The Shared Island Dialogue will continue today with discussion on the future of education on a shared island.
Cooperation and interaction right across the education, training, and research sectors will be discussed by education representatives, according to the Irish Examiner.
Educators, students, colleges, and industry representatives will discuss topics like education disadvantage, and access to third level.
This is the seventh panel since the series of discussions was launched by Taoiseach Micheál Martin last October.
Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin will chair today's discussions, with addresses due from Minister for Education Norma Foley and Niall Collins, the Minister of State for Skills and Further Education.
According to its organisers, the Shared Island Dialogue series “provides a focus for people to engage on an inclusive basis on a shared future on the island, and a basis for broader and deeper discussions in civil society.”
“The dialogues actively seek as broad a range of perspective and experience from civil society on the island as possible and ensure the inclusion of voices that have been under-represented in the Peace Process, including women, young people, and new communities on the island.”
Previous discussions emphasised that education can be used as a starting point building “mutual understanding and reconciliation” through more opportunities for student exchange as well as cross border initiatives.
Professor Ian Greer, Vice-Chancellor, Queens University Belfast and president of Universities Ireland will also speak today.
His opening remarks will be as follows: “It’s not just cultural issues that we can address through student mobility. We can also exchange ideas between the people of Ireland and Northern Ireland which can drive innovation projects that could propel the Island of Ireland towards the kind of knowledge economy and society that we all aspire to.”
