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Dear Sisters and Friends,
Welcome to the April Newsletter. As is so often the case there is a lot on and I offer below a flavour of the work that we are doing. I also offer a number of events that you can register to attend. If you have a report, an event, photos, suggestions then please feel free to share with me so that I can share with all our Presentation Sisters and Associates / Friends of Nano in Ireland and England.
In this issue you will find:
How Driving Climate Action Can Accelerate the SDGs. I attended this event that was moderated by Mary Robinson and I include a recording of the event below along with all associated reports.
Flame 2025 was the largest gathering of youth in the UK this year and it was sold out well in advance of the start date. Ellen Teague, our colleague on the National Justice and Peace Network prepared an article on Fanning the Flame of Hope from her experience of the event. Well worth a read!
The National Justice and Peace Network invites you to attend their forthcoming webinar entitled: Opening the Doors to Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Register HERE for the event. I( have been asked to moderate this webinar).
Stop Trafficking Awareness Advocacy and Action - A Newsletter that has been recommended to us that we now share with you.
We offer below a recording of the recent IPA Prayer Service along with associated resources. Many, many thanks to all who were able to attend.
CAFOD are requesting us to contact MPs in an effort to register our upset that the UK's overseas development aid budget is being reduced , yet again, in order to allow further future defence spending. (Details below).
Would you help us to distribute posters that could possibly save a victim of Human Trafficking? APT Poster Campaign - details below!
The Edmund Rice Newsletter.
We were involved in a small way with the drafting of the NGO Major Group Position Paper below. It can also be read HERE
During the Commission for the Status of Women 69 United Nations event, our IPA NGO UN Representative Despoina Milaki moderated a webinar that can be viewed below.
NEW 'Lives Torn Apart by War' is a brand new publication that has been prepared by CARITAS Ukraine that they have shared with us on the impact of Human Trafficking during war times.
NEW The most up to date Unanima Analysis Report on Homelessness can be seen below. We had some small input into this report also with ATD Ireland.
Coalition 2030 Newsletters (Highlights!)
NEW RENATE Shelters Report. (Religious in Europe Networking Against Trafficking and Exploitation)
Thanks for all your ongoing support.
Brian
How Driving Climate Action Can Accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals
How Driving Climate Action Can Accelerate the Sustainable Development Goals
The event was recorded and is available here
You can check out the executive summy of this report, Fuelling Failures HERE
Ireland is donating €50 million to the Amazon fund and this is significant. How can we do food, education, gender, health and climate in the coming year.
Niumh Garvey, Johnny Collins and Mary Robinson. (notes on their input)
We are not making the progress we should be making but the SDGs are being impeded by the way that fossil fuels are being treated. SDGs are non binding but they were inspired by International Law and SDG 13 is aligned to the Paris Agreement and it is the only SDG with an asterix explaining that it follows the UNFCCC rules. By not achieving SDG 13 we are not achieving any of the related goals. Lack of progress in SDG 13 undermines sustainable progress is so many of the other SDGs. New fossil fuel production does not fit with SDG 13 and progress here demands cooperation, legally and morally binding. All stakeholders must be engaged, a whole of society approach.
COP28 was the first mention of "Phasing out" or transitioning from fossil fuels.
Dr. Johnny Collins
Planetary health is intrinsically linked to physical health. Fossil Fuels are a health hazard, a report from Doctors in Australlia. Relative to gender: it is such that when there is a food shortage it is always the women who eat less to ensure that there family don't do without.
Ten thousand attend largest Catholic youth event in England and Wales
Ten thousand attend largest Catholic youth event in England and Wales
Article in the Tablet by Ellen Teague our colleague at the National Justice and Peace Network.
Columban team at the Flame 2025 youth gathering yesterday at the OVO Wembley Arena.
The National Justice and Peace Network invite you to attend their forthcoming webinar entitled:
Opening the Doors to Refugees and Asylum Seekers
Register HERE for the event below that follows on from our very successful and well attended webinar on Human Trafficking in early February.
For those interested in the area of Human Trafficking there is a very informative newsletter (that has been recommended to us by a Sister) and can be read below or HERE. This is an American Publication and there is real ongoing concern about the continuing funding of the US NGO sector and those who are furthest behind at the hands of the newly formed DOGE - Deparment of Government Efficiency as part of the Trump administration.
2025_3 Stop Trafficking EN.pdfRecording of the recent IPA Prayer Service along with associated resources. Many, many thanks to all who were able to attend.
Dear Attendees,
What a truly inspiring gathering we had! Thank you for joining us for the International Women’s Day Prayer Service. It was a meaningful time of reflection, unity, and celebration of the incredible contributions of women around the world.
For those who were unable to attend or joined us a bit later, we’ve got you covered! You can find the prayer service script attached , and we’ve also included the recording for your convenience . Feel free to access the following links to download or view the materials:
We would also love to hear your thoughts! If you attended, kindly take a moment to complete this brief feedback form: Feedback Form . Your feedback will be invaluable as we continue to improve and enhance future gatherings.
Thank you once again for being a part of this powerful and uplifting experience. We are so grateful for your participation and look forward to connecting again soon.
We got a message from CAFOD as part of the National Justice and Peace Network in the hope that we would alert all in our network to the second cut in funding for the sake of defence. There is an ask within that you might consider, especially if you are in England. This would involve making contact with your MP.
APT Poster Campaign
APT Poster Campaign
We really need your help
Dear Friends,
Woud you help us to distribute posters that could possibly save a victim of Human Trafficking? We know that over 80% of victims of Human Trafficking in Ireland will present at a healthcare setting during their first year in Ireland. This might well be the only chance that a victim has to be identified. It may well be the the only chance that healthcare staff will have to intervene positively on behalf of a victim. This poster alerts staff to the importance of their roles.
