US taxpayers spend $24,000 on Irish college’s DEI film project

The US State Department spent $24,000 (£19,000) to fund an Irish college’s film project promoting diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI).

Earlier this month the Trump administration described a separate grant of $70,000 (£56,000) for a “DEI musical” in Ireland as “crap” that US taxpayer money was “wasted on”, as it continues to dismantle the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) agency.

Now an examination of spending records shows that in October 2021 $24,000 (£19,000) of US taxpayer’s money was given to the Institute of Art, Design and Technology (IADT) in Dun Laoghaire, Co Dublin, to “nurture and encourage equality, inclusion and diversity in storytelling, by facilitating self-generated narratives from diverse community groups through the medium of film”.

The college confirmed to Sky News that it had received the money, which along with Screen Skills Ireland funding, was used to create four short documentaries “by four separate marginalised communities”.

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Those short films were then premiered at a film festival in Galway in July 2023.

Project lead lecturer and filmmaker Vanessa Gildea said at the time: “I believe passionately that the future of film and television must be based on diversity, inclusion and gender parity.

“This belief is the reason we created this film project.

“We are all incredibly proud of these beautiful and moving films, and of each and every filmmaker.”

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One of the films, Falling, was described as “a poetic film about a brave young Afghani woman who left her home in search of a better life”.

Cultural Medium, directed by Britney Madondo, was “a vibrant, lyrical snapshot into the Black and Irish experience through the lens of artist Yomi Attention”.

What is Freedom? by director Mohadesa Shojaee was described as taking viewers on a journey of “experiences in a new land where freedom is more than just a word”, while Sticks & Stones aimed to share “experiences of discrimination and the power of language”.

The funding of $24,000 for the project was secured by IADT via the US Embassy in Dublin.

Two weeks ago, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt listed a series of “insane priorities” that USAID had funded, including $1.5m (£1.2m) for improving diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in Serbian workplaces, $47,000 (£37,000) for a “transgender opera” in Colombia and a $70,000 (£56,000) grant for the production of a “DEI musical in Ireland”.

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The revelations sparked fury from conservative commentators in the US, although it appears the 2022 $70,000 (£56,000) grant, like the IADT funding, had been awarded by the Department of State rather than USAID.

That money is understood to have funded an event in Dublin, but not a musical.

Repeated attempts to contact the event organiser have not been successful.

The White House has been approached for comment by Sky News.