Archive for September, 2010
Farmleigh Fellowship applications being accepted for Asian business studies
Thursday, September 30th, 2010I wrote about this Asian fellowship when it was first announced. Now is the time to apply, if you’re a graduate interested in spending a a year studying for a Master’s in Asian Business. It’s a fascinating innovation involving members of the Irish business community based overseas, and it’s an outgrowth of last year’s Global Irish Economic Forum at Farmleigh.
Here’s the suss, sent to me by Donagh Fitzgerald of the Farmleigh Fellowship Team.
The Farmleigh Fellowship
The Farmleigh Fellowship is an innovative and exciting scholarship programme linking Ireland and Asia. We are looking for outstanding individuals with drive and energy to place on a twelve month work-study programme with three months at UCC (School of Asian Studies) in Ireland, four months at NTU (Nanyang Business School) in Singapore (whose MBA programme is ranked No. 3 in Asia-Pacific.) and five months at selected Farmleigh Companies across Asia.
Your time will be split between generating an actionable Asian business development plan for your sponsoring Farmleigh Company and studying for a Master’s in Asian Business with the entire process mentored and guided by the leading members of the Irish business world in Asia.
What are the benefits of this programme?
- First-hand experience of international business in one of the world’s fastest growing regions.
- A Masters in Asian Business (Level 9) awarded by UCC and delivered in partnership with NTU.
- Build the networks and close personal relationships which are vital elements in doing business there.
- Learn the soft as well as the hard skills to thrive in the Asian business world.
- Have the opportunity to experience high levels of autonomy and responsibility.
- Accelerate your career development and enhance your long-term professional opportunities.
Who are the sponsoring companies?
The sponsoring Farmleigh Companies will either come from Ireland or have strong Irish connections and vary in size from high potential start-ups to multinational corporations. All will have a specific and challenging Asian business development project for their sponsored candidate to complete.
Who can apply?
This ground-breaking programme is open to graduates and experienced professionals in all disciplines and who want a life changing opportunity of working and studying in one of the world’s most dynamic regions.
What costs does the scholarship cover?
The scholarship covers the cost of tuition at UCC and NTU and one return flight to from Ireland to Singapore. The scholarship does not cover the cost of accommodation in Ireland or Singapore or the candidate’s daily maintenance for the full duration of the programme.
When can I apply?
We will be accepting applications from the 23rd of September to the 15th of October.
How can I find out more?
If you are ambitious, talented and committed and want a career in international business visit www.farmleighfellowship.com or email info@farmleighfellowship.com
75% of Irish jobless considering emigration
Thursday, September 30th, 2010Just a snippet on Newstalk today: 75% of the jobless in Ireland are considering emigration, according to a Grafton Recruitment study. The survey also found that European destinations are the top potential pick, then Australia and then Canada. This is, of course, a change from earlier decades, in which the UK and the US would have loomed much larger.
I wonder about the implications of this more dispersed diaspora for Irish individuals and communities abroad – will people be more vulnerable away from more established communities? Or has the makeup of our emigrant population changed so much that this is less of an issue?
“I don’t want to be here”: Reflecting on our “huge and willing” diaspora
Thursday, September 30th, 2010Two voices on the radio caught my attention yesterday. I am sorry I did not catch either of their names. One was a young graduate on Pat Kenny talking about how she was planning to go the UK for six months and then move on to Australia. She said that most of her graduating class was out of work. She was clearly a reluctant emigrant. “I’m not really looking forward to having to emigrate. If I had a choice I would much rather stay in Ireland,” she said.
The other was a man on the afternoon Joe Duffy call-in show. He was in his 50s, a business owner whose business had failed. He had been an 1990′s-era emigrant, and had returned to Ireland 11 years ago. Now, he’s in Qatar on the Persian Gulf, and his family has just joined him – his wife, and three children, aged 7, 12 and 15.
