The Literacy Library
Minimum Wage for Young People
The Mandate trade union has called for the abolition of the sub-minimum rates of the national minimum wage, which are paid to young people. From 1 January 2023, the minimum wage increased to €11.30 an hour but younger people are paid at a lower rate.
Tags: Language of Information
Buckingham Palace-Controversy Rumbles On
In Buckingham Palace and outside it, we know what it means when people ask ‘where are you from’.
Tags: Language of Argument
20 fun facts about European languages
Throughout Europe, 700 million Europeans are represented in the Council of Europe's 46 member states and all are encouraged to discover more languages at any age. Here are 20 fun facts about European languages.
Time Magazine 100 Women of the Year
TIME magazine recreated covers of their magazines to hightlight 100 fantastic women throughout the ages. Click on the interactive links to learn more.
Cop27: Lack of women leaders impairing global climate response - Mary Robinson
Women tend to have lots of questions on ‘lifestyle changes we need to make to live more sustainably’
Is loud music damaging your ears?
One billion young people risk hearing loss from loud music. Study suggests 24% of 12- to 34-year-olds globally listen at ‘unsafe level’ on devices and visit noisy venues.
Tags: Language of Information
Qatar, the World Cup and Workers Rights
Criticism of conditions faced by migrants labouring on tournament projects led to policy changes in the Gulf state. But have they worked – and will they last?Five experts give their opinion.
World Democracies 2021
The annual survey, which rates the state of democracy across 167 countries on the basis of five measures—electoral process and pluralism, the functioning of government, political participation, democratic political culture and civil liberties—finds that more than a third of the world’s population live under authoritarian rule while just 6.4% enjoy a full democracy.
Tags: Language of Information
Dove Company Secrets
The consumer giant vowed to ditch plastic sachets, single-use packaging that’s swamping poor countries with waste. Privately, it fought to keep using them.
Tags: Language of Argument
Minerals that make up a mobile phone
This inforgraphic looks at the minerals that make up a mobile phone and where they can be found in the world.
Old Man Belfield
A body of a man who had been living on the grounds of UCD campus for years was discovered dead on 11th January 2021. Listen to this documentra about his life
Lidl ordered to destroy its Lindt-like chocolate bunnies by Swiss court
Ruling on trademark case suggests German retailer could melt down and reuse the offending rabbits.
Philippines martial law: The fight to remember a decade of arrests and torture.
Santiago Matela was 22 when he was dragged off the street by soldiers while playing basketball. Fifty years on, he is no longer afraid to speak out. But he is afraid of not being believed at a time when the truth about one of the darkest periods in Filipino history is under attack.
Young non-smokers are being advised not to take up vaping.
Researchers looked at the evidence and say while vaping is somewhat safer than cigarettes, the long-term effects of vapes are still unknown.
Tags: Language of Argument Health
Qatar and Human Rights
Denmark unveil World Cup ‘protest’ kits criticising Qatar’s human rights record.
Tags: Language of Persuasion Poverty Wealth Sport Politics Human Rights
Nobel Prize: Gender Gap
Women have increased their presence among Nobel Prize Laureates but the prestigious honor is still a long way from achieving gender parity, highlighting the under-representation of women in the sciences but also in powerful positions in the humanities.
Food price rises around the world are result of ‘broken’ system, say experts
Surge of about 20% this year due to system that concentrates power and profits in hands of few companies
Tags: Language of Argument Poverty Money
News sources and their trustworthiness
The huge distrust in the news is leading people to trust crazy fringe sources. This is making things much worse than any political bias in specific news sources.
West Africa and the harmful effects of fast fashion
Dumping of second-hand clothing from West poses dilemma for Ghana’s growing fashion scene and the young designers active in it.
Extract from a novel on the intimacy that sport can offer.
Sport offers us moments of shared intimacy. Especially in Ireland when we may struggle to truly convey our emotions and feelings of pride. Here the author passes his thoughts on.
Tags: Language of Narration Sport Novel