Equity in Education Fund 2022-2025
Supporting equal access to education for young people from minority groups experiencing disadvantage.
The Equity in Education Fund is a three-year €1,250,000 Fund created by Rethink Ireland in partnership with a private donor and the Department of Rural and Community Development via the Dormant Accounts Fund.
On Tuesday, 4th October 2022, Rethink Ireland announced the Awardees of its Equity in Education Fund. The Fund aims to support not-for-profit organisations working to enhance access to education for young people experiencing educational disadvantage based on their cultural identity or geographical location.
Awardees
Donegal Travellers Project
TravEd project, created by the Donegal Travellers Project, will aim to address the educational disadvantage experienced by Traveller and Roma children and young people living in rural Donegal. This project will be underpinned by a community development and human rights approach. TravEd will value the participation and voice of Traveller and Roma children and young people at all stages of delivery, evaluation and oversight of this project. TravEd, with the DTP team, will set out on a journey to identify the contributing factors to educational disadvantage and develop actions which improve outcomes and expectations in partnership with education providers. This project is about change. It is about rethinking the relationship with the Traveller and Roma community with education providers and with the Donegal Travellers Project to build a collective vision for the future.
Ballycommon Telework and Training Centre and Offaly Travellers Movement
Ballycommon Telework and Training Centre was founded in 1999. It is a non-profit community owned social enterprise experienced in providing training and community services to marginalised and vulnerable groups. Situated in a rural setting in the Midlands they understand the impact living in rural Ireland can have on people‘s ability to access training and education and have a proven track record of providing quality bespoke training and services to the community they serve. The Equity in Education Fund will enable them, in collaboration with Offaly Travellers Movement, to address barriers that exist for many young travellers preventing them from staying in education after the age of 16. They will work with young travellers currently in secondary schools in Offaly and provide an extra layer of support through targeted interventions to support them.
Teen-Turn
Teen-Turn addresses the numbers of third-level qualifications, particularly those related to STEM, attained by women from underserved communities. Teen-Turn achieves this by providing — from when participants are teenagers — ongoing hands on learning, exposure to consistent, invested role model mentors and long-term support through alumnae career development opportunities. Teen-Turn introduces STEM in extracurricular environments through work placements and after school activities, then bolsters participant experience by providing ongoing support to facilitate senior cycle completion and to make possible the paths that lead to employment acquisition.
The Big Idea
The B!G Idea Youthreach programme aims to empower disadvantaged youth with the most in-demand skills in the world – creative skills. By bridging the gap between industry and education, learners work on co-created projects supported by mentors in every sector across Ireland. Learners develop critical thinking, problem-solving, empathy, and communication skills in an active hybrid format working on issues that matter to them. Connecting education, industry and society, their Youthreach programme elevates our national skill base and makes meaningful change, giving our young people every advantage in any future direction they take.
