Fáilte ar ais to another great year with Gaisce – The President’s Award!
This year is especially significant as we celebrate our 40th Anniversary. Throughout this milestone year, we will have some fantastic opportunities for you and your participants to join the celebrations.
We are excited to welcome Craghoppers on board as an official partner of our 40th anniversary. To celebrate, they are hosting an exclusive Gaisce in-store event at Regatta Great Outdoors in the Blanchardstown Shopping Centre.
The members of Gaisce’s first Youth Ambassador Panel have been hard at work over the past few months.
We’ve got so many exciting things in store for the Gaisce community over the next few months, and we can’t wait to share everything we’ve accomplished since the beginning of the year.
Keep reading to find out what’s happening in the world of Gaisce!
COMING UP
40 Years of Gaisce – The President’s Award
This year, we are proud to celebrate 40 years of transforming the lives of young people across Ireland.
We are planning a special challenge in honour of this milestone and hope to see all our PALs getting involved to celebrate 40 years of outstanding achievements with us.
This challenge will be open to EVERYONE, whether you missed the chance to do Gaisce in school or are a past awardee who wants to take on a new challenge. Perhaps you want to join your participants and take on something new and exciting. Our goal with this challenge is to bring everyone together to share the joy of new experiences and tackle new challenges.
We’ll share more details later this month; stay tuned to find out how you can get involved!
Later this year, we will also be hosting a conference for all PALs to come together, connect and share ideas. It’s also our chance to celebrate all our hardworking PALs around Ireland, and we hope you’ll be able to join us.
Over the past 40 years, around 20,000 inspiring PALs have answered the president’s call, dedicating themselves to ensuring that as many young people as possible have had the opportunity to benefit from and be recognised for their Award achievements.
More than 480,000 young people have registered for Gaisce since 1985, and over 250,000 young people have achieved a Gaisce Award in that time. In 2024, over 27,000 young people registered for a Gaisce Award, the highest number in our history.
We are incredibly proud to have been a part of the lives of so many young people over the past 40 years. We are grateful to everyone who has supported us, including our Gaisce Award Partners, Gaisce Awardees, and especially our Gaisce Participants and President’s Award Leaders (PALs). Gaisce PALs are truly the heart and soul of Gaisce; without them, there would be no Gaisce. They play an essential role in encouraging our participants to believe in themselves and strive to become the best versions of themselves. PALs often tell us that the best part of their work is witnessing the joy and sense of achievement when young people receive their awards.
There are a lot of exciting things in store for Gaisce PALs this year. Be sure to keep an eye on our website and social media for all the updates!
Take On Your Gaisce Adventure Journey With Craghoppers!
Craghoppers is a renowned outdoor clothing brand that has partnered with Gaisce to support young people in their pursuit of adventure with purpose as part of our 40th-anniversary celebrations. For many Gaisce participants, the Adventure Journey is one of the most memorable and thrilling aspects of the award. It provides an opportunity to step out of their comfort zones, forge strong bonds with their group, and work together to achieve success.
Craghoppers x Gaisce In-Store Evening
Join Craghoppers for an exclusive Gaisce evening in Blanchardstown on Thursday, March 27th at Regatta Great Outdoors, Blanchardstown Shopping Centre, Dublin.
Gaisce Participants and PALs are invited to come along to get advice and top tips on the essential gear needed for Adventure Journeys.
Craghoppers Ambassador, TikTok influencer Sophie Bell, a Gaisce Gold Awardee, will also be there to meet everyone, along with Gaisce Youth Ambassadors and team members. Refreshments will be served at the event, and there will also be fab goodie bags (on a first-come, first-served basis)!
Craghoppers Exclusive Discount
Craghoppers is offering an exclusive 10% discount for Gaisce Participants and President’s Award Leaders (PALs) in their retail stores and online.
Details of how to use your Craghoppers discount have been emailed to all PALs and Participants. PALs can also forward the discount email to their Participants.
Please reach out to comms@gaisce.ie if you didn’t receive your discount email.
School Summit
We are excited to announce that the Gaisce team will attend all three School Summit events across Ireland in April and May 2025. A team of Development Officers will be available at each event to answer questions and provide advice on the Gaisce programme.
Gaisce’s CEO, Avril Ryan, will also give a keynote speech at each event.
The School Summit is a two-day annual event in each province, catering to Transition Year (TY), fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-year students and their teachers. The event covers a wide and varied spectrum of topics. It allows students and teachers to Engage, Explore and Experience with the many opportunities and resources available to them across our diverse and colourful educational landscape.
Our Gaisce Development Officers will be manning the Gaisce stands at each event, so come along and visit us!
