REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE PRESENTATION OF THE ALLIANZ BUSINESS2ARTS AWARDS 2003
REMARKS BY PRESIDENT McALEESE AT THE PRESENTATION OF THE ALLIANZ BUSINESS2ARTS AWARDS 2003 ROYAL HOSPITAL KILMAINHAM, DUBLIN
Tá lúcháir mhór orm go bhfuil mé ábalta bheith anseo libh inniú, agus ba mhaith liom mo bhuíochas a chur in iúl daoibh as an chuireadh, agus as fáilte a bhí caoin, cneasta, agus croiúil.
I am delighted to be here again for the Allianz Business2Arts Awards 2003. I want to thank Brigid Roden for the kind invitation to an event that has become a very powerful showcase of the now extensive collaboration between Ireland’s business and arts communities.
Last year Irish business supported the arts to the tune of over 34 million euro. In hard cash terms that is a lot of money. In lived lives, it is a huge contribution to unlocking our nations fullest potential and in widening access to the comfort and the challenge of the arts. There was a time not all that long ago when the reach of the arts was narrow and had more than a touch of elitism about it but this generation has seen a remarkable democratisation of the arts and with it has come a surging cultural confidence and exuberance. Government funding has been crucial but so too has private sponsorship. We have been fortunate to witness the growth of a new ethic which has shifted private sponsorship out of the mode of corporate altruism into the much more coherent and assertive mode of corporate social responsibility with support for the arts forming a significant part of that responsibility. That shift could not have occurred unless the experience of involvement in the arts justified its existence in terms of business objectives. Nor could it have occurred unless the involvement of business justified itself in terms of arts objectives.
This partnership is growing because it is working, because it is delivering and the evidence is mounting that the benefits flow both ways. In fact they flow in many directions, cascading benefits on individuals and communities, underpinning Ireland’s remarkable economic development with the rich seams of cultural life that round us out humanly and enhance the quality of everyday living.
There is a huge breadth and depth to the work you have undertaken. The cheques you have signed have changed the lives of so many people from school children, to recovering addicts, senior citizens, to prisoners, mentally ill to shoppers, employees to tourists. And it is great to see the concept of sponsorship growing in sophistication with the new emphasis this year on encouraging collaborations that go beyond the limits of that important financial dimension.
Business2Arts has been a formidable champion of the belief that the arts have endless, beneficial application in the wider community. It has been a missionary organisation preaching the gospel of social responsibility in the business world and producing the results which prove it makes economic sense. You have created acres of new space for artists, given them opportunities they would otherwise never have had, introduced Ireland to the true extent of its natural talent base and introduced many people to a world from which they have drawn pleasure, inspiration, consolation and even provocation.
As Patron of Business2Arts I am very proud to be associated with these Awards and with this organisation which has brought new vitality to life itself for so many people. I would like to congratulate Allianz, in their second year as the generous main sponsors for this event, for their continuing commitment and support to the Awards; the superb Business2Arts team; Aer Rianta who have sponsored the winning award sculpture and cash prize and the many other people involved in the success of this event. It now gives me great pleasure to hand over to Myles Dungan to announce the successful candidates in the Arts Sponsor of the Year Awards 2003.
Mo bhuíochas libh arís. Guím gach rath agus séan ar bhur gcuid oibre san am atá le teacht.