Social Justice Matters

Social Justice Ireland is a key partner in a Masters programme that is run in conjunction with the Waterford IT campus of the new South East Technological University and delivered in Dublin city. This programme is called the MA in Social Justice and Public Policy.

This is our second special episode of Social Justice Matters and it should be of great interest to anyone considering enrolling in this MA. The episode is anchored by MA Programme Leader Dr. Paul Clogher of WIT, and includes information on the evolution of the programme and the major ideas and themes behind.

We also hear from Dr. Susan Flynn, Head of the Department of Arts, Dr. Hazel O'Brien, Department of Arts, Dr. Seán Healy, CEO, Social Justice Ireland and we get the student experience of the programme from recent graduate Susanne Rogers, who also works for Social Justice Ireland as a research and policy analyst. 

More details about this programme are available here: https://www.wit.ie/courses/ma-in-social-justice-and-public-policy

 

The Children's Rights Alliance published its Report Card 2022 in February of this year (Report Card 2022 | Children's Rights Alliance (childrensrights.ie)) "the second analysis of Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and the Green Party’s joint Programme for Government: Our Shared Future and how it performed for children in 2021."

In this week's episode, Colette Bennett chats with Saoirse Brady of the Alliance about the results of this year's Report Card, the improvements that have been made in the area and the policy challenges that are yet to be overcome. 

We launched our socio-economic review for 2022 on Tuesday, 19th April 2022. This annual publication is where we present a detailed analysis of a range of key matters which are central to social justice; a vision of Ireland’s future as a just and sustainable society; and a policy framework to move consistently and coherently towards that society. 

In this episode, you can listen back to the presentations from this launch. The full publication is also available to download from our website here.

This week, Séamus Boland, from the European Economic Social Council, chats with Susanne Rogers about the Conference on the Future of Europe. As Europe shapes more and more of Irish life, whose voice gets to be heard is an important topic. 

Séamus is the current President of the European Economic Social Council - Diversity Group III. The Diversity Group is made up of delegates drawn from each member state, representing sectors which include, community, agriculture, environment, consumers, social economy and various professions.

We need a radical re-think of our society and our place in it. In today's episode, Colette Bennett chats with Ruairi McKiernan about the Ukrainian crisis; the need for connection; youth mental health; a new Social Contract; and finding our place in it all. It's a fascinating episode. 

On the 24th March 2022, CLM and DCU published their report, 'Environmental Justice in Ireland: Key dimensions of environmental and injustice experienced by vulnerable and marginalised communities', looking at the impact of environmental injustice on people and communities most impacted by environmental issues and least supported to address them. In today's episode, Colette Bennett speaks with lead author Sadbh O'Neill, Project Lead Dr. Diarmuid Torney, and Clodagh Daly of Community Law and Mediation on the need to increase awareness and deliberative democracy around environmental justice and key policy proposals for now, for Budget 2023, and beyond.

 

If you would like to read the report, view the videos of the launch, or the infographics developed by CLM on environmental justice, all are available at Environmental Justice in Ireland: New research and resources by DCU and Community Law & Mediation - Community Law (communitylawandmediation.ie)

This week, Dr. Madeleine Lyes from Space Engagers chats to Susanne Rogers about they work they do, the importance of community engagement and public participation in the co creation of shared spaces and some exciting new projects. 

Space Engagers is a research and co-design collective on a mission to make our towns and cities more resilient and sustainable by utilising research, citizen engagement and co-design tools. Dr Madeleine Lyes specialises in policy-oriented research and community engagement. She has a background in critical urbanism, with a PhD focused on the development of urbanity in New York City at mid-century. She has worked on worldwide diaspora engagement, developing recommendations which fed into government policy, and was founder of City Intersections, an urban forum for public engagement around issues facing Dublin city. She is based in Limerick.

The Freedom of Information legislation is a key tool allowing individuals and organisations to request records from public bodies. Unfortunately, a lot of people don't know about the power it gives them. In this episode, Colette Bennett chats with Ken Foxe, writer, researcher, trainer and director of Right to Know, an Irish transparency organisation that campaigns for greater information access. Ken is an expert on Freedom of Information and has helpfully taken the time to go through the what and how of information access.

The guide that Ken talks about during the podcast is available on his website www.kenfoxe.com and check out the website of Right to Know at www.righttoknow.ie.

In the week that marks International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, we bring you a Crossover Episode with C.J. Quartlbaum from the Labor Forward podcast. CJ chats about the work he does and the stories he tells and we discuss the changing face of racism and lessons for a multicultural Ireland. 

CJ is a writer and speaker from Brooklyn, NY. He is the founder of the nonprofit, Labor Forward, whose aim is a better teaching of Black history. They do this through a variety of means which includes courses, calendars, and the Labor Forward Podcast. He speaks on a variety of topics but mainly focuses on history, culture, and creating a more unified future. He loves his family (wife and three kids), basketball, and food. You can find his work at  CJQuartlbaum.com and follow him on Instagram and Twitter @CJ_Quartlbaum

In today's episode, Colette Bennett chats to Davie Philip of Cultivate. Davie currently manages the Community Resilience Programme that developed out of the Community Powerdown Programme in 2010. He was a founding member of both FEASTA: the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability and Sustainable Projects Ireland Ltd the company behind the ecovillage project in Cloughjordan, Co. Tipperary where he now lives. 

 

Michelle is Research and Policy Analyst with Social Justice Ireland and has written extensively on a Just Transition, Sustainability and Climate Action.