Inaugural Lecture:

UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth and Civic Engagement March 4th 2009

Professor Chris CurtinSchool of Political Science and Sociology

NUI Galway

Dr James J. Browne President

NUI Galway

Mr Nicholas BurnettAssistant Director-General for Education

UNESCO

President of Ireland,

Mary McAleese

Róisín Dolan Student

NUI Galway

Professor Pat Dolan UNESCO Chairholder

NUI Galway

Children and Citizenship: Lesson from History, Messages for the Future

Professor Pat Dolan UNESCO Chair, NUI Galway

“The best of life is life lived quietly, where nothing happens but our calm journey through the day, where change is imperceptible and the precious life is everything”

(John McGahern - Memoir)

In this Lecture….

1. Consider- Family Support and prevention - Initial Connection to Civic Engagement

2. Lessons from History 3. Locate Civic Engagement in Children/Youth –

Rights, Social Support and Resilience4. About our UNESCO Agenda & Programme5. Provide some view to the future

• There is the prospect that with support, children can and do overcome adversity – Echoes McGahern

• Core to the mission of Ireland, UNESCO, as well as the wider United Nations family

• Family Support builds on the strengths of children, their families and communities

• Recognise children’s strengths as a resource - their civic activation gives this expression

Starting Point

Understanding the centrality of Family Support

• Nuclear and extended kinships, friends, school and community resources as proven sources of help

• but unsung heroes / often overlooked (Cutrona 2006)

• Child and Family Research Centre - advancing Family Support -key way to help children in adversity.

• But not alone in this quest!

• Valuing Young People today - not just into future• Children’s proven capacity to be civically active in

communities• Examples: Tsunami - 9/11• Should not take extreme events to see this• Major Benefit in Family Support - by being

supportive to others young people benefit themselves,

• Such Capacity - A particular issue for disadvantaged children

Initial Connecting ofFamily Support to Civic Engagement

What I have learned• Life/work experience and from my research

• For those in adversity, civic engagement can lead to significant improvement - and help rebuild key relationships

• But I am on a journey (with others) – new beginning to find out!

Some Lessons from the Past

Thomas John Barnardo

Victor Bewley

Those who realised Children need for Prevention and Intervention

Early recognition of Children as Valued Citizens by Pioneering Women of the state

“The Countess” et al! “Children’s Patriot Treat”Assembled 30,000 children in Dublin 1900 (McCoole 2004)

Lessons From the Past – Children & Youth With Value and Voice

Charles Dickens(1812 – 1870)1. Young Pip!2. The Urania Project3. The Ragged Schools• Led by Children and

Youth Participants• Early Mentoring(Hartley, 2008)

Rights, Social Support and Resilience as aspects of Children, Youth and Civic Engagement

Respect for Children and Youth

• Underpinning Rights as part of Civic Engagement• Social Justice in Children and Youth (Honneth

1995) – “Recognition” • Hypothesis: If children and youth are valued,

they will be civically engaged (political and social)

Social Support - Player in Civic Engagement

“Acts of Assistance Between People”“Bread and Butter of Relationships”

Sources, Types & Qualities (Weiss 1976)

Proven Buffer to Stress - (Cassells, 1974)

Civic Engagement Playing Pitch

Resilience“Doing Better than expected”“Bouncing Back” “overcoming the Odds” (Masten 2004)

Weighing Scale - Protective and RiskSuccess in Hobbies (Gilligan 2009) How can this

be built through Civic Engagement?

Civic Engagement & Child Rights Internationally

• Bound by issues such as religion, class and genderExamples of Issues in:• Republic of Ireland• Countries in transition• Sub-Saharan Countries

Reciprocal learning Need for Cultural Competence (Husain, 2006)

particularly in North South Relationships (World Bank 2006)

Rights and Respect for Children/Youth

Rights and Respect for Children/Youth

Civic EngagementActivation

Enlisted Social

Support

Enabled Resilience

For C & Y (universal)For C & Y

In Adversity

Central for Fóroige Mission and CKI NUI Galway Programme

The incoming UNESCO Programme on Children Youth and Civic Engagement

Programme Components

Research

Teaching

Programme Development & Assurance

Policy and Advocacy

Evaluated over time

Programme Components

Research

Teaching

Programme Development & Assurance

Policy and Advocacy

Evaluated over time

Initial Partners & Countries

Zambia

Lithuania

Bulgaria

Other States to Follow Countries Post Conflict?

Reciprocal Learning Between Partners

Children &Youth

NGOs/State

Universities

Ireland

1.Assumptions 2.Mechanisms3.Barriers4.Most effective interventions5.Effects on young people6.Impact on the communities

Core research questions that will guide the programme include:

• All-Island Baseline on Wellbeing/Civic Engagement of Children with University of Ulster (Policy)

• Intergenerational Research - Wisdom/Support with Zambia (Research)

• International MA in Youth Leadership - CKI (Teaching)

• Active Citizenship and Youth-led Mentoring with Lithuania/Bulgaria Fóroige (Programme)

Examples of Products

Finally, we will be successful if…

“Enable Great Expectations”

• Younger people are respected, included more, active & engaged citizens.

• With enhanced social support - greater resilience,

Experiencing life in John McGahern mode:

‘precious’ with ‘calm journeys’ through each day

Thank You

To the memory of my parents

Mollie and Michéal Dolan, and my brother Matt Dolan.

Inaugural Lecture:

UNESCO Chair in Children, Youth and Civic Engagement March 4th 2009