- SETU Arena, Waterford, on Monday 28th & Tuesday 29th April from 10.30 am – 1 pm
- Leisureland, Salthill, Galway on Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd May from 10.30 am – 1 pm
- Sports Campus, Dublin, on Tuesday 6th and Wednesday 7th May from 10.30 am – 1 pm
NEW CHALLENGE PARTNERS
We are excited to welcome three great organisations to our roster of Gaisce Challenge Partners: Met Éireann’s Irish Weather Rescue project, Water Safety Ireland, and Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL).
Gaisce Challenge Partners are organisations that Gaisce Participants can use to complete one or more of their Challenge Area activities – Personal Skill, Physical Recreation and Community Involvement. These partnerships enhance the Gaisce experience by giving participants inspiration and ideas so they can take on new challenges during their Gaisce journey.
Irish Weather Rescue with Met Éireann
We are delighted to partner with our national meteorological service, Met Éireann, to offer Gaisce Participants the opportunity to participate in the Irish Weather Rescue project. This initiative allows participants to make a significant contribution to climate research in their local areas as part of their Bronze Award.
The exciting project aims to engage young citizen scientists in digitising millions of historical rainfall observations collected across Ireland from the late 19th to mid-20th century.
Check out Met Eireann’s Challenge Partner Profile HERE
Water Safety Ireland
Water Safety Ireland (WSI) focuses on public awareness and education regarding water safety. Tragically, an average of 118 people drown each year in Ireland, WSI strives to reduce these incidents by increasing water safety awareness and changing attitudes and behaviours, allowing people to enjoy our aquatic environments confidently and safely.
Challenge Area Activities:
With Water Safety Ireland, Gaisce Participants can fulfil all three Challenge Areas for all three levels of the Gaisce Award!
For Community Involvement, participants can put their skills to good use and make their community safer by volunteering as a coach or lifeguard. For Personal Skill, participants can learn all about water safety and how to keep others safe. And for Physical Recreation, participants can take up swimming to stay fit!
Check out Water Safety Ireland’s Challenge Partner Profile HERE
Teaching English As A Foreign Language (TEFL)
The TEFL Institute of Ireland has well over 20 years of teaching experience and English as A Foreign Language training.
Participants can learn the skills to be effective English teachers for the Bronze or Silver Award.
Check Out TEFL’s Challenge Partner Page HERE.
Gaisce Youth Justice Networking Day
We are hosting a networking day for youth justice workers on Wednesday, March 26, 2025, at The Cavan Centre in Ballyjamesduff, Co. Cavan.
This event provides youth justice workers with an opportunity to connect with peers and engage directly with the Gaisce team to integrate Gaisce into their work effectively.
We often hear that the Adventure Journey aspect of the Gaisce Award can be challenging for those working in youth justice. This event will offer practical tips to overcome these challenges, along with direct engagement with some of Gaisce’s Approved Adventure Journey providers.
We are excited to welcome Eddie D’Arcy, former CEO of the Solas project and youth work consultant, as our guest speaker for the event. Eddie has played a key role in developing national policies related to drugs and alcohol and Youth and Children Policies and promoting a youth work approach for working with young offenders. With lecturing experience at institutions such as NUI Maynooth and Dundalk Institute of Technology, he brings a wealth of knowledge and expertise to the day.
If you are interested in attending, please get in touch with Jennifer Gallagher at jennifer@gaisce.ie.
Gaisce Youth Ambassador Panel
The Gaisce Youth Ambassador Panel have been busy since first kicking off in October 2024!
The panel had the opportunity to take part in workshops led by inspiring figures, including Eimear Manning of the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI), Gaisce’s Chair Áine Kerr, Mamobo Ogoro, CEO and Founder of Gorm Media and Miriam Keegan, Gaisce Gold Awardee and Founder of Sew Sustainable, addressing important topics such as climate justice, diversity, and inclusion, telling your story online, leadership.
Gaisce is dedicated to providing educational and training opportunities that benefit the Youth Ambassador Panel during their time advocating for Gaisce and beyond.
We can’t wait to see this remarkable group continue to make an impact as they share their ideas, shape the future of Gaisce, and leave their mark on their communities.
Approved Adventure Journey Providers
Now is the time when many Gaisce Participants are preparing for their Adventure Journeys. We have created 14 requirements to help you make the most of your Adventure Journey.
We would love to know what you’re doing on your Adventure Journey this year. You can email us at comms@gaisce.ie . You can also tag us on social media: @GaisceAward (Bluesky, TikTok, Instagram) or @Gaisce – The President’s Award (Facebook, LinkedIn). We are eagerly looking forward to seeing and sharing your adventure! Note: When sharing any content related to your Gaisce group, please ensure you have completed media consent forms from each participant.
If you need advice or have questions about your Adventure Journey, you can contact one of our Approved Adventure Journey Providers (AAJPs).
- The Adventure Journey must be planned as either an expedition or an exploration; both require journeying.
