Saturday 13th June 2020 marks Cruinniú na nÓg 2020, Ireland’s national day of free creative activities for children and young people under the age of 18, and for 2020 forms part of the Government’s #InThisTogether campaign.

With over 500 free online activities, events and broadcasts, Josepha Madigan T.D., Minister for Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht, paid tribute to RTÉ and local authority culture teams for supporting delivery of Cruinniú 2020 and encouraged young people all over Ireland to get online, get involved and get creative for Cruinniú.

Minister Madigan said: “The global COVID-19 pandemic has presented significant and varied challenges to us all – not least in the area of providing direct services and activities for our citizens. Innovation and creativity have been required to address these challenges, and this has again shone a spotlight on the importance of supporting our youngest citizens to experience creative activities – to try something new, to uncover hidden talents or to hone their creative instincts. As such, on Saturday 13th June next, we will again celebrate Cruinniú na nÓg for which we have developed a number of creative, cultural and engaging activities which children, young people – indeed entire families – can create in their own homes and gardens between now and Saturday 13th June.”

Cruinniú na nÓg 2020 is a collaboration between the Department of Culture, Heritage and the Gaeltacht’s Creative Ireland Programme, local authorities and RTÉ, and for 2020 all Cruinniú events can be found online, with a selection of events also featuring on various RTÉ channels and platforms including RTÉ 2, RTÉjr, RTÉjr podcasts, RTÉ Home School Hub, RTÉ.ie/Learn, and RTÉ.ie/Culture.

The activities and events range from nationwide calls to action such as Céilí in the Kitchen and Let’s Go Fly A Kite, to gentle poetry events for the under 4s with the Branar Theatre Company.  There are plenty of activities planned that children and young people might need to practice now or create in advance, or on the day itself there will be a huge array of different activities to enjoy, from workshops and tutorials to recitals and readings, and everything in between.

Minister Madigan added: “Only a few short weeks ago I announced that Cruinniú na nÓg 2020 would go ahead, and since then we have received a wonderful response from children – and families – all over Ireland to our “Calls to Action”. But none of this would be possible without the extraordinary response from our Culture Team partners in each of the 31 local authorities, as well as the various local arts, culture, heritage and community groups and organisations, local artists, craft workers and creative that have risen to the challenge of making meaningful opportunities for children and young people to be creative on the 13th June.”

Minister Madigan also thanked RTÉ for its increased role in supporting and hosting Cruinniú na nÓg 2020 events and activities.

Highlights of RTÉ’s programme for Cruinniú na nÓg 2020 include:

• Fresh Film School – An insider guide to making your own films with examples from our young film directors;
• My Creative Life (17 podcasts);
• Pop Up Poetry for Little Peeps (Eight bespoke animations);
• Céilí in the Kitchen;
• Let’s Go Fly a Kite;
• Coding for Cruinniú;
• We Create Magic – A bespoke visual rap by Cappabue National School and GMC Beats;
• Dancing By Distance; and
• Become a Storykeeper 

Dee Forbes, Director General of RTE said: “RTÉ is delighted to once again play an important role in supporting the Cruinniú na nÓg programme. While RTÉ has been involved in Cruinniú from the outset, this year’s programme, in the midst of a global pandemic, is perhaps the most important – and challenging – to date. As we’ve seen on a daily basis over these past months, creativity offers a way for our young people to stay positive, to explore this new world we are sharing and to express themselves. So, it is fitting that, through the programme of content we have put together for Cruinniú na nÓg across television, radio and online, RTÉ continues to support and encourage creativity in our youngest citizens, this year in their homes and gardens, while staying safe.  Good luck to all involved.”