Site of the Month:
“EULEX Kosovo” is the European Union Rule of Law Mission in Kosovo
Ireland
Websites of Politeia Members from Ireland: TASC and Vincentian Partnership for Justice
The www.vote.ie website developed by the VPSJ in 2006 provides a wealth of information on Active Citizenship and voting in Ireland. The website provides another means of making our message about Active Citizenship and the importance of participation in the democratic process more accessible to the general public. There are practical sections on registration, completing a ballot paper, how we are governed and further ways to engage with politicians. The website also provides information and resources such as flyers, posters and new workshop materials to members of the National Active Citizenship Network. The site has been a huge success and proved a very useful resource for many in the run-up to the General Election in 2007 when it received a record number of hits.
The Active Citizenship/Voter Education Programme that is used by the VPSJ was adapted with permission from NETWORK Washington, who had their own American Voter Education Programme. The programme which was amended to meet the needs of Irish voters, is strictly non-party political, and has been very successful in encouraging people to register to vote and have their say in the democratic process. The programme which is 15 per cent presentation and 85 per cent participation is divided into three units. The first unit deals ‘Our Voices, Our Vote’, whilst the second unit covers ‘Issues’ and the third looks at ‘Candidates’.
Redeveloping social housing estates is increasingly being seen as vital in promoting social inclusion and reducing poverty in many parts of Ireland’s cities. However, questions may be asked about the processes driving it.
This year, TASC teamed up with the National Women’s Council of Ireland to produce a major new work on the status of women and the feminist movement in Ireland today.
As part of its continuing work on democracy and governance in Ireland, TASC is working to influence forthcoming legislation to reform local government in Ireland.
It is well recognised that there is a strong relationship between economic performance and migration. Ireland knows this first hand, perhaps better than most. At times of recession, such as during the 1950s, and again in the 1980s, Ireland experienced sharp rises in unemployment and accompanying rises in the numbers of Irish people seeking jobs abroad. The economic decline in the 1950s was in fact so severe, and the numbers leaving our shores so high, that Ireland’s population fell to its lowest ever level in 1961. The economic recovery of the 1970s saw many Irish people return, making the numbers arriving much greater than those leaving and resulting in Ireland’s population growing once again.
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