Senator Maura Hopkins launched the Ballaghaderreen Pilot of the Ignite Creative Pod on Friday last at the Creative Communities Igniting Change Conference in the Northern and Western Regional Assembly.
Senator Hopkins stated that “the Creative Communities Igniting Change project is working to create entrepreneurial opportunities for people in this area involved in the creative sector or interested in getting involved in the creative sector. This programme will provide a free workspace and free training in Ballaghaderreen for participants taking part.”
“Creative Industries whether it is in the area of craft, design, fashion, IT, arts, advertising are still underdeveloped and essential to the regeneration of our rural areas.”
“As a Senator from the West of Ireland my absolute priority in this role is to ensure that that every effort be made to assist those rural areas with the greatest need. We know from the research completed by the Western Development Commission that the creative sector has huge potential for three main reasons – generates high quality employment and is quite labour intensive, secondly, it has strong growth and export potential and thirdly it in many cases is the catalyst for further innovation.”
“This is new and exciting opportunity for those involved in participating in the programme and for our community in Ballaghaderreen and those living in the wider region. We want people in this region to participate in this programme, to develop their creative talent, to transfer their creative capabilities into the business environment, to network with other individuals, other businesses, third level institutions such as GMIT, employment agencies such as the Local Enterprise Office in order to have the best chance at succeeding and turning their creative idea into a successful business.”
Local support thanked
Senator Hopkins strongly complimented Roscommon Leader Partnership “in leading the way on this excellent initiative. I say this because I know all of the staff involved, I know their huge investment of time, effort, and above all positive energy to bring the project to this stage. I also want to thank all involved in the Ballaghaderreen Town Teams Initiative and Roscommon County Council who are very much supporting this project.”
Senator Hopkins concluded by stating that “a really good opportunity is being created through this programme being established and funded and we as a community here in need to embrace it and actively support this important project in our town. It is important that if you are interested in participating in this excellent initiative that you do so or if you know somebody that would benefit that you do so.”
You can find out more about the Creative Communities Igniting Change project and the Ignite Creative Pod here