He spoke really movingly of his experience, and again, he made clear he was a reluctant emigrant. When his daughter arrived to live with him in Qatar, she greeted him with the words, “I don’t want to be here.”
His reply? “I totally understand. I don’t want to be here either.”
He told Duffy, “It’s very difficult emotionally, but we have no alternative.” He said that he was finding some solace among the growing Irish community abroad. He stated he had just met a recent arrival from Galway, noting that the emigration of “mature” people, in his experience, was “widespread”.
He can’t see himself returning to Ireland for work, ever – “which is very sad, after coming back” from abroad to raise his family at home. He is still hoping that his children might attend college in Ireland, and will work to allow them to keep strong links to Ireland.
This man, while clearly sad, wasn’t exactly bemoaning his fate. He was getting on with his life. He noted, “We’re appreciative of the opportunity. The wind changed; we’re left adrift and we had to do something. We’re fortunate we’re mobile.”
“We’re fortunate we’re mobile“. I think of several commentators of recent months, all comfortably ensconced insiders in Ireland, downplaying the disruption of emigration when it’s an involuntary departure. Tanaiste Mary Coughlan declaring young Irish people were entitled to emigrate to enjoy themselves, Avoca executive and Your Country Your Call judge Amanda Pratt on PrimeTime to blithely tell young people to wait out the recession by going off to work in a chipshop in the Phillipines, Senator Mary White’s cavalier appearance on Newstalk where she declared that emigration was not only good for the country, but for families.
On one point these insiders are right: emigration is good for the country. Journalist Karlin Lillington recently, and rather belatedly in the light of everything that’s happened since last year’s Global Irish Economic Forum, called for a reconsideration of emigration. “But is emigration necessarily a problem in the first place?” she asked. No, it’s not – not to voluntary emigrants, and certainly not to the insiders who aren’t going to have to go anywhere but will still reap the economic rewards of the departures of others; they’ve taken up the notion wholeheartedly. Take a look at the Smart Economy strategy, launched this week by the Taoiseach. It is positively infused with a dependency on the diaspora for Irish economic growth; at the launch, the Taoiseach declared that the “huge and willing resource” of the Irish diaspora would be an asset in its implementation.
Karlin Lillington further proclaimed, “The idea that that this small land mass can provide jobs for its entire population doesn’t make sense – and even if it did, having everybody employed here would be an extremely limited and dead-end economic vision.”
It’s like the 1980s all over again – except now not only can’t we all live on this small island, but full employment here has become a Really Bad Idea. And of course, the talk isn’t about the brain drain of the 1980s; it’s about diaspora networking, opening new markets, encouraging global business deals. And our policy makers are perhaps all too aware of the value of sending out our unemployed to serve as the foot soldiers in the global Irish economic army. If some of them wind up as economic cannon fodder in this global downturn, well, at least they’re off our welfare rolls. (And thanks to the habitual residence condition, there’s no guarantee we’ll let them back on.)
I say this, of course, as someone who is genuinely excited about the potential of our relationship with our diaspora. But we need to be sure to maintain a balanced view. I can’t imagine there’s anyone left in Irish policy circles who needs to be convinced of the economic value of our diaspora. It’s those darn reluctant emigrants who sound less than willing in their task.
International Irish Diaspora Congress: Buenos Aires 15-19 June 2011
Friday, September 10th, 2010The call for papers below came through on the Irish Diaspora Listserv. How exciting that the 90th anniversary of the Irish Race Congress in Buenos Aires will be commemorated in this way! That Congress was held in preparation for the International Congress of the Irish Race in Paris, and the Irish government sent envoys to Irish communities in South Africa, South America, Australia, New Zealand, Russia, and the US seeking support for a Republic. [See a 1921 New York Times report on the Buenos Aires Congress.]
