Still time to contribute your ideas at ‘Creating our Future’
A central part of the ‘Creating our Future’ campaign is bringing it to the people of Ireland, and that’s what was happenTing at the Market Square in Mullingar on Wednesday evening.
A classic Volkswagen van converted to a mobile coffee shop and lively music were installed to command the attention of passers-by, along with several people on hand to explain what was going on and how to make submissions.
Julie Byrne, chair of the advisory form for Creating our Future, (and also global head of Nokia Bell Labs External Collaboration Programs) was one of those, and she told the Westmeath Examiner: “Essentially this is an opportunity to connect ideas and concerns that people have with the research talent that we have in Ireland.
“It all communities – we want input from everybody, every corner of the country, in terms of ideas people might have to make a better future for all of us in Ireland.
“It’s inclusive of all research – it’s science and technology, but it’s also art, it can be education, literally any idea that you have that will make our future a better place.”
Ms Byrne said that among the prominent themes coming through in submissions so far are environment and health, “but no idea is too big, no idea is too small, and environment can be a big problem but it also can be as specific as save the bees, or what’s happening to my ash trees that are dying”.
Making the point that “research affects all of us”, she said: “I’m being interviewed here today on hand held devices – that would have been science fiction not that terribly long ago, we’ve seen the power of it [research and science] through the pandemic, but it really is [present] in our everyday lives and this is an opportunity to have a say, to inform the future of research in Ireland.”
Local minister, Robert Troy, was present to lend his support. He said: “It’s great to see the Creating Our Future campaign and roadshow coming to Mullingar, it’s a government initiative under the Higher Education Authority, looking at how research can help shape the future direction of our country, how research can help shape future policies and address the challenges of today and the challenges of the future.
“It’s a great opportunity for people to come to the Market Square, to have their say, and obviously this isn’t convenient for everybody, so the campaign continues so you can have your say online at creatingourfuture.ie, and I would encourage people to participate in this because nobody has a monopoly on good ideas, nobody has a monopoly on how or what way the country goes.”
Asked what happens to the ideas submitted and whether they will ever be used, Minister Troy said: “I can only speak for myself, and certainly when I have conducted public consultation campaigns, such as for the Personal Injuries Assessment Board, and I can assure people that their submissions were read, were listened to, and not everything will be adopted, but certainly they were taken on board.
“I do believe that you wouldn’t be running a very extensive, high profile campaign such as this if it wasn’t going to feed into something in the long term, so I think people can every confidence that if they take the time and effort to make a submission, it will be read, it will be acknowledged and it will feed into a process.”
For more information on how to get involved or to submit an idea, go to: www.creatingourfuture.ie. It is open until November 30, 2021