Music as a Tool for Social Inclusion (PDF) - Cork City Council

The Use of Music as a Tool for Social Inclusion
Section 1: Policy Context
Its focus is on providing supports at key stages of the life cycle: children, people of
working age, older people, and people with disabilities. Initiatives for communities and
implementation and monitoring measures are also included.
The overall goal of the NAP inclusion strategy is “to reduce the number of those
experiencing consistent poverty to between 2% and 4% by 2012, with the aim of
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eliminating consistent poverty by 2016 ...”
The thrust of this and the other key goals in the strategy is on supporting
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the most disadvantaged and vulnerable across the life cycle stages by:
Ensuring children reach their true potential;
Supporting working age people and people with disabilities ....
to increase employment and participation;
Providing the type of supports that enable older people to maintain a
comfortable and high­quality standard of living;
Building viable and sustainable communities, improving the lives of people
living in disadvantaged areas and building social capital.
The themes of education and training, employment, access to lifelong learning and
equality of opportunity feature throughout the NAPinclusion strategy. There are key
education goals for children; employment, literacy and second­chance education targets
for working age people; and education and employment goals for older people.
Other relevant supports in terms of this report relate to active citizenship, arts and
culture and RAPID (Revitalising Areas through Planning Investment and Development)
areas, although the relevant targets are couched in general terms. The indicators used
to monitor the NAPinclusion allow progress in income, employment, education, health,
housing and deprivation to be assessed.
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The institutional arrangements for implementation of the strategy demonstrate the
importance of the inclusion issue nationally. Leadership comes from a cabinet committee
chaired by the Taoiseach and composed of relevant ministers, ensuring that
implementation is regularly monitored and promoted at the highest level. There is a
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Social Inclusion Units in key government departments. A number of local authorities
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