What are the Irish Aid Awards?

The Our World Irish Aid Awards gives you the chance to learn more about the developing world and to speak out for a better future for all the world’s people.

The theme of this year’s Awards is ‘Food for Life’. We want you to think and learn about children in developing countries and it is important for all of us to treat everyone fairly and make sure everyone is included using the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. Using our Food for Life pupil’s magazine and accompanying lesson plans, you can work on a creative piece showcasing what you learned or what inspired you. You can use writing, artwork, music or film and submit your work for a chance to feature in our Global Goal Getters online multi-media magazine, by kids, for kids.

We also want you to share your ideas and information with your friends and family at school and at home! Everyone in the world, including you, has an important role to play in fighting global poverty and creating a better world. Taking part in the Awards is a good place to start. Are you and your class up to the challenge?

What is Irish Aid?

Irish Aid is the Government of Ireland’s international development programme which aims to reduce global poverty, hunger and humanitarian need. Support is provided to more than 130
countries.

Our main focus is on sub-Saharan Africa and Southeast Asia, where we provide long term development assistance in a number of countries, including Ethiopia, Malawi, Kenya, Mozambique, Sierra Leone, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, and Zambia.

We work with governments, the United Nations and nongovernmental
organisations (NGOs) such as Trócaire in these countries to improve people’s lives and combat hunger and poverty. We also work with a small number of countries affected by conflict such as Liberia, Palestine, South Africa, and Zimbabwe.

Irish Aid also responds to humanitarian crises all over the world such as the devastating earthquakes in Syria and Türkiye in 2023, and provides assistance to people suffering the impacts of war in Ukraine. A record 326 million people in 63 countries depended on life-saving humanitarian assistance for their survival in 2022.