Embedded Files
Dear Sisters and Friends,
I hope that this May issue of the JustIce Desk Update finds you well. There is once again plenty to interest and provoke, perhaps too much, but you only need to engage with that which catches your interest. We would as always, be grateful if you would be kind enough to assist others in engaging with our content. In this issue you will find an invitation to attend a March, and an in-person and online awareness raising event. We bring you news of some of our work during the last month and indeed, other items that may be of interest to you given our IPA commitments. Some of what we include has been referred to us by some of the Sisters and we are happy to include it. So, the message is, if you would like to see something covered then we would love to hear from you.
Brian.
Please find below..
IPA Assembly Prayer.
A link to the work we undertook with Altogether in Dignity Ireland European Boards in Mery - Sur - Oise, Paris in Mid-April.
A link to our summary of the most recent SDG Stakeholder Forum in Dublin. [photo at the top of the page]
Invitation to Irish Coalition of Business and Human Rights event in Stephen's Green on May 2nd at 10.30am. We need YOU
SDGs in Dáil Eireann [Houses of Parliament].
The Stations of the Forest - as forwarded to us by Sr. Helen Lenehan.
United Nations Member States, Indigenous Peoples Forum - What's it all about?
AFRI on the consequences of war.
Launch of the Global Citizenship School website.
Rebranding 'weeds' as 'hero flowers'.
Join Social Justice Ireland online at 1pm on Monday 8th May for the launch of' Social Justice Matters.
Getting ready for the UK Elections next year.
ATD on Poverty Awareness.
A World in Crisis - March from the Garden of Remembrance on May 1st. Don't Miss Out
SDGs and the Tidy Town's Competition.
Nano's Echo in case you haven't seen it yet.
Below is the dissertation of Sr. Annotolia Muzzata PBVM from Zimbabwe, my colleague in Justice.
Graphic 'FACTS MATTER'.
The 'Struggle for Survival' a crossword prepared for us by Mary Ann Greaney our Friends of Nano Animator.
The New Refugee Bill in the UK - an explainer. What's it all about?
I was privileged to offer training on the SDGs to all in RENATE on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery - recordings below.
Laudato Si Week May 18th - 23rd 2023 - You might screen THE LETTER.
Dear Sisters,
Is it possible that you might be available next TUESDAY May 2nd to attend St. Stephen's Green between 10.30am and 11.00am for about an hour or so? We intend to draw attention to corporate irresponsibility that tramples the Human Rights of those who are furthest behind in our world. It is proposed that the Irish Coalition for Business and Human Rights [ICBHR] will announce that there is a move to rezone a five acre plot of St. Stephen's Green for the planting of Palm for the production of Palm Oil. This is of course impossible but the point is to draw attention to similar such ventures that occur with increasing regularity and how people are pushed off their land in the name of corporate greed. We, in the Africa Faith and Justice Network are members of the ICBHR and we are attending and would love to have your company to draw attention to these Human Rights abuses. There will be a photo call at about 11am and we hope to hand out some flyers to those who pass by to alert them to our campaign. Perhaps you could lend a hand. If you would like to learn a little more about this issue you can see our most recent webinar HERE. We would love to see you next Tuesday, May 2nd 2023 at the main entrance to St. Stephen's Green at about 10.30am. I will be attending.
Brian.
SDGs and the Oireachtas
Officials from the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications were recently invited to a meeting of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on Climate and Environment to discuss the Sustainable Development Goals. A link to a video of the session can be found here.
Department officials also provided briefing on Ireland’s implementation of the SDGs to Oireachtas members and staff. This session forms part of a series of talks on the SDGs being organised by the Oireachtas All-Party Group on the SDGs chaired by Senator Alice-Mary Higgins and Deputy Marc O’Cathasaigh.
The Stations of the Forest as forwarded to us by Sr. Helen Lenehan of the North East Province PBVM
The UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues was held from 17-28 April 2023. United Nations Member States, Indigenous Peoples, and civil society, and other stakeholders gathered in New York for the 22nd Session of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, or UNPFII22. This Forum is the principal advisory body, within and for the United Nations, on the concerns of Indigenous Peoples. It provides a vital space to discuss and address issues related to economic and social development, culture, environment, education, health, and human rights. In addition to these six mandated areas of focus, each session of the UNPFII prioritizes a specific theme, and the theme of UNPFII22 is "Indigenous Peoples, human health, planetary and territorial health and climate change, a rights-based approach."
JCoR created a guide to UNPFII22 below, including information about the event, how you can follow the proceedings online, and suggestions for participating in advocacy. You can visit their website, to access this new guide. We encourage you to use this resource and share it with your networks.
