Enniscorthy Community College endeavours to become a School of Sanctuary in the upcoming academic year 2023/24. A School of Sanctuary is an inclusive school which is a safe place for migrants and refugees. Currently the school is at the planning stage having already formed a staff committee and is the process of forming an inclusion committee with two students from all the different year groups. There will also be a dedicated place in the school to further promote all the different activities and initiatives associated with the programme. All members of the school community will also sign the pledge and there will be a whole school approach to communicating the underlying message. Initiatives such as the multicultural day, powerpoint presentations to students so that they get a better understanding of the challenges facing people new to Ireland and watching films with related themes such as the Swimmer.
Schools of Sanctuary Ireland believes that schools are the future of a harmonious and integrated Ireland, as they embrace their role in equipping generations of school goers to build an inclusive and equitable future for all global citizens. As a School of Sanctuary, schools find further motivation and structure in which to engage deeply with this role and ensure their school is safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for all students. In adopting the three Sanctuary Principles Learn/Action/Share, a school further embeds and develops its multicultural practice becoming a more inclusive and empathetic place in which diversity and equality is celebrated.
A staff committee has been set up in the school to work alongside the Inclusion Committee of students that will champion the ideals of the School of Sanctuary. In the picture above are some of the students involved:
Back Row left to right: Aaron Joby, Leon Bangert, Jules Araba, Andrei Gabriel Mirea, Gabriela Kursci, Stefanny De Souza Belo.
Front Row left to right: Maciej Barcikowski, Sofiia Bezruchenko, Leja Kisonaite, Gabriela Caires Martins.
Missing from the photo: Yagmur Keklik, Patrik Mizan and Bradley Mashamba.