The 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Geographical Society of Ireland will take place in the Museum Building (Room 4) in Trinity College, Dublin between 1.00pm and 2.30pm on Saturday 26th May during the Conference of Irish Geographers weekend.

A number of committee officers will have finished their two-year term in their [...]]]> Dear member,

The 2012 Annual General Meeting of the Geographical Society of Ireland will take place in the Museum Building (Room 4) in Trinity College, Dublin between 1.00pm and 2.30pm on Saturday 26^th May during the Conference of Irish Geographers weekend.

A number of committee officers will have finished their two-year term in their committee positions at the upcomingAGMand nominations are being called for relating to the following committee positions;

• Fieldtrip Secretary,
• Graduate Liaison Officer,
• Officers Without Portfolio (two positions).

These are all vitally important positions in terms of the functioning of the Geographical Society of Ireland committee and the overall strategic direction of the Society and it is vitally important that interested and committed members put themselves forward for these positions. The outgoing officers are of course also eligible to seek a further two-year term in their positions. Please feel free to consult me or any other member of the committee if you are interested in getting involved on the committee, but are not sure where you may best fit in. The formal process of being nominated for a committee position involves the filling out of this form: GSINominationForm_2012, highlighting the name of the nominee, the names of the two Society members nominating that person (and these should be fully paid up members for the 2012 calendar year) and the committee position concerned. 

We are (still) particularly interested in getting committee representation for non-academic Society members, namely members with no links (whether full-time or part-time) with third-level Geography Departments. It would also be good to have committee representation from the parts ofIrelandand Geography Departments that currently are not represented at the committee level.

The AGM will also outline, and discuss, a range of proposed events for the Society in the coming year, including the further development of the Geographical Society of Ireland Awards and a proposal for a Geography Week to be held in the week leading up to next year’s Conference of Irish Geographers. Finally, all the best and many thanks for your continued support of the Society, 

Adrian Kavanagh

Secretary/Membership Secretary of the Geographical Society of Ireland (2011)

We wish to express our grave concern at the proposed removal of Geography from the core Junior Cycle curriculum as outlined in the ‘Framework for a Junior Cycle’ published by the NCCA and supported by the Minister for Education and Skills Mr. Ruairí [...]]]> Open Letter
Regarding – Status of Geography in School Programme

We wish to express our grave concern at the proposed removal of Geography from the core Junior Cycle curriculum as outlined in the ‘Framework for a Junior Cycle’ published by the NCCA and supported by the Minister for Education and Skills Mr. Ruairí Quinn.

The Framework positions Geography as a contributor to more generic/thematic subjects at Junior Certificate level instead of as a core subject. The contributions of Geography to the teaching of the generic/thematic subjects will then be a matter for schools to sort out locally and at the discretion of each school head.

We feel compelled to express our serious misgivings about any plans which threaten pupils’ exposure to Geography in the curriculum.

We believe that Geography crafts citizens and upskills pupils in unique ways. At a time when climate change and environmental degradation threaten the planet Geography is the only subject which allows pupils to integrate insights from the natural sciences (Geology, Physics, Chemistry, Biology etc) with those in the social sciences (Sociology, Economics, Anthropology, Politics etc) and to study the interface between society and nature in a holistic way. At a time when globalisation is providing Ireland with both social, cultural, economic, and political opportunities and threats, Geography is the only subject which is explicitly predicated upon extending pupils’ knowledge to the four corners of the earth. At a time when the National Academy of Sciences is designating Geographical Information Systems and Remote Sensing as the third most important technologies of the twenty first century, training the best of talent from Junior Certificate Geography to Leaving Certificate and then on into the university system, must go to the heart of the government’s commitment to a smart economy.

The suggestion by the NCCA and the Minister that ‘geographical skills’ will still be present demonstrates a lack of understanding of the synthesising nature and value of the discipline of geography. Moreover, Geography is the only school subject to simultaneously develop student literacy, numeracy, graphicacy and problem-solving skills and is therefore vital in improving standards in these skills.

We implore the government to refrain from going down any route which undermines the status of Geography as a single, systematic course of study in the Junior Cycle core curriculum.

Yours sincerely

Professor Mark Boyle (President of the Geographical Society of Ireland, and Head of the Department of Geography, NUIMaynooth)
Professor Peter Coxon (Head of Geography, School of Natural Sciences, Trinity College Dublin)
Professor Patrick Duffy (Chair, Royal Irish Academy, Geographical Sciences Committee)
Professor Alun Jones (Head of Geography, School of Geography, Planning, and Environmental Policy, UCD)
Dr Frances Fahy (Vice President, Geographical Society of Ireland, School of Geography and Archaeology, NUIGalway)
Peter Lydon (President, Association of Geography Teachers of Ireland)
Professor Donald Lyons (Head of Geography, College of Arts, Celtic Studies, and Social Sciences University College Cork)
Dr Niamh Moore, (Treasurer, Geographical Society of Ireland, School of Geography, Planning, and Environmental Policy, University College Dublin)
Professor Des McCafferty (Head of Geography, Mary Immaculate College, Limerick)
Dr Ruth McManus (Head of Geography, St Patricks College Drumcondra)
Professor Ulf Strohmayer (Head of School of Geography and Archaeology, NUIGalway)