Inishowen Co-Op Supporting The Vital Skill Of Creative thinking with Spraoi Agus Sport

As a Cooperative, Inishowen Co-Op is at the centre of community growth and building partnerships with great organisations in our region.

Spraoi agus Sport the award winning social enterprise based in Carndonagh is one of the many community organisations that we have supported over the years.

  The following is their feedback on the great impact Inishowen Co-Op has had on their organisation.

"Thanks to the sponsorship of the Inishowen Co-Op, in 2023 our Digital Creative Lab in Spraoi agus Sport engaged with 2,228 individuals in schools, after school groups, camps, community events, and campaigns.  The Lab featured in 17 schools across Inishowen.  Held afterschool workshops and camps at Easter, Summer, and Halloween. Community events in Clonmany, Carn, and Moville.

 Apart from that we supported National campaigns to promote STEAM for Engineering Week and Science Week.

A Quote from one of our participating schools for Science Week November 2023

“An amazing immersive experience for our Carndonagh Community School Science Club. The staff at Spraoi agus Sport provided a fun and information workshop on Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. Thank you.”   Dayna Molloy, Carndonagh Community School.

Independent Youth Entrepreneurship

Three groups of Transition Year Students used the resources of the Digital Creative Lab effectively, employing the lab's training, machinery, and resources to develop products for the CCS Craft Fair.

The sales from these products amounted to over €2000.In 2023, the engagement extended to students aged 16 and above, including those in Transition Year, Leaving Certificate Applied and Youth Reach programs, and through providing valuable work experience opportunities.

 Plans for 2024/ 2025

With support from the Inishowen Cooperative we can increase our school and community engagement in 2024. Building on our successful community engagement at the Clonmany Agricultural Show, Cruinniú na nÓg in Buncrana, as well as our events in Carndonagh, we will be extending our Inishowen reach with community events in Moville in June and Greencastle in August.

For 2024 we are offering young people the opportunity to develop skills and raise awareness of the potential of digital creative industries. The digital creative industries, including design, digital games, and content creation, offer significant potential for innovation, growth, and export.

Creative industries account for 8.9% of national employment in Ireland, making it the second-highest employment sector in the EU. The creative industries are estimated to represent over 5.5% of the EU Economy, or €413 billion in value added. Creative thinking is ranked as the second most important skill for the future of jobs in 2023, according to research by the World Economic Forum.

This is the driver for the development of digital skills in gaming and content creation.The Digital Creative Lab offer a Gaming Academy, for over 12s afterschool with camps during school holidays. In June and August this summer The Digital Creative Lab has two 4-day film workshops, for anyone aged 14-19 with a passion for film creation.

Our plans for Science Week this year are ambitious with an Inishowen Rural Science Festival- Bridging Tradition and Innovation which will highlight the traditions of Inishowen and how they are embracing innovation.  

We are very grateful to Inishowen Co-Op for their continued support and for helping to make all this possible. "