.uk. Out of office hours please contact the Duty Press Officer via pager number 07699 715 440 and your call will be returned.
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