Gaisce Winter 2024 E-Zine

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas! 

Welcome to our Winter 2024 ezine. As we approach the end of another great year at Gaisce, we want to share some highlights from this year and what’s in store for next year! Our sincere thanks to all our Gaisce PALs for your incredible work throughout the year. We can’t wait to see the fantastic things your young people will achieve in 2025!  

Nollaig Shona Duit agus athbhliain faoi mhaise dhuit from all of us at Gaisce – The President’s Award. 

What’s Coming Up

Gaisce’s 40th Anniversary

In 2025, Gaisce will reach a significant milestone—its 40th anniversary. We’re planning an amazing program of events and activities to celebrate with our PALs and Participants, and we can’t wait to let you know what we have in store in the New Year! 

Events

Gold Portfolio Workshop

Thursday, February 13th, online, 19:00 to 20:00 – Register on Eventbrite

Our Gold Portfolio Workshop – Gold Award Support Session will support Gaisce Participants and PALs with the Gold Portfolio Challenge Area. Get ideas, ask questions and leave motivated!

Going for Gold Information Session

Thursday, May 15th, online, 19:00 to 20:00 – Register on Eventbrite

Our Going For Gold – Gold Award Information Session guides participants and PALs through all aspects of the Gold Award, including the Adventure Journey, Residential Project, Portfolio, and Challenge Areas like Personal Skill, Physical Recreation, and Community Involvement. We recommend the “Going for Gold” session for anyone completing or about to begin their Gold Award journey to set you up for success!

Gold Meet-Up

Saturday, May 24th, in-person (venue TBC), 13:00 to 15:00 – Eventbrite Coming Soon!

Our Gold Meet Up is an event for Gold Participants to come from all over Ireland to Gaisce HQ to meet, network, support each other, and share your best Gaisce stories! 

Reminders

A reminder to progress payment of participants that registered in 2024 

2024 Highlights

Gold Award Ceremony 2024

The 2024 Gaisce Gold Award ceremony took place on November 21st. President Michael D. Higgins awarded 73 exceptional young people with their Gaisce Gold Award Medals.  

This year’s Gold Awardees came from 17 counties and completed more than 3,458 hours of volunteering on their Gaisce journey. 16 of the 73 awardees participated through access and inclusion pathways.  

For their challenge areas, participants engaged in activities that included learning Irish Sign Language and Chinese, hiking some of Ireland’s most challenging peaks, volunteering in youth and community work, learning a musical instrument, and developing their leadership skills.  

Our keynote speaker this year was Miriam Keegan, a former Gaisce Gold Awardee, who shared her inspiring journey from participating in Gaisce to becoming a leader in the sustainable fashion industry. We were also delighted to welcome back Irish actor and comedian Tara Flynn, who entertained the audience throughout the event.  

The Gaisce team would like to congratulate all this year’s awardees; it was a joy to celebrate with young people from so many different walks of life.  

Lá Gaisce

Our yearly celebration of all things Gaisce took place on Wednesday, October 23rd. Lá Gaisce is our opportunity to recognise and appreciate the achievements of all Gaisce Participants.  

It’s also a chance to celebrate the President’s Award Leaders (PALs), schools, youth centres, disability groups, and other organisations that support and uplift young people.  

This year, we received massive support and engagement from across Ireland, including secondary schools, youth organisations, disability groups, sports centres, youth diversion projects, TDs and Senators, Gaisce’s Council, and, of course, the Patron of Gaisce and President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins.  

Young people from all over Ireland celebrated by sharing their Gaisce stories with us, getting out and engaging in one of their Challenge Areas, holding their own Gaisce Award ceremonies and wearing their Gaisce pins with pride! 

A highlight of the day was our first-ever Gaisce Gatecrash, where Gaisce staff surprised the awards ceremony at St. Declan’s Secondary School on Nephin Road. Thirty-seven young people were set to receive their Gaisce Awards, and celebrating with the students of St. Declan’s was an incredible experience.

Youth Ambassador Panel

We are thrilled to welcome 12 amazing young people to our first Gaisce Youth Ambassador Panel. This panel will play a vital role in shaping the future of the Gaisce Award by sharing their valuable insights and serving as advocates and ambassadors for Gaisce among their peers and their communities.  

Ambassadors will benefit from training sessions and learning opportunities to enhance their Gaisce Award experience, develop their leadership skills, and strengthen their CVs. The program will explore themes such as the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), media training, and inclusion and diversity. Additionally, we will feature presentations from various guest speakers during our monthly gatherings. 

We can’t wait to introduce our Ambassadors to the Gaisce community soon! Stay tuned for the official announcement. 

Gaisce’s New LGBTQ+ Toolkit

In November, we marked BelongTo’s Stand Up Awareness Week by publishing our ‘LikeMinded’ toolkit for PALs supporting LGBTQ+ Gaisce Participants and Allies.
Promoting inclusion is everyone’s responsibility, and the best way to create a safe and supportive environment for LGBTQ+ youth is through a community-wide approach. 

Check out the resource on Gaisce’s Learning Hub: https://learngaisce.ie/document/likeminded/

Together, we can ensure that every LGBTQ+ young person feels seen, supported, and celebrated. This resource was developed with funding from Rethink Ireland.