JCoR-Guide-to-the-2023-UNPFII-1.pdf
On the Consequences of War
AFRI - More HERE
As the war in Ukraine enters its second year, growing more vicious and destructive with each passing day, it is increasingly clear that it is a war in which there are no winners (except the weapons industry) and in which hundreds of thousands of lives are being lost and destroyed. And this war adds a singular threat which was not present in previous wars and around which there exists a disturbing level of complacency.
This was most recently articulated by Rafael Grosse, head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the UN’s Nuclear watchdog, after another interruption to the power supply of Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant: ‘This cannot go on,’ he told the board of governors of the IAEA. He went on to say that he is ‘astonished by the complacency’ regarding this peril and warned the IAEA to guard against it.
But there is also a shocking and disturbing level of complacency in the body politic in general, and among the political elite in particular in relation to the potentially catastrophic consequences of this war. As it rages on, the people of Ukraine are being devastated; there is also a very real danger that our entire planet will be wasted if we fail to stop the slaughter and the use of ever more brutal and indiscriminate weaponry in a country which hosts four nuclear power stations. Rafael Grosse warns: “each day we are rolling a dice. And if we allow this to continue…then one day our luck will run out”. To underscore this point, the Doomsday Clock, created by scientists to symbolise the urgent dangers to human civilisation, and our proximity to "midnight" -- in other words, our destruction – is now at 90 seconds to midnight the closest it's ever been.
We must stop rolling this dice…it is time to begin to talk peace. Even before the outbreak of this latest war, we were told that we had less than a decade left to avoid catastrophic climate change. What has the toxic cocktail of weapons used in this war done to hasten the rush towards catastrophe? So, let the talking begin in an effort to bring this horrendous war to an end.The lesson of the Good Friday agreement is that talking succeeds where war fails. Perhaps we can have the equivalent of a Good Friday Agreement in 2023 to end the slaughter and to end the suffering of those caught up in this vicious conflict. Please circulate this video widely.
Launch of the Global Citizenship School Website
At the INTO Congress for the launch of the GSC website.
On Monday April 10th at the Irish National Teachers Organisation ❲INTO❳ Congress ‘23 our Global Citizenship School website was officially launched by Dorothy McGinley, the newly appointed INTO President. In her remarks she commented on the need to help students to take an active part in becoming Global Citizens. She referenced the SDG lessons that she has used in her own school and how this website can become a repository for good lesson plans, school actions, teacher’s resources, teachers supports, continuing professional development and more. We were hugely encouraged by the results of the survey that we administered during INTO Congress ’23, where 90% of respondents concluded that our new website is either ‘very good’ or ‘excellent’. We urge all to visit the website www.GlobalCitizenshipSchool.ie to see how the resources might apply locally in your own school. We are also urging teachers to send us lessons or examples of good practice that we can share widely. At various times during the year we contact our subscribers to alert them to possible actions that they might undertake with their students / classes and these actions are backed up by significant resources and lessons. You can become a subscriber when you click here and we promise not to send more than two Newsletters per term. You can contact us on info@globalcitizenshipschool.ie. BOT
Social Justice Ireland is holding a webinar
13:00, Monday, 8th May 2023.
Join Social Justice Ireland online at 1pm on Monday 8th May for the launch of' Social Justice Matters: 2023 guide to a fairer Irish society'. Our team will present the findings of our annual socio-economic review, analyse some of the major challenges facing Ireland and outline ideas and proposals for a new Social Contract.
Register here: https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_Hd9c9FA9TpCHhwgnaEFsLg#/registration
IN THE UK Things are already gearing up for the next General Election. As parties are writing their manifestos, we’ve turned to our Six Hopes for Society for inspiration about what hopeful manifesto pledges might look like. Could you write to a political party, to ask to put a hopeful pledge in their manifesto?
ATD on Poverty Awareness We are BOARD Members of ATD Ireland and are very proud of the work that their activists take to educate all on the Hidden Dimensions of Poverty.
ATD Ireland Poverty Aware Practice with Trinity College Dublin
ATD Ireland Poverty Aware Practice with Trinity College Dublin
A world in Crisis - A march in Dublin to which you are invited on May 1st next.
Tidy Towns Competition
This year’s Tidy Towns competition was launched on the 23rd of March and applications are being accepted up until Wednesday, 10th May 2023.
A Sustainable Development Goals Special Award is available, sponsored by the Department of Environment, Climate and Communications, which aims to acknowledge the significant efforts and contributions that communities are making towards promoting and implementing the SDGs. We encourage all tidy town groups to apply!
Applicants are asked to:
Outline how they have promoted and raised awareness of the SDGs and/or the principle of Leaving No One Behind; and
Demonstrate how their existing work links and contributes towards the achievement of the SDGs and/or the principle of Leaving No One Behind.
