“A highpoint for Léargas this year was participating in the ‘European Year of Skills’, an awareness campaign designed by the European Commission to highlight the importance of skills development in fostering social inclusion and empowering individuals to thrive in an ever-changing world. Celebrated across Europe, the European Year of Skills aimed to create a fresh focus on lifelong learning, while promoting the mindset of skills-development, reskilling, and upskilling. Léargas embedded this theme throughout our work all year and contributed by promoting skills development and lifelong learning opportunities through our various initiatives and partnerships. We see every day how European programmes like Erasmus+, European Solidarity Corps, eTwinning, EPALE and Youth Wiki foster skills development, and this year was an opportunity to reflect on and enhance those developments further.”  Lorraine Gilligan, Executive Director

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“2022 has been a year of milestones. While Ireland prepared to celebrate 50 years of EU membership, in Léargas we have been privileged to support the European Year of Youth. Over the year, we were able to shine a spotlight on the achievements of young people in all areas of society, to support their ideas for solidarity and participation in their communities.

In 2022 we also celebrated 35 years of European programmes promoting exchange and cooperation which had begun with Erasmus. In my reports for 2020 and 2021, I spoke about the enormous challenge and disruption to life and work that resulted from COVID-19 and the global pandemic. For the early part of 2022, we were still very much coping with the ongoing challenges of restrictions due to the need to protect public health. The benefits of this caution and the careful preparation became evident in the mid and latter parts of the
year.” – Lorraine Gilligan, Executive Director

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“2021 marked 35 years of Léargas, and our work as a National Agency for European programmes has become even more compelling and necessary to empower people and organisations to experience the transformational value of international experiences and to create opportunities for developing new skills and knowledge, personal and professional growth through a lived experience of connection with people of other cultures.

2021 was another extraordinary year for all, as we adjusted further to living and working with Covid-19, and continued restrictions across society impacted all aspects of our daily lives, significantly limiting mobility and our work in Léargas. This further tested our resilience and energy as we experienced the fatigue brought on by the continued and extended period of detachment from our colleagues and our beneficiaries.” – Lorraine Gilligan, Executive Director

Download our 2021 Annual Report

Download the NCGE Output Statement

“We guided our beneficiaries to transition their own projects and collaborations to the digital space, providing them as much flexibility as possible to sustain their projects and partnerships. We developed training and inspirational activities to spark their creativity, despite the significant disruption of the global pandemic. Looking back on 2020, we can be proud of the resilience and adaptability we have demonstrated. But more, it gives us hope and confidence that by working together with a common objective, we will meet the challenges to come.” – Lorraine Gilligan, Executive Director

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“2019 saw significant milestones in the life of Léargas programmes. As Erasmus+ approached the end of its seven-year cycle we saw significant increases in the numbers of participants, ranging from 24% to 139% in various sectors. The extraordinary success in achieving this growth was the result of many years of building networks throughout the country. The organisation’s key values of listening to and supporting the people we engage with, and developing their capacity to work successfully on European projects, contributed to this success”. – Hugh MacConville, Chairperson

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“2018 continued to illustrate the critical need for mobility and intercultural work in Ireland and beyond. We regularly see events on our TVs and devices that clearly tell us the boundaries between the international and domestic world are so blurred they need constant re-examination. Similarly, our work continues to engage with a diverse group of people from young people to mature learners, from teachers to managers, from Irish people north and south to those in the global south. Global events are challenging people’s understanding of learning and living. It remains a fundamental value of Léargas and the programmes we administer to help people make sense of these experiences and learn to engage in a changing world” – Michael McLoughlin, Chairperson

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“A mid-term evaluation of Erasmus+ found that the programme is more coherent, relevant and in ways more efficient and simpler than its predecessors. The evaluation also made a clear case for a stronger investment in education and training, with a new emphasis on the younger generations and the most vulnerable groups. As highlighted by Barbara Nolan of the EU Commission at our annual Forum, these measures form part of a broader political agenda to prioritise a more social Europe in the near future – particularly following the Gothenburg Summit and the adoption of the new European Pillar of Social Rights. All the groups we work with will contribute greatly to this social dimension, and we can take pride in the fact that this work is of such critical importance to the future of Europe” – Michael McLoughlin, Chairperson

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“2016 was a momentous year for us: we celebrated 30 years of Léargas! I am very proud of the work we have achieved over the 30 years, and I believe that our success throughout this time results from our unwavering focus on supporting organisations across a broad spectrum of sectors. Accessibility to programmes has always been at the heart of what we do, and this remains our emphasis today. Throughout our 30 years we have consistently taken a collaborative and supportive approach, working closely with applicants, beneficiaries and stakeholders to achieve the best outcomes for Irish citizens and fellow Europeans working together across cultural, geographical and sectoral boundaries” – Jim Mullin, Executive Director

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“As well as devoting much of our time to Erasmus+, we were delighted to be appointed the National Support Service for EPALE in 2015. We also looked at working with colleagues in the Education Authority of Northern Ireland to create and implement a cross-border education initiative based on Peace IV funding… While looking forward to new programmes and initiatives, we also celebrated 10 years of eTwinning and 20 years of Eurodesk” – Jim Mullin, Executive Director

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“It is always worth remembering that the true value of the programmes we manage—not just Erasmus+ but ‘legacy’ programmes (Lifelong Learning and Youth in Action) and smaller programmes such as IAESTE—comes from the outcomes for those who take part. Without fail, seeing the work that happens on the ground across all sectors is one of the most rewarding aspects of working in Léargas. Just a few of the many great projects that happen each year in Ireland have been highlighted in this year’s report and I hope you enjoy reading about them” – Jim Mullin, Executive Director

Download our 2014 Annual Report