Entrepreneur Rozanna Purcell spoke to students from St. Audoens National School about starting her own business
Core, Ireland’s largest marketing communications company, have extended its partnership with JAI and launched the revamped ‘Our City’ programme.
This community and enterprise-focused initiative is set to reach up to 15,000 students nationwide on completion of the next three-year phase. To celebrate, 25 local primary school students from St. Audoen’s National School, Cook Street, Dublin 8 were invited to Core’s city centre office to complete their Our City workshops, in which they practised setting up a business and marketing their products in their city. To assist the students entrepreneur Rozanna Purcell spoke to students about starting her own business.
Students working on their Business Ideas‘Our City’ introduces 3rd class students (8-9 years old) to the many elements that comprise the development of an urban area. Students are introduced to their city or town as a place where people work, live, play, go to school. As citizens of ‘Our City’, the young students also get the chance to build their own city, and in so doing, get to debate the best way to plan and provide for the needs of everyone who lives in the city. Over the course of their five-module programme, students enjoy starting their own business, developing their own advertising campaigns and practising being successful entrepreneurs. More than 14,000 students in 571 schools nationwide have enjoyed the programme in the first three years, which involved working with more than 420 trained business volunteers from JAI-supporting organisations.
Aidan Greene, Deputy CEO of Core said, “Core is delighted to recommit to the ‘Our City’ programme. We are dedicated to supporting youth and education initiatives around the country and our partnership with Junior Achievement Ireland allows us to maximise the impact we can make in communities, while inspiring the next generation of Irish entrepreneurs.”
Helen Raftery, CEO Junior Achievement Ireland, commented, “Thanks to the support of Core we are able to bring the real world into classrooms through the experience and insights of trained business volunteers. Helping students to connect what they do in school with the world around them to ensure they see the relevance of their studies in their everyday lives is a very important aspect of their development and one in which we are delighted that Core has invested its resources and expertise.”
Commenting on the programme, Adrian Harkin, Acting Principal of St. Audoen’s National School said, “The ‘Our City’ programme is an excellent opportunity for students to learn about the city around them and the opportunities that lie within. Not only does it bring business into the classroom, it also allows our students to get a feel for a real working environment and aspire to a variety of roles within their city.”
Students from St. Audoens Celebrate the launch of Our City with Core volunteers