Profile

A Brief Work Experience Summary

2003

Sound Technician

Sound Technician for Newstalk Radio

2005

Director XTS

Established 2005. Director of Xtreme Technology Solutions (XTS)

2008

IT Support

Level 1 IT Support for PwC Ireland

2010

Snr AV Specialist

Senior Audio Visual Specialist with PwC Ireland

2015

Supervisor in AVT

Supervisor in Audio Visual Technology for UCD SNMHS

2021

Snr Tech Officer

Senior Technical Officer for DCU SNPCH

2025

EU Executive

EU Executive to HETMA

My Background

Media Background

From Pirate Radio to Professional Podcasting

Justin is a highly experienced media professional with over 25 years of experience with creating, planning, producing, hosting and publishing podcasts and radio shows.

His interest in technology stems from his father being an electrician for over 50 years. With the help of his Dad, he built his own pirate radio station at 13 years of age and promoted his interest in radio and his amateur broadcast through learning HTML coding for websites in a local cybercafe.

Justin entered University in 2002. He holds a Masters of Arts in TV and Radio Production from Maynooth University and a Bachelors of Arts in Media Production and Management from London University with minors in Radio Production from Ballyfermot College.

His extensive media career includes work with two Irish national radio stations, Newstalk Radio & Today FM.

Justin's innovation portfolio includes forming his own internet radio station for the Scouting Movement, a first of its kind and endorsed by the Grandson to the founder of Scouting, Michael Baden-Powell. Scouting Radio consistently led the podcast charts globally. He has consistently worked to improve the visibility of The World Scout Movement through the station encourage young people to join the adventure of the World’s largest Peace Movement.

Scouting Radio later renamed One Movement Media took Justin into every imaginable and unimaginable situation, from celebrating the centenary of Scouting and having live reports from every time zone of the World for 24 hours during the Sunrise Festival in 2007 to reporting on missing Scouts, Scouts taking on summiting Everest, interviewing Astronauts, members of the Royal Family and to tragic accidents at Scout Jamborees.

In 2004, Justin formed Xtreme Media, a live streaming and audio production company that covered Scouting news and information along with Technology Podcasts.

In 2018, with his media background Justin launched a new technology podcast called All Things TechIE. The podcast covers Audio Visual and emerging technology from and Irish perspective. It has gained a global audience with its audio podcast available on all podcast networks and video available on YouTube.
Audio Visual
From Live Events to winning awards

When recession hit Ireland in 2008, Justin gained employment as a IT Support Technician with PwC.

He diversified his career to become an Audio-Visual Technician with the top 4 financial firm in 2010, supporting over 2000 employees of the Irish firm with live events, maintenance, installations and support. He became a member of InfoComm (now AVIXA) and began studying towards his CTS® accreditation.

In 2015 Justin left the private financial sector and was employed in Higher Education with University College Dublin as an Audio-Visual Technician with the School of Nursing, Midwifery and Health Systems.

He successfully passed his CTS® in 2017 becoming one of 6 Irish Audio-Visual professionals with the accreditation at this time.

He was a finalist in the 2017 AV Awards in London nominated for European CTS® Holder of the Year.

Justin continued to gain several accolades for his professional AV support and approach to Audio Visual Technology including:

Finalists in the 2018 AV Awards for AV Professional of the Year

Finalist in the AV Tech Europe Awards

AV Professional of the Year in the AV Nation Readers Choice Awards 2018

and Commercial Integrators 40 influencers under 40 in 2019.

With his Professional Audio Visual and Technology experience, Justin regularly attends Audio Visual Conferences and trade shows including Integrated Systems Europe (ISE), Learning Technology Space Management Group (LTSMG) and SCHOMS. He has presented at AV conferences and partakes in several AV discussions both as a panellist and online webinars.

In 2021 Justin was marginally beaten in the finals of the AV Nation's Readers Choice Awards for the category AV Professional of the Year an accolade he won in 2019 for the previous years dedication to the Audio Visual industry.

He has reached the semi -finals of the 2022 AV Nation Readers Choice awards for AV Professional of the Year
Autism Advocacy
His Fight is My Fight

Although I'm a parent to a young 6 year old, I decided to add this page on my personal site to collate my works as an advocate for autism awareness and understanding.

In the Media & Projects page you will find links to radio interviews where I have campaigned for simple fundamental rights for my son along with personal blog posts and thoughts on the crisis in our Irish Healthcare Service towards providing early interventions and therapies.

