Over the past five years, the Generation Emigration project on irishtimes.com has shared more than 1,000 first-person stories written by readers abroad, and interviewed hundreds more. The section has become an online community of its own, because of the continued interest and contribution of our readers, especially overseas.
Generation Emigration began in 2011 in response to the large numbers leaving Ireland after the recession hit. As we approach 2017, the profile of the Irish diaspora is changing again. The Irish economy is recovering and a growing number of emigrants are now returning home, but many more are putting deeper roots abroad. Others, especially young people, continue to emigrate.
The Irish Times is reacting to these changes by expanding Generation Emigration into a broader service - Irish Times Abroad (irishtimes.com/abroad) - for Irish-born and Irish-connected people around the world.
As well as the first-person Generation Emigration stories, readers will now find more news, business, sports, opinion, culture and lifestyle content of special interest to those living outside Ireland.
Readers are invited to join the new Irish Times Abroad Network, which will enable them to more easily contribute opinions and stories, and be our eyes and ears on the ground around the world.
By signing up and entering their location and occupation, The Irish Times will be able to contact them when we need an Irish voice on an international event, or to interview someone with their professional expertise, for example.
They will also receive a weekly digest of our best stories by and about the Irish emigration and the Irish diaspora, and invitations to participate in opinion polls dedicated to issues concerning the Irish abroad.
A new Working Abroad section will focus on job and career opportunities, where we will be publishing monthly in-depth sector-specific guides to job opportunities abroad. The section will also feature regular interviews with Irish employees and entrepreneurs worldwide working across a broad range of industries, from fashion to finance.
The popular Destination Guides to Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the UAE, as well as the Returning to Ireland guide, will continue to feature the most up-to-date information on moving abroad and back home. More interactive features and tools are will be rolled out over the coming months.
The project issupported by the Google Digital News Initiative Innovation Fund.
See irishtimes.com/abroad for more details, and to sign up to the network.