It was just one example of Ireland’s political globalisation in the early days of independence. As the originator of the idea of the Congress of the Irish Race, Thomas Hughes Kelly of New York, declared: ‘Ireland’s future is not limited to its geographic boundaries. She gave away to the world her strongest and most trustworthy sons. Now we compensate her with our support, which is the first offspring of that prolific seed’.
But I digress – below is the call for papers. I’ll post up more info when I find out more.
INTERNATIONAL IRISH DIASPORA CONGRESS
Buenos Aires (Argentina) — From 15th to 19th of June 2011.
Official Notification: Presentation of Papers- 1st Call
In June of 2011, the 1st International Irish Diaspora Congress will take
in the City of Buenos Aires, exactly 90 years after a meeting of a
similar nature took place in 1921. The principal objective of next
year’s Congress is to stimulate cultural exchange and share experiences
between Irish Associations and people.
Each participating Institution is asked to give a brief account of
current activities and its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and
threats. Learning how the Irish Community has integrated into each
specific Country-Destination will be of general interest, too.
Participating individuals or Associations are invited to present
speeches and/or lectures on the topic of cultural diversity of emigrants
and their descendents.
The Department of Irish Culture from the Universidad Nacional de La
Plata (UNL) & the Universidad de Ciencias Empresariales y Sociales
(UCES) will provide the academic framework for these expositions. The
papers submitted for consideration must relate to any one of the
following topics:
- The Irish Diaspora
- Literature and the Irish Emigrant (essays, short stories, novels, poetry)
- History of Irish Emigration in each country
- Fundraising for Irish Associations (experiences, tips)
- Irish Education abroad
- Irish Dance & Music (experiences)
- Business and Work opportunities for Irish Descendents Abroad
Those who are interested in participating must submit an abstract before
February 1, 2011, written in English, of no more than 300 words, on any
of the aforementioned topics.
The proposals that are deemed adequate (given general interests and the
length of the Congress) have until May 15, 2011 to send the paper in
full to the Department’s inbox.
The Academic Committee will be comprised of people with great knowledge
on the subjects to be discussed, including professors from the UNL and
the UCES.
For more info: http://www.asociacionirlandesa.com.ar/?lang=en or
asoargirl@yahoo.com.ar
11th Literature of Irish Exile Autumn School: Omagh, 16 October 2010
Friday, September 10th, 2010Here’s a note from the Ulster-American Folk Park in Omagh on their most excellent annual summer school:
Eleventh Literature of Irish Exile Autumn School: Saturday 16 October 2010
If you don’t already have the date in your diary, we hope you may take a
look at what is on offer and consider putting it there now:
http://www.qub.ac.uk/cms/events/LIE_Oct_2010.htm
The day, Saturday 16 October, will have the usual shape of a keynote lecture
in the morning in the Library of the Centre for Migration Studies; after
lunch a guided walk in the outdoor museum of the Folk Park; and a concluding
lecture and discussion in the Library.
Dr Fred Freeman, our keynote lecturer, is based at Edinburgh University and
an expert on Robert Tannahill (1774-1810), the Scottish weaver poet, hailed
as a successor to Burns, whose bicentenary is being celebrated this year. We
look forward to hearing about Tannahill’s spirited defence of Irish
immigrant weavers in Scotland.
The focus of the walk in the outdoor museum, growing out of Paddy
Fitzgerald’s lecture this summer to the William Carleton Summer School, will
be, with the help of Folk Park guide Walter McFarlane, on the role of
hedge-schools in preparing migrants.
Sean McCartan, one of our distinguished Irish Migration Studies graduates,
received a signal honour this year in being invited to France to speak about
his researches on the Irish ancestry of President de Gaulle. We look forward
to finding out how he fits into the migration story of the McCartan family.
We do hope you may be able to join us.
Brian Lambkin
Director
Christine Johnston
Senior Library Asst
Centre for Migration Studies
Ulster American Folk Park
Tel: 028 8225 6315
Fax: 028 8224 2241
Email: christine.johnston@librariesni.org.uk