WCI Attend Solidarity and Struggle: Affirming Equality, Civil Society and Democracy
WCI’s National Development Officer, Eithne Dunne, recently had the pleasure of catching up with WCI’s Patron Ailbhe Smyth. The two caught at last weeks Solidarity and Struggle: Affirming Equality, Civil Society and Democracy event held in Maynooth, which was funded by the St Stephens Green Trust, Community Foundation Ireland, Departments of Applied Social Studies and Sociology, with support and assistance from the National Women’s Council of Ireland, Maynooth Social Sciences Institute and facilitated by the Burren Art College.
Eithne joined civil societies, NGOs, and other community groups on behalf of Women’s Collective Ireland to reflect on current threats to democracy and equality, and to discuss strategies for moving forward.
The event, held in the University of Maynooth, explored the actions, strategies, and shared experiences of attendees to affirm solidarity, equality, and democracy. Participants who attended the invigorating event, had the opportunity to address pressures on civil society, both internal (e.g., low morale, fragmentation) and external (e.g., state regulation, rising violence, targeting of marginalized groups).
