Irish Rural Link

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CWF win Spark Change Award

CWF were nominated in two categories at the recent Spark Change Awards and were the winner in the Connector Award category for its innovative and impactful ways to engage multiple stakeholders or build networks to generate the transformational change needed to make the SDGs a reality.  The award ceremony took place in Dublin Castle on the 18th October.  Over the past year, dozens of community and voluntary groups have been working on local projects to make Ireland more economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. The Spark Change Awards highlighted these inspiring stories. Eleven organisations from across Ireland were shortlisted in six categories.  The awards were the culmination of Spark Change, a collaborative project of The Wheel and Trinity College Dublin, funded by the EPA. 

2019 was a good year for various group and individual members of CWF. Kilteevan Tidy Towns took Second Place in the Tidy Towns Sustainable Development Award, whilst Abbeyleix Bog took top honours in the Heritage category of the National Lottery Good Causes Awards. Recently Girley Bog Meitheal was the winner of Creative Place Initiative category of the Pride of Place Competition. In October Tina Claffey was awarded an Honourable Mention at the International Photography Awards in New York for her book ‘Tapestry of Light’ on Ireland’s bogs and wetlands.

Pictured: Girley Bog Meaitheal members at the Pride of Place Awards Ceremony & Ned Gilligan & Eileen Fahy of Kilteevan Tidy Towns receiving award from Minister Heather Humphreys

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Getting Citizens Online

Classes are now coming to a close for 2019, but will be back early in 2020 – so keep an eye on your local community notes and our website www.irishrurallink.ie

These classes run for 5 weeks, 2 hours a week and are FREE to attend.  The classes are aimed at any person who has never used a computer before, with the classes teaching participants how to use the internet, online banking, email, pay bill online, Skype etc.  The ‘IT Skills for Farmers’ courses help farmers to register calves and herd movements as well as the basic skills also.

If you know anyone who would be interested in or would benefit from one of these classes, please contact Mary Keyes, Programme Coordinator, on 090 6482744 or Maryk@irishrurallink.ie or you can search the map for a class near you https://www.google.com/maps/d/viewer?mid=1HCmFsxcCTIFj390bjIRZ_urz927YNqhH&ll=53.37084448323444%2C-8.125986099999977&z=8

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DELSA Partner Meeting

IRL, is lead partner in DELSA – Digital Empowerment for Low Skilled Adults. The consortium have developed modules for the online platform.

These modules were discussed  at the Partner meeting that took place in Budapest in October. They are being finalised at present with testing and validating of the modules commencing early in the new year.

More information about the project is available on www.digitaldelsa.eu

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RUBIZMO Conference

RUBIZMO partners met in Brussels on the 22nd and 23rd of October for its Mid-Term Progress Meeting.  The meeting reviewed the work to date and the next steps.

The first findings of the project were shared at a conference on the 24th October.  Over 100 European Stakeholders, from policy makers to representatives of trade associations and cooperatives, working hard to make rural development a reality across Europe attended the event which took place at the European Economic and Social Committee in Brussels. 

As part of the conference an Awards ceremony took place for the most inspiring examples of rural business success among the business cases selected for the project.  Awards were presented to one business in each of the three categories of Food, Bio-based value chain and ecosystem services. Dunhill Ecopark in Co. Waterford was nominated in the ecosystem services and came a very close second in the ecosystem services category.   

More information about the conference, copies of speakers presentations and videos as well as details of the award winners are available on https://rubizmo.eu/news/view/3c7e7e32-7ef3-4497-8f91-a4a76f77f266

You can follow the project on twitter @RUBIZMO  and website https://rubizmo.eu/

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IRL Information Day ‘Services in Rural Areas’ Buswells Hotel, 14th November

Irish Rural Link held its annual Information Day on Rural Services in Buswells Hotel, Dublin on the 14th November.  A number of organisations including Meals on Wheels from Castlebar and Longford, Local Link, Louth Meath Fingal Local Link/Flexibus, Moynalty Mens Shed, Longford Women’s Link, African Caribbean Diaspora Centre, Community Wetlands Forum and National Rural Network.  Projects IRL are involved – Getting Citizens Online, IT Skills for Farming, Local Public Banking, The Next Chapter and European projects – Rubizmo, DELSA and Sustain it.

Minister for Rural and Community Development, Michael Ring, TD addressed attendees and spoke with all the groups who were there.  Around 50 TD’s and Senators dropped into the event throughout the day.

 

  • Michael Ring, Minister for Rural & Community Development with Deirdre Waldron, Castlebar Social Services and Owen Harrison, Longford Social Services at IRL Information Day in Nov 2019