Irish President opening speech of the “European Year of Development” will inspire us for #action2015!!

“The choices that will be made at the end of the year in relation to both agendas will have a real impact on this and future generations. Our decision-makers are presented with a unique opportunity to address the most urgent and fundamental needs of millions of people around the world, people who have the right, and seek the means, the freedom, to live their lives in dignity. And it is a task for all of us – elected representatives, NGO workers, students, activists and, simply, concerned citizens – to use whatever means we have at our disposal to ensure that the…

Continue ReadingIrish President opening speech of the “European Year of Development” will inspire us for #action2015!!

What does “sustainable development” mean for an Irish MEP?

2015 has been designated the European Year for Development (EYD), a year in which we are encouraged to look at what Europe has already contributed to international development and what we can each do to strengthen our contribution to a more just and equal world. It is also the year in which the global community will agree on a new framework for sustainable development and a new set of goals to succeed the Millennium Development Goals. As the largest donor in the world, the EU has a critical role to play in this process and the contribution of MEPs and citizens…

Continue ReadingWhat does “sustainable development” mean for an Irish MEP?

Ireland among EU countries with highest poverty hikes!

Ireland, Greece, Spain, Italy and Hungary were the EU member states where poverty and social exclusion increased the most during the economic crisis, according to the European Commission's Annual Review on employment and social developments in 2014 released on Thursday 16 January 2015. The high unemployment since 2008 had resulted in an increase in the number of households with no working family members, mainly, in Greece, Spain, Lithuania and Ireland. Ireland, with Spain and Greece had also the highest percentages of young adults who continue to live with their parents or have moved back into their parents' home due to financial…

Continue ReadingIreland among EU countries with highest poverty hikes!

In 2015, we can leave this world better than we found it!

  action/2015 is a global movement calling for pivotal change in 2015 for the future our people and the planet. Right now, few people realize that the year 2015 is a test of our human rights and values. The year ahead is a historic opportunity for us to come together as a global community to demand equality for all and ensure that every member of our family – now and future generations – are able to lead good and dignified lives enriched with opportunity. Find out more at: www.action2015.org

Continue ReadingIn 2015, we can leave this world better than we found it!

Nonstop, we keep up the struggle! Haiti 5 years after the earthquake

This message, prepared by over 100 members of ATD Haiti, tells of the strength and resilience of communities in poverty after the 2010 earthquake. It’s a message of promises made and of real changes that have taken place. But also a message of international aid that didn’t reach everyone, and the daily struggles of people in extreme poverty working to participate and contribute to building a better future for their country. In the wake of the 2010 earthquake, people were forced to seek shelter with their neighbors and to accept help from people they didn’t know. Entire neighborhoods lost their homes…

Continue ReadingNonstop, we keep up the struggle! Haiti 5 years after the earthquake

Creating Community and Rejecting Violence

After the tragedy that took place at the Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris, the International Movement All Together in Dignity (ATD) Fourth World shares the grief of the families and relatives of the victims. As with so many other acts of violence that occur daily in our world, this murderous attack against freedom of expression, which seeks to create fear and division, touches us all deeply. This reinforces our conviction that freedom of expression is an inestimable value for everyone. It must be reinforced also for those who are condemned to silence because of poverty and exclusion. More than ever we…

Continue ReadingCreating Community and Rejecting Violence

2015, a real opportunity to reshape our priorities!

 The ATD volunteers and friends, the permanent volunteers' staff and the ATD Board would like to thank you for your friendship and your support in 2014 and wish you a Very Happy New Year! We are looking forward to coming together with all of you in 2015! In 2015,  a number of high level summits will formulate new approaches and new goals to #EndPoverty, protect the planet and limit the #ClimateChange. These events provide all of us with an opportunity to reshape our priorities, and to re-think our place in the world. will be a global movement to End Poverty, Inequalities…

Continue Reading2015, a real opportunity to reshape our priorities!