Head Boy and Head Girl Speech Awards Day 2012 Good afternoon ...

Head Boy and Head Girl SpeechAwards Day 2012Good afternoon distinguished guests, ladies, gentlemen and fellow pupils. Last year we celebrated20 years of Integrated Education in Brownlow Integrated College and 30 years of IntegratedEducation in Northern Ireland.Conflict has always been part of human history. World War One was supposed to be the war to endall wars, however this was not the case. The news throughout the past century has been dominatedby war and conflict around the world. Presently there are wars going on in Afghanistan, Iraq, andLibya. Recently the focus has turned to conflict between Israel and Palestine. We hear almostweekly about soldiers being killed overseas and watch the ceremonial act as their bodies arereturned home to their families. This was brought home to us by the death in Afghanistan ofChanning Day, from Co. Down and the tragic murder of the prison officer David Black within ourcommunity. Sadly countries are still in dispute over territory, money and resources.Prior to the ceasefires of the mid 1990s, shootings and bombings were a regular occurrence inNorthern Ireland. Many atrocities were committed on all sides throughout the North; peoplesuffered, and as a result Northern Ireland suffered. However twenty-five years on from theEnniskillen bombing which proved to be a touchstone event, we live in a very different society. Inthis decade of anniversaries of key events, we acknowledge a change in attitudes towards ourshared history. Twenty-five years ago bombings and shootings were everyday occurrences, now welive in a relative peace.Before 1981 integrated education was non-existent. Education in Northern Ireland was dividedalong religious lines. Lagan College, the first integrated school, opened in a scout hut in September1981. Many considered this to be a turning point. In 1991 Brownlow Integrated College was thefirst state high school to transform to integrated status. In so doing the minds of the pupils from thenext generation would be opened to new cultures, concepts and opinions. As a result a sense ofmutual respect between people from different backgrounds, religions and cultures is nurtured anddeveloped. Informal conversations with others helps us widen our perspectives and enable us torecognise and respect our differences.As we reflect on a summer of sporting excellence seen in this year’s Olympic games with the motto“inspire a generation,” we recognise that sport can teach us a lot about tolerance and respect. TheOlympics are a celebration of friendship, unity and peace. The five interlocking rings of theOlympic symbol, which represent the five participating continents, are echoed in the Olympic oath.Each athlete promises to play fairly in an atmosphere of mutual respect regardless of race, gender,colour or creed. Surely this is what the ethos of an integrated school aspires to be?Following on from the whole Olympic idea, an integrated school is just the same, as it promotesmutual understanding amongst pupils and staff of all faiths and none. Understanding others andhaving the ability to listen and respect their opinions says a lot about the kind of person you are, asour words and actions define us. I believe our school represents the wider society in Craigavon, andto an extent Northern Ireland.In Brownlow the cultural identity of all of our pupils is celebrated. The school teaches us abouttraditions and festivals from around the world and closer to home. We try to celebrate festivals thatare significant to both our international and local pupils, yet we learn more from each other throughinformal conversations throughout the day. Personally speaking my school friends are made up ofthe two main traditions in Northern Ireland. However my friendship group outside of school is

enriched by different cultures and traditions from countries such as Poland and Portugal. Youngpeople of other religious backgrounds such as Muslims and Jehovah Witnesses and those of no faithfurther enhance our school population.The population of Newcomer pupils in Brownlow has increased over the past decade. In September2002 there were just two Portuguese pupils. Today a diverse group of pupils from Poland,Lithuania, Brazil, Portugal, Hungary, The Philippines and Hong Kong enrich the school population.These pupils add to the Brownlow experience.Equality laws allow no room for sectarianism in the workplace. It is our firm belief that attendingan integrated school has helped prepare us for our future because pupils in integrated schools aretaught to be more tolerant, more open and more able to talk about controversial issues. To me thissums up what is Integration is all about.