Promethean sponsors first Irish Teaching and Learning Festival

Promethean, a world leader in the rapidly growing global market for interactive learning technology, has announced that it is to be the lead sponsor of the inaugural Irish Teaching and Learning Festival, to be held in Citywest Conference Centre, Dublin, on 15th and 16th October, 2010.

The conference will feature education thought leader, and Oscar-winning producer, Lord David Puttnam, presenting his vision of how Ireland can better meet the educational needs of its new generation of learners.

As a former president of UNICEF UK, and non executive director of Promethean, the Cork resident will no doubt bring some very thought provoking ideas to his keynote.

Graham Byrne, head of Ireland and Scotland at Promethean said: "There has been very strong demand for an Irish event to highlight the very latest resources, technologies and trends in teaching. As a global leading educational technology company and creator of the ActivClassroom suite of classroom solutions, we are delighted to support Ireland's first ever interactive conference and exhibition".

Promethean will be demonstrating how its ActivClassroom solutions, comprising of interactive whiteboards, learner response systems and specialist teaching software, are bringing to life the promise of ICT in education, improving engagement and results for learners and teachers.

There will also be a host of practical teaching workshops, live demonstrations and an exhibition of the latest education tools for visitors.

Byrne continued: "The Irish Teaching and Learning Festival will provide an exciting new forum for debate and best practice sharing among all who are passionate about the future of Irish education.

"This new event demonstrates Ireland’s readiness to explore how new technology and teaching methods can make a very positive contribution to our shared economic future. We are fully committed to supporting Irish teachers in making lessons more relevant, inspiring and engaging, and we hope that our investment helps secure this event as an annual fixture on the school calendar".

Event organiser Maria McMenamin said: "We are expecting 1,500 teachers, principals, parents and government policy makers to attend the conference and exhibition nearly 500 have registered to attend to date. This event shall be a one stop shop for every educational establishment investing in equipment, consultancy or materials for their school or college".

The sponsor commitment of the Fendt brand will help the German Riding Association (FN) and the German Olympic Equestrian Committee (DOKR) to face the financial and organizational challenges of the competition.

"Fendt is the leading high-tech brand for tractors and the German equestrian team leads in international competitions - that's a perfect match", explained Martin Richenhagen. AGCO's Fendt brand manufactures tractors and agricultural equipment in three German factories.

As the main sponsor, the Fendt brand will finance parts of the equipment of the German equestrian team. Among other things, the Fendt logo will be visible on the German team's equipment and apparel.

The Chef Equipe of the German team, Reinhard Wendt, explained: "We are very pleased to have such an attractive main sponsor as Fendt and we will do our best to successfully represent Germany during the 2010 World Equestrian Games".

With over 450,000 participants, football is the largest sport in Ireland, and last year ten of the top twenty most watched sports events in Ireland were football events (nine of which were Senior Irish International matches). In addition, the 2.2 million peak audience which watched the France v Republic of Ireland match in November 2009 was the largest RTE audience for any sporting event since 1995.

Robert Finnegan, CEO, 3, commenting on the announcement said: "We are delighted to announce this major sponsorship, and see this as a strong strategic fit for our business to drive awareness of our brand amongst supporters of the number one sport in the country. Football fans will be at the heart of 3's sponsorship strategy and we plan to launch a range of exciting, new initiatives, including priority ticket bookings for 3 customers".

He continued: "This announcement officially confirms 3 as Irish football's biggest fan and the number one network for all supporters. We hope football fans will not only cheer on our boys in green but will support their new sponsor by switching to 3. Giovanni Trapattoni's mobile phone bills will never have been so low, with 3 he'll be paying local Irish rates even when he's in Italy!"

John Delaney, Chief Executive, FAI, added: "3 is a new and dynamic brand in Ireland and their determination and drive will bring fresh energy and focus to the partnership. The agreement comes at a very significant time for Irish football and I look forward to seeing both sides enjoying success on and off the pitch."

"This is significant sponsorship which is structured to reach out as never before to engage with grassroots football and all the strands of the game that we represent. It is a significant investment in the future of Irish football, particularly in light of the current economic climate."

"We have worked hard with Robert Finnegan and his team from 3 over recent months I thank them for their vision, determination and professionalism. By coming on board at such an exciting time for Irish football, we look forward to a very beneficial partnership."

Giovanni Trapattoni, Senior Irish International Manager, commented: "I look forward to 3's support for Irish football. We have talked about their plans, and I think this partnership will be good for the game at all levels, while helping the FAI to develop and grow the sport. 3 is a major international brand and we're delighted to have them on side".

In the last twenty four years this primary sponsorship position has only changed hands twice, testament perhaps to the value and effectiveness of the sponsorship. The new partnership comes at an exciting time for Irish football, coinciding with the move to a new world-class home in the Aviva Stadium and the continued progress of the Senior International Team under Giovanni Trapattoni and Marco Tardelli.

3 expects to develop a range of marketing activities to leverage the sponsorship, benefiting both the FAI at all levels and fans alike.