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Using a variety of drama and visual arts programmes, young people from many areas of Dublin City will work with professional artists and writers to explore the question ‘Graffiti – Art or Vandalism?’.This programme of activities, presented by Dublin City Public Libraries, is aimed at educating children, whilst encouraging them to comment creatively on the social conditions in which they find themselves.Seventeen libraries will participate in this ambitious public programme throughout the Autumn / Winter of 2011 and Spring 2012, using a broad range of learning strategies to deliver this very important message.Film maker Killian Waters will document the project on behalf of Dublin City Public Libraries.Programmes include:A specially commissioned play by Garbo ProductionsTwo visual arts programmes, Meeting Point and the creation of a mural on a library wallA drama programme, Creating Creative Communities – Mantle of the ExpertAnti-graffiti workshops from Graffiti Wipeout

The annual iFestival will be held in the Central Library, Ilac Centre from the 10th to the 30th of June 2011. This interactive exhibition will showcase the highly innovative ICT and multimedia projects undertaken by pupils in primary and secondary schools, as well as young people from community centres in Dublin's inner city. The festival, involving the work of 800 young people, will be launched in the Central Library on Friday June 10th at 12pm.Projects will include comic making, animation, robotic lego, podcasting, computer games and multimedia. Prizes are awarded for the best entry in each category. The projects represent the culmination of a year's work by these young pupils, their teachers and facilitators under the CLIC programme - the Computer learning in Communities programme, run by the DIT Foundation. The programme co-ordinator is Ian Roller. This initiative encourages teachers to integrate information technology into the curriculum not only to enhance their IT skills but also to make learning fun and enjoyable. Students involved have shown an improvement in attendance at school as well as increased concentration and motivation. The CLiC programme is just one aspect of the DIT Community Links programme whose main objective is to alleviate educational disadvantage and to allow individuals to reach their maximum potential. Some of the schools exhibiting this year are: St Patrick's GNS, Rutland National School, St Audoen's NS, St Vincent's GNS and Mater Dei, Basin Lane. The community groups include John Bosco Youth Centre, Fatima Community Centre and Dominick Community Centre.We in the Central Library are very happy to support such a worthy initiative, but don't forget, it's also a fun exhibition!