Well done to Sinead (6), Shane (5) and Clare
(5) whose essays won the competition for places to represent
Ireland at the International High School Youth Culture Conference to be
held in Taiwan in early December. Well done also to everybody else who
entered the competition. There was a large number of entries and the
standard was very high so the final decision was a difficult one for the
panel of judges.
We are grateful to the Taiwanese organisers for the
invitation to The High School as the only school to represent Ireland at
the conference. Such a fully sponsored trip is an exciting and unique
opportunity for the winning students, who will participate in the
conference for half of the week they spend in Taiwan and will also tour
the country.
In Sinead's essay it was revealed that Ireland is the
6th happiest country in the world and that there is an "O'Chang's Irish
pub in Taipei, Taiwan". Sinead was dismayed, however, to find on a
recent trip to France that most 17 year olds couldn't even locate
Ireland on a map!
Shane drew attention to the great variety and quality
of Irish music: "some of the most recognisable songs, over the last
century in modern music, come from bands like U2 and Snow Patrol. These
bands are not only known for their great songs but also for their
political stance in the world. The best example of this is U2's front
man Bono, who is a social activist across the globe."
Clare commented on many aspects of Irish life, not least our
generosity. "The Irish are known in some of the world's poorest places
for their aid work and philanthropy. Aid organisations like Concern and
Trocaire are worldwide while our soldiers are involved in peace keeping
missions."
Middle - a scene from the 2006 conference; Above -
Shing-chung Lu (organiser) with participants; Left - Chang Hua High
School
