On 21 June 2016, the Embassy of Ireland, Berlin, was delighted to host a breakfast roundtable with 8 leading German animation companies, along with representatives of both EURES Ireland (the European Employment Services section of the Irish Department of Social Protection) and Animation Ireland, to present the Experience Your Europe (EYE) Co-sponsored Placement Programme, which will see a number to Irish animation graduates placed in leading German animation studios from Autumn 2016. 

 

The aim of the EYE placement programme is to provide Irish animation graduates with an opportunity to have a 6- 12 month placement in a German animation studio from Autumn 2016, where they will develop their skills in fields such as animation, VFX, gaming, illustration, compositing and motion graphics. Embassy of Ireland, Berlin and EURES Ireland are currently working closely with German animation companies to expand the programme and establish new work placements in some of the country’s top animation studios.

 

Speaking about the placement programme, Ambassador Michael Collins said:

 

"We believe this European programme offers a fantastic opportunity for our young highly qualified Irish animation graduates to gain invaluable experience in leading German animation studios. Many Irish and German animation studios are already working together on co-productions and this is an opportunity for Ireland to further develop our links with Germany’s dynamic animation sector and of course for German animation studios to see at first hand the calibre of our animation graduates and indeed of Ireland’s wider animation industry. 

 

We are of course very proud of our animation sector, which continues to excel each year on the world stage, and which we believe demonstrates the inherent creativity of the Irish people and Irish industry today. Trade between Ireland and Germany also continues each year, now valued at €25 billion per annum, and we hope that programme such as this will create further linkages and value between our two countries. We are very much looking forward to continuing to work with German animation studios to continue to grow this programme in the coming years.”

 

Embassy of Ireland

21 June 2016

 

For further information on the EYE Co-sponsored Placement Programme please visit: http://www.welfare.ie/en/Pages/Experience-Your-Europe.aspx or contact:

Ms. Deirdre Reid, EURES Deputy National Co-ordinator, deirdre.reid@welfare.ie