Act to Prevent Traficking in Ireland (APT) have begun a campaign to have this posters hung in as many healthcare waiting rooms settings as possible. We have a list of places where we think that it might be appropricate to hang these posters. They are A4 in size and can be hung in the waiting rooms of Accident and Emergency, Dentists, Doctors, Physiotherapists, Chemists, Post Offices, Churches, Garda Stations and the similar.
CAN YOU HELP?
If you think that you can hang some of these posters locally where you live then please email me on presinterprovjustice@gmail.com or you can call me on 0892085253 and I can post to you the number of posters that you think that you require.
Brian O' Toole
On Behalf of APT Ireland
We were involved in a small way with the drafting of the NGO Major Group Position Paper below. It can also be read HERE
FINAL NGO Major Group Executive Summary .pdfBelow is a note from Despoina our IPA NGO UN Rep with notice of the recording of the event above.
Dear all,
I hope you are all well and in good health.
I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to those of you who were able to join us in our CSW69 virtual parallel event, titled "Ending gender-based violence: Community-led projects that unlock the potential of women and girls”, which took place this morning, Friday March 14, 2025 on the margins of the 69th session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (UN CSW) and the NGO CSW69 Forum.
The event was organised by the International Presentation Association and co-sponsored by the Government of Chile, Graduate Women International, Greek Orthodox Archdiocesan Council of North and South America, International Association of Charities, School Sisters of Notre Dame, Soroptimist International, UNANIMA International, and Women in Agriculture for Sustainable Development.
For those of you who were unable to make it, no worries, you can find here ( https://youtu.be/ha5P-w46XuM ) the video recording of the panel discussion.
I hope you all enjoy a very insightful, engaging and inspiring discussion!!
Feel free to share the recording with your networks!
Looking forward to seeing you in similar projects in the future!
Despoina.
This booklet entitled 'Lives Torn Apart by War' has been prepared by CARITAS Ukraine (similar to Trocaire / CAFOD). The first half of the Booklet is in Ukrainian and the second half is a translation into English of the first half. The booklet was sent to me by Natalia Holynska our Ukrainain RENATE Board Representative. The booklet can be read below or HERE.
Lives torn apart by war.pdfThis is the most up to date Unanima Analysis Report on Homelessness and it has a special section on Ireland. ATD Ireland gets a specific mention on page 116 (photo above from same page) with the testimony of Lorraine Kelly. You can read it HERE or below.
Updated-Hidden-Faces_Feb-25_Digital 1.pdfNews from Coalition 2030 will be forthcoming every two months. The March news has just been published and the highlights can be seen below.n.
Coalition 2030 is an alliance of over 70 civil society and trade union organisations in Ireland, collaborating for domestic and global achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, through multisectoral engagement and collective action.
“The latest global Sustainable Development Goal progress report shows that Ireland is on track for only 50% of our SDGs, and performance is falling in the area of SDG 12, responsible consumption and production. We are excited to offer this new programme to our future leaders, to empower them with the knowledge, skills, and tools to strive for a better Ireland.”
Engagement with the SDG Unit
We recently had a productive meeting with the SDG Unit at the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications, where we discussed several key initiatives:
During Ireland’s Presidency of the Council of Europe, the Government will chair the EU Working Party on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This group monitors and reviews the EU’s implementation of the 2030 Agenda across policy sectors and facilitates information sharing among member states.
Partly for this reason, the SDG Unit is being moved into the new EU and International Affairs Directorate of the Department of the Environment, Climate and Communications. This unit will also focus on the circular economy, which is an area in which Ireland consistently scores poorly in SDG metrics.
Work is ongoing to prepare Ireland’s Third National Implementation Plan, with the first public consultation expected by the end of Q2 2025. Additionally, efforts are underway with the OECD to develop a policy coherence roadmap to enhance alignment across sectors.
2025 UN High-level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF)
The HLPF 2025 will take place from 14-18 July and 21-24 July at UN Headquarters in New York, including the ministerial segment from 21-23 July, which will conclude on 24 July alongside the ECOSOC high-level segment. This forum remains the key platform for reviewing progress on the 2030 Agenda and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
The Coalition’s Steering Committee is currently reviewing a proposal to attend this year’s event. As Ireland will not be making a National Voluntary Review, our delegation may be smaller than in previous years. However, there will still be opportunities to create media moments and contribute to side events to ensure Coalition 2030’s presence is felt.
Future Generations Bill & Advocacy Efforts
As part of our advocacy for the establishment of a Future Generations Commissioner in Ireland, we have held constructive meetings with TDs, including Sinéad Gibney, Jennifer Whitmore, Ged Nash, Ciarán Ahern, and Roderic O’Gorman. In the coming weeks, we are scheduled to meet with James Geoghegan and Pa Daly.
These discussions have been useful in advancing both the Coalition’s broader advocacy priorities and our Future Generations campaign. We look forward to building further momentum in the weeks ahead.
We will be attending both of these events.
Register HERE
I recently attended the Religious in Europe Networking Against Trafficking & Exploitation (RENATE) Country Board Meeting in Athens where I represented Ireland and the RENATE Law Task Group. At this meeting we were privileged to attend the launch of the RENATE Shelters Publication. This was officially launched at the CSW69 presentation by RENATE on March 20th last. A fuller report of the Country Board Meeting will follow and we intend to send a recording of the CSW69 presentation to all in the coming weeks. For the moment though we wanted to share the publication with you below.
Launch - RENATE Shelters and Safe Houses Booklet .pdfPage updated
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