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(From left to right: Debbie Ging, School of Communications, DCU; Paul Rogers, Finglas-Cabra Partnership; Aileen Pearson-Evans, SALIS, DCU; Kerry Lawless, Finglas for Diversity Project Co-ordinator.)

Together with Dublin City University, Finglas for Diversity are developing a range of projects over the next 12 months to promote diversity within the Finglas community.

March 19-25 2006 is Intercultural Week. The week is built around and includes the United Nations designated International Day Against Racism on March 21.

Intercultural Week and International Day against Racism provide an important opportunity for statutory, Non-Government, media, youth, local development and community bodies to organise events that focus on celebrating diversity in Ireland, north and south.

One of the DCU Finglas for Diversity projects is to create a photographic mural of people, working and living in Finglas, who represent the growing diversity and interculturalism in the Finglas community.

The purpose of the project is to promote the benefits of equality and inclusion in Finglas, and to illustrate how the participation of people from diverse cultural backgrounds benefits Finglas.

The mural went on display in Finglas village on Tuesday [March 21st] and public reaction has been very positive to date. Even on one of the coldest days of the year people stopped to chat about the changing face of Finglas.

The project has brought together students form the School of Communications and SALIS, the School of Applied Languages and Intercultural Studies and the School of Education Studies in DCU with community workers and activists in Finglas.

The project promotes an ethos of learning by doing and provides DCU students with the opportunity to develop their skills further in a practical community setting. Community groups in turn benefit through having the full access to a range of specialist and technical skills in the university.

The photographs will be public display in Finglas village on Tuesday March 21, Wednesday March 22 (at Superquinn) and Thursday March 23rd (at Tesco Clearwater).

The photographs for the mural were taken by Ignacio Irigoien a Basque photographer living and working in Finglas. Other photos capturing the spirit of the event were taken by DCU student Lorna Duffy.

For further information on the DCU Finglas for Diversity project or if you would like to have the mural on display in your organisation or school contact Kerry Lawless on 087 825 4545 or check out the DCU website www.dcu.ie.

This is one of a range of Finglas for Diversity initiatives involving DCU students. Others include the production of a short animated film for use
in training, a study of internet use among diasporic groups in Finglas, the design and development of the Finglas for Diversity website and the production of anti-racism public information campaigns and posters. At postgraduate level, projects include a needs analysis of supports required in primary and post primary schools, a needs analysis of cultural and linguistic barriers to health care within Finglas and an audit of existing intercultural and anti-racism training materials in the formal and informal education sector.

A full research report, as well as the various media artefacts resulting from the project, will be launched in during Anti-Racist Workplace Week in November 2006.

The Finglas for Diversity Project is funded by the Finglas-Cabra Partnership and by the DCU Learning Innovation Unit. The animation work by Multimedia students, which is part of the development of a teacher-training pack, is funded by citizenship2005.ie.

Here are some additional photos taken by one of the DCU students involved Loran Duffy