The Portal Out and About: Connecting and Learning

Arts in Education Portal

Over recent months, the Portal team has enjoyed attending key conferences and events, providing valuable opportunities to connect with colleagues and learn from developments across the arts, education, community and youth sectors.

Earlier this month, we attended Shaping the Future: Young People and Artificial Intelligence, an event organised by the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI) at DCU in Dublin.

The event featured a panel discussion with Mick Ferron, CEO of NYCI; Dr Abeba Birhane, member of Ireland’s AI Advisory Council and Adjunct Assistant Professor at the School of Computer Science and Statistics, Trinity College Dublin; Amanda Jolliffe, Dream Space Lead at Microsoft; and Nathan Geszczak, a young person who participated in NYCI’s youth consultation on AI.

The event marked the launch of ‘Irish Young People Decode AI: Verdicts from NYCI Citizens’ Youth Juries’, a report presenting young people’s views, concerns, and recommendations on artificial intelligence and emerging technologies.

Amanda Jolliffe, a former post-primary teacher, highlighted the importance of nurturing the skills that will remain essential in an increasingly technological world, noting that fundamental human capabilities such as creativity and critical thinking will continue to be vital and should be actively fostered in young people.

Speaking at the launch, Mick Ferron, CEO of the National Youth Council of Ireland, said: “AI is already shaping how young people learn, communicate, access information and understand the world around them. But young people have been clear through this process: they do not want to be left to figure this out alone.”

Nathan Geszczak, aged 16, who participated in the AI Juries, added: “There is sometimes an assumption that young people are ‘digital natives’ who automatically understand new technologies. What we heard through the juries is that young people need far more support, including practical education and accessible information we can trust.”

These conversations resonate strongly with the work of the Arts in Education Portal. As we continue to build a community of practice for teachers, educators, artists, and creative practitioners, it is essential that we engage with emerging developments such as AI while continuing to champion the creativity, critical thinking, and human connection that underpin meaningful arts in education experiences.

Panel of speakers at NYCI event ‘Shaping the Future: Young People and AI’ at DCU, Dublin.

In May, we were delighted to attend The Wheel Summit 2026, held at The Helix at DCU. The theme of the event was  Community at the Heart of our Democracy. The day offered an opportunity to meet civil society organisations that work in the community and voluntary sector throughout Ireland.

In his opening keynote address, Séamus Boland, President of the European Economic and Social Committee (EESC), highlighted that “progressive support for disability is being eroded” and noted that both online and in everyday life we are witnessing an increase in racism, misogyny, and division. Responding to these concerns, Lorraine Egan, Chief Executive Officer of Horizons Cork, spoke about the importance of cross-sectoral cooperation in countering this harmful shift towards right-wing discourse and emphasised the need for solidarity within the community and voluntary sector.

As the Portal is committed to prioritising accessibility, inclusion, and diversity, we welcomed the acknowledgement of these challenges and joined the call for greater cross-sectoral collaboration in addressing the rise in hate and division.