- All Adventure Journeys should be undertaken in small teams of peers between 4 and 10 people at the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Award levels. For larger groups, break up into smaller teams and start the journey at intervals.
- All journeys must be undertaken by the participants’ own physical effort – foot cycle, wheelchair, sail, kayak, etc without outside assistance. The Adventure Journey can take place on land or water.
- All Adventure Journeys should be supervised by the PAL (and appropriate supervision ratios), particularly where the participants are under the age of 18 or vulnerable adults. Where a PAL is not able to supervise the Adventure Journey, another adult from the Gaisce Award Partner who has been vetted/screened and is familiar with the Adventure Journey planning and requirements can cover it.
- All participants must be involved in the planning and preparation of their Adventure Journey.
- All participants must be properly equipped and prepared for their Adventure Journey.
- The participants must stay in a self-catering hostel, camping, or other suitable similar accommodation.
- Participants must be encouraged to understand suitable meal preparation and nutritional requirements when undertaking an adventure journey and, where possible, help to plan, make and/or organise shared meals. PALs and participants should plan meal options appropriate to the adventure journey setting and, where possible, self-catering.
- The Adventure Journey should be undertaken by a suitably trained or qualified person with experience appropriate to the adventure journey activity.
- Participants must source and transport all gear and equipment required on the Adventure Journey.
- The Adventure Journey should be challenging but within the capabilities and fitness level of the participants.
- The travel days of the Adventure Journey must be consecutive.
- The route of the journey should go from point A to point B to point C, etc., except for the Bronze Award, where looped walks are accepted.
- On Completion of the Adventure Journey, PALs should review and evaluate the experience with participants.
Gaisce FIT Choose Tech Programme
The Choose Tech Programme is a fun, dynamic, discovery-fuelled online learning platform for young people aged 15-20. It is supported and delivered by FIT (Fastrack Into Information Technology).
FIT is an official Gaisce Challenge Partner, and the Choose Tech Programme fulfils the Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards criteria. The Choose Tech Programme is packed with over 80 micro-credentials or ‘badges’ covering a variety of contemporary technology themes – Cyber Spies, Farm Tech, GIF Making, Animation, Global Development, Influencer, Coding and more.
Completing Choose Tech is a great way to gain solid and valuable knowledge of technology and lifelong learning skills, accelerating young people into further learning and employment opportunities through FIT’s tech courses. Choose Tech is also used as evidence of Continued Professional Development through the FIT Choose Tech Ambassador Award process, acknowledging those youth leaders and educators who have gained experience delivering the programme as advocates of equity in digital education for all young people.
Follow our step-by-step handy guide to create your very own Choose Tech Account – FIT Choose Tech Platform Explainer 2025
The FIT Choose Tech Team can assist you with orientation and set up the Choose Tech Programme through your unique Choose Tech Account. Contact Claire Hayes at clairehayes@fit.ie or visit Choose Tech – FIT – Tech Apprenticeships and Courses or checkout @fastrackintoit on socials.
Still interested? Check out FIT’s Choose Tech Video Choose Tech – 1 min Intro version.
Reminders
Whitelisting emails: Make sure you stay updated with all things Gaisce!
Many schools and organisations have safety controls on emails sent to young people. If participants signed up with their school email, their Gaisce ID and confirmation email might go to the junk folder. To fix this, contact the school secretary or IT Department to whitelist Gaisce.ie emails and make sure they are accepted or marked as safe.
Alternatively, they can register with their personal email or use an email address that does not expire.
Gold Portfolios
The deadline to submit your Gold Portfolio is Monday, 31st March 2025. Submitting after this date will mean they will be placed on a waiting list for next year’s Gold Award Ceremony.
There are two options for participants to submit the gold portfolio. Portfolios can be submitted digitally by emailing them to gold@gasice.ie . Alternatively, if preparing a hard copy, portfolios can be posted to our offices at Ratra House, North Road, Phoenix Park, Dublin 8, Ireland, D08 YD62, on or before 31st March 2025.
If you have Gold Participants who are looking to submit a portfolio for the above deadline, please ensure these steps are followed:
- Refer to the Gold Award Information Pack to ensure the award and portfolio meet all the relevant criteria.
- The PAL must review the portfolio and mark the award status as ‘Approved’ on the GO system.
- Ensure participants’ contact details (i.e. phone number and email) are up to date.
- The portfolio is sent by email and/or post to Gaisce by the participant on or before the deadline.
Completions
When marking your participants as approved, it’s advisable to do so in bulk to reduce the number of deliveries. If your organisation has multiple PALs, coordinating your approvals with each other can also help minimise deliveries and it also ensures your awards are delivered in time for your in-house ceremonies.
If you need any additional support, get in contact with your Development Officer: https://www.gaisce.ie/contact/