Four Prizes will be awarded:
1. €2,000 for the best entry from a village/small town (category A to D)
2. €2,000 for the best entry from a large town or urban centre (Category E to H)
3. One overall runner-up prize of €1,000
4. A special Youth Award of €1,000.
For more information on how to apply and to view the SDG application form please see here.
Nano's Echo
“Preach the Gospel at all times; when necessary, use words.” The quote has been attributed to St. Francis of Assisi but it probably didn’t come from him. While Francis may not has said it he certainly lived this way. Nano was also a powerful preacher, not with words but the way she lived her life. Nano’s response to the marginalized of her day was so powerful we still talk about the lessons she taught us. She is our inspiration to respond to the needs we identify outside our own front door. Lent and Easter were special times for Nano and she took great care to share the Easter story with those she came in contact with – even when her health was failing.
In this edition of Nano’s Echo you will uncover stories of Friends of Nano in America, Chile, New Zealand, and India – lives transformed by Nano’s ‘way of being’. We are happy to receive your story – contacts are on the back page of Nano’s Echo. You will also discover a new leadership structure that has been put in place by Friends of Nano to carry Nano’s dream into the future.
If you no longer wish to receive Nano’s Echo please reply in the subject line with ‘remove’.
Mary-Ann Greaney
Animator.
Nano's Echo March 2023 (1).pdfBelow is the dissertation of Sr. Annotolia Muzzata PBVM from Zimbabwe
Annatollia Faines Muzata Dissertation Final.pdf
Crossword
When Nano died 235 years ago, it is nothing short of a miracle that the community survived. They were few in number and struggled forward amid further deaths and misappropriation of the funds Nano had left them. So much stood in the way of the growth we benefit from today. We stand on the shoulders of some remarkable women who never gave up. Do give the crossword a go and while you do it bring to mind some of our heroic forebears. Enjoy the art from a youngster in Zimbabwe who shows Nano using her lantern – the technology of her time. Nano’s ‘beam of light’.
Mary-Ann Greaney
Crossword - the struggle for survival.pdfWhat does the UK government’s bill on illegal immigration propose?#
What does the UK government’s bill on illegal immigration propose?#
an explainer
Sue-Ellen Cassiana Braverman KC is a British politician and barrister who has served as home secretary since 25 October 2022 was interviewed about the new Refugee Bill on BBC Radio 4 on Tuesday 25th April last and some of the key points of her interview are as follows.
The immigration system is broken.
There is no room for compassion in the new policy.
It is costing the Briitish Taxpayer £6 million / day in hotels to accommodate those who enter the UK.
The New Legislation will.
Criminalise those who enter the UK by boat.
Ignore the human rights of all who come to the UK.
Aim to lessen the numbers who want to travel as has ocurred in Australia once they outsourced their asylum accommodation to Nuaru and PNG.
It is proposed that new entrants to the country can be housed in Army Accommodation, Cruise Ships off the coast or in Rwanda, that is if those who arrive can't be quickly sent back to their own countries.
In her own words the new Refugee Bill aims to 'inject a strong element of deterrent' to travel.
In answer to the question, how many might end up in Rwanda? The Minister offered that this was an uncapped number and would be demand led.
There is currently an appeal case before the courts checking the legality of the new Rwanda proposal and the government is set to move as soon as this judgement is in.
There is talk that new proposals will run counter to the European Human Rights as defended in Strasbourg but the UK are building in a mechanism that will ensure that they will not comply with or be governed by Strasbourg in this case.
There is no welcome in the UK for those who move to seek a better life.
SDG Programme 19 20 23 April 2023 ONLINE via zoom .pdfDear colleagues, It was lovely to see you at last week's training, thank you for your active participation and engagement throughout. Renewed thanks to both Sr. Cecilia O' Dwyer, IBVM and Brian O' Toole, Director of Presentation Interprovincial Justice Desk, for their excellent presentations. Below are the links to edited versions of the recordings, for your information. You can download each recording and save them to your own computer.
Anne Kelleher, RENATE Communications.
The links are as follows:
19 April, training Day 1:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1bwD-md5K_uepfPn2GULkye68etz3AhUA/view?usp=share_link
20 April, Training Day 2:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DwZSRbSnIRs6Ockt7GF5KeJuJVywKb97/view?usp=share_link
21 April, Training Day 3:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GdvPm2fQ_Fg2M6NoluZgG6AwErZFI0iV/view?usp=sharing
May 21-28
Laudato Si' Week 2023 will be celebrated May 21-28, to mark the eighth anniversary of Pope Francis' encyclical. What are you doing for Laudato Si Week? What about watching THE LETTER with your community.
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