Creative Boardroom: Collaborate4Climate exhibition popped up for the day in Croke Park as part of this year’s Shared Island Conference, Creativity Connecting People, hosted by Creative Ireland. The event welcomed keynote speakers Michael Martin, An Taoiseach, and Patrick O’Donovan Minister for Culture, Communications and Sport who spoke to delegates about the power of creativity and culture on our shared island. We were delighted to have the opportunity to celebrate and showcase the work of our programme to An Taoiseach and the Minister through the inclusion of our sustainable exhibition in an accessible and impactful way at this event.

The Government’s Shared Island initiative aims to harness the full potential of the Good Friday Agreement to enhance cooperation, connection and mutual understanding on the island and engage with all communities and traditions to build consensus around a shared future. 

In his speech, An Taoiseach said ‘In recognition of the vital role of creativity in the fabric of our lives, some eight years ago the Government established the Creative Ireland programme. It has gone from strength to strength, working with people and communities across a truly wide and diverse range of areas.’ 

A shared sense of community across the island of Ireland can be achieved by fostering creative opportunities for connection through social interaction, engagement and dialogue. Since 2023, the Creative Ireland Programme has invested €6 million across its five pillars, Creative Communities, Creative Youth, Creative Health and Wellbeing, Creative Climate Action and Creative Industries, to advance creativity on a shared island basis. 

Creative Boardroom: Collaborate4Climate falls under the Creative Climate Action Pillar. It is a pioneering all-island collaboration supported by the Shared Island Fund and delivered by Creative Futures Academy under the auspices of the National College of Art & Design (NCAD) and Dún Laoghaire Institute of Art, Design and Technology in partnership with Institute of Directors Ireland. IoD Northern Ireland and Forvis Mazars In Ireland.

‘The Creative Ireland Programme has shown how imagination and shared purpose can help us shape a brighter, more connected future for everyone who calls this island home’ – An Taoiseach

We were also delighted to have Sheila Byrne, Head of Learning & Education at Institute of Directors in Ireland and Kirsty McManus, Institute of Directors Northern Ireland join a panel discussion entitled: Weaving Resilience: Environmental, Economic and Social Sustainability on a Shared Island to discuss Creative Boardroom and the impact it has had on engaging Directors across the island to use creative tools and design thinking methods to address the challenges they face on the boards on which they sit.

This all-island initiative harnesses creativity, leadership, and North–South collaboration to address the urgent challenge of climate change.

At the Shared Island Conference on 13th November, Laura Magahy, Public Sector Consulting Lead at Forvis Mazars and Creative Boardroom Chair and Louise Allen, Director, Creative Futures Academy were excited to launch a brand new Creative Boardroom: Courageous Climate Conversations Guide.

This guide is being made available to businesses and organisations to start and continue conversations that may lead to action on the impacts of climate change. It is designed around 3 core pillars which aim to build understanding, incite action and inspire others. It provides practical talking points to spark discussion on how climate action can be embedded into strategic decision-making and suggests design thinking tools to help to facilitate these conversations.

We have created a resource page on the Creative Boardroom: Collaborate4Climate website to support Directors and Business leaders in accessing these tools and resources.