I always welcome feedback and will always provide free advice to other parents on this rollercoaster journey so please reach out to me.
Scouter
My years and journey on the Scouting trail

I first was exposed to Scouting, like many of you, when I was young.My uncle ran a Beaver colony in the city centre of Dublin.

I loved collecting the early Beaver footprint badges. I hoped to join Cubs but missed out on an opportunity as there was a waiting list in a nearby Cub pack in Rathgar.

Eventually I was accepted as a very, very young Scout in the 32nd Dublin Rathgar in a Patrol which were mostly a lot older than me. This timid 11 year old got home sick a good few times on camps in Powerscourt and needed collecting.

Eventually I re-joined my Uncle's Scout Group being a Patrol Leader and progressed into Senior Scouts when the teenage years kicked in and I got bored of Scouting.

After my Uncle’s passing in 2000 there was a need for Leaders in his small group in Drimnagh. Now 18 years of age I decided to get fully trained as a Leader with Troop 44 Dublin Baden-Powell Scouts of Ireland. There I rose to the position of Scoutmaster of the Group.

I’ll admit a lot of responsibility for a young 18/19 year old. However I was helped by other amazing volunteer leaders , mostly parents at the stage and my sister who was Commissioner for Ireland for the Baden-Powell Scouts. I loved this group. While my sister took the responsibility of the financial paperwork I was the busy, adventurous Scout Leader in my 20s enjoying Scouting, camping and the outdoors with a group of Boys who I had seen grow up since they were 8 year old Wolf Cubs in this Traditional Scout Association.

My early days as a Leader seen me in:

Long distant relationships with my first love in England

My whole rucksack getting exposed to a burst water pipe in a hostel in Germany (nothing is more confusing than a German Scouter shouting at you in German to wake up because the hostel floor was submerged in water!)

Jamborees in Switzerland in an absolute heat wave of a summer

Being an International Staff Member at 2 BSA summer camps

Hiking Half Dome in Yosemite National Park, and getting lost in this wilderness

Setting up an internet media outlet for Scouting

Gaining a Medal of Merit for my service to Scouting while on Brownsea Island, the birthplace of the Scout Movement

Gaining my Gaisce (Presidents Award / DoE International) Gold Award

In 2010 due to changes in company legislation in Ireland for charities the Baden-Powell Scouts of Ireland closed. It was heart-breaking for me after placing my heart and soul into a Group that grew from a small patrol of 6 and a handful of younger Scouts to a group which had a waiting list in all sections.

I rejoined the Scout Movement with Scouting Ireland assisting with the 25th Mount Merrion Scout Group where I have seen youth grow from Cubs to Ventures. I was awarded a Commendation of Merit by Scouting Ireland for my work with Scouting Radio by Christy McCann, Chief Scout.

Yes the Scout programme has changed, the uniforms have changed (a lot!) though the message and method stays the same, or at least as a Traditionalist Scout at heart I still abide by the 10 Scout Laws in life.

Those who live by these principles are what I call success-minded people. A success-minded person is one who is aware that success, in all areas of life, takes work and effort and they are willing to put forth that work and effort to achieve it. Success-minded people know that real success in life goes far beyond wealth, power and position. Real success is found in who we become as a person, not what we possess.

Fast forward about 15 years or so. I have settled down, married, become a father to a 6 year old son and a 4 year daughter.

Due to several family commitments and time spent with my autistic son I'm not an active Scouter with any group however and recently closed One Movement Media as a global media outlet for Scouting and Guiding.

I must admit Im bemused by the operations of Scouting Ireland and its current management and treatment to highly qualified volunteers through the years. For this reason I would not volunteer again to this Association.

As the founder of Scouting tries to teach us from a young Scout to “Be Prepared” , as a Senior Scout to “Paddle our own Canoe” and as a Rover (yes I still consider myself a Rover even if the programme says I’m too old!) Rovering is all about Service and as late Scout friend taught me:

“Service, Justin is a small price we pay for our short time on earth”

It is important to teach these principles to our youth so that they can grow and apply them when they are adults. As my son and daughter grows older I hope that they take on the same interest of adventure in the outdoors as I did, if he doesn’t I know the principles of Scouting and respect to others will be delivered to them through my parenting.

Some day, In between work, media production and keeping my family happy, I will tick off an item on my bucket list and write a book on my Scouting memoirs.
Knighthood from Sealand
E Mare Libertas

During the Second World War, the British government built several Fortress islands in the North Sea to defend its coasts from German invaders. Some of these forts were built illegally in international waters.

These sea forts housed enough troops to man and maintain anti-aircraft weaponry designed to shoot down German aircraft and missiles. They were situated along the east coast of England, on the edge of British territorial waters. One of these forts, consisting of concrete and steel construction, was the now famous Roughs Tower, situated in the North Sea. In contrast to the original plan to locate the tower within the sovereign territory of Great Britain; this fortress was situated at a distance of approximately 7 nautical miles from the coast, which is more than double the then internationally accepted 3 mile range of territorial waters. To put it briefly, this island was illegally placed in the international waters of the North Sea, but such restrictions were overlooked in a time of war. Following WWII, the naval personnel and marines were withdrawn from all of these forts by the British Admiralty. None of them were ever manned by the United Kingdom again, leaving the forts deserted to nature and the elements, thus abandoning their sovereignty. Save the aforementioned fortress, the other forts outside UK international limits were subsequently demolished. This resulted in the portentous uniqueness of the Roughs Tower fortress, situated at the high seas, it had been deserted and abandoned, ‘res derelict’ and ‘terra nullis’. From a legal point of view, it therefore constituted extra-national territory. This paved the way for occupation.

In the early 60’s, Roy Bates, a Major in the British army, established a radio station, situated offshore on an abandoned ex naval fort named “Knock John”. The theory behind this location was an attempt to bypass the draconian broadcasting restrictions of the time, which permitted little more than formal broadcasting by the BBC.

Roy’s station, “Radio Essex”, and others like it, were known affectionately by the media as “Pirate” radio stations, and were much loved by the British public, as they supplied everything that the BBC did not at the time; Pop music and amusing presenters. In the years that ensued, Roy fought an unsuccessful legal battle with the UK government, which questioned the legality of his occupation of said fort. It was ruled that “Knock John” fell under UK jurisdiction. Smarting from his setback, Roy weighed his options. Another abandoned fortress, Roughs Tower, identical in construction to the Knock John existed further offshore, and crucially, outside of the three mile limit to which the UK jurisdiction extended. Roy proceeded to occupy Roughs Tower, on Christmas eve 1966, with the intention of revitalising his dormant radio station. This was until he conjured a different plan entirely. After consulting his lawyers, Roy decided to declare this fortress island the independent state of “Sealand”, Claiming “Jus Gentium” (“Law of Nations”) over a part of the globe that was “Terra Nullius” (Nobody’s Land).

On the 2nd of September 1967, accompanied by his wife Joan on her birthday, his son Michael (14), daughter Penelope (16) and several friends and followers, Roy declared the Principality of Sealand. The founding of this country was marked by the raising of a newly designed flag, and in an extremely romantic birthday gesture, the bestowing of a new title on his beloved wife, to be know from that moment on as “Princess Joan”.

Shortly after the declaration of independence, Roy’s son, Prince Michael, repelled no less than seven armed invasion attempts, employing an arsenal of guns, Molotov Cocktails and homemade projectiles. By late 1968, Sealand would find itself battling for survival on several fronts as the British government had become aware of Sealand, and the potential problems associated with a new country seven miles off of their coast.

On the 25th of September 1975, Prince Roy proclaimed the Constitution of the Principality of Sealand. Over time, other national treasures were developed, such as it’s national anthem, stamps, as well as gold and silver coins, minted as Sealand dollars. Principality of Sealand passports were produced and issued to many of those who have contributed to the formation and continuation of the Principality.

No treaty has been signed between Britain and Sealand to divide up the overlapping areas, but a general policy of dividing the area between the two countries down the middle can be assumed. International law does not allow the claim of new land during the extension of sea rights, so Sealand’s sovereignty was safely ‘grandfathered’. Some nations might have tried to use this as an excuse to try to subvert international law and claim all of the territory of the smaller and less recognised nation, however, this has not been the case. Britain has made no attempt to take Sealand, and the British government still treats Sealand as an independent State.

There are 582 National's including myself. One of the famous and notable nobles is Ed Sheeran of Sealand. I also own a piece of Sealand territory

Photo Gallery

Here are some photos through the years of my involvement with Media, Audio Visual, Scouting and my Autism Advocacy. My latest photos are on my Instagram page below.
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Sir Justin Dawson