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On 21st October ATD community activists presented at a conference organised by the Irish Association of Social Workers.  The theme of the conference was ‘Accelerating inequalities, impossible choices: Exploring anti- poverty practice in social work’. This conference provided space for discussion on how those working within social work can better address the needs of those experiencing poverty, and the need for more inclusive methods when working with those experiencing poverty.  “The conference is an opportunity for the profession to take a pause to consider how best to respond to the inequality we witness every day, to speak up for social justice,…

On Tuesday, October 25th we hosted our weekly Chooseday Tuesday open house.  Each week we have been doing a different free and fun activity together such as art & DIY, cooking, singing and cultural outings. We also always have some lunch together and provide a safe community space for nice chats to happen over a cuppa.  Recently we have been welcoming a group from the Dublin Adult Learning Centre.  DALC have kindly agreed to participate in our ongoing LNOB series 3 workshops and it has been fantastic to learn more from them over the past number of weeks.  This week we…

Monday marked the commemorations for the 17th October UN Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2022.  As always, the Dublin event was held at the Human Rights and Poverty Stone.This year marks the 35th anniversary of the first such gathering in Paris in 1987 and the 30th anniversary of the United Nations recognition of the day.  The Dublin event is one of many events happening across Ireland and across the world.  See here to read ATD Ireland Community Activist Andrew’s speech at the United Nations. Also keep an eye on the 17th October website to read about 17th October events around…

On the 15th October ATD Ireland Community activist Andrew along with Mark Hogan will be travelling to New York to the United Nations for the Commemorative Event to mark the 30th anniversary of the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty 2022. Andrew has been invited to be a keynote speaker as an expert through his lived experience of poverty.   Earlier this year Andrew was invited to join the International 17th October committee. Andrew will be giving his address alongside other activists from across the world with lived experiences of poverty and hardship.  He will also be speaking alongside representatives from…

ATD Ireland has been collaborating with Trinity College Dublin to develop and deliver a Poverty Aware Practice to social work students. This module is based on the Hidden dimensions of poverty international research and is led by ATD community activists with lived experience of poverty and socio- economic discrimination. The module consists of testimonies based on lived experience, group exercises, a presentation and an interactive discussion and Q& A with the class. The aim of these sessions was to provide trainee social workers with a more dynamic and holistic understanding of the lives and daily experiences of those who are experiencing…

ATD Ireland have developed a new publication; "The Hidden Dimensions ofPoverty - International Participatory research: A toolkit to conducting participatory research". This toolkit is aimed at people interested in carrying out participatory action research, especially on poverty and socioeconomic discrimination. Often researchers (including academic research and action research) try to capture the ‘lived experience’ to better their findings. However, this is oftendone in a way in which knowledge from experience remains in the data collection phase and does not move to the analysis, discussion, interpretation and presentation of the data phase. This toolkit argues that those with lived experience should have…

Introduction ATD Ireland are currently undergoing a campaign along with the #Addthe10th alliance to have socio- economic status recognised as the tenth ground of discrimination in equality legislation namely the Equal Status Act and the Employment Equality Act.  See here to read more and learn how you can support the campaign.  Although we believe that introducing this ground is an opportunity for Ireland to show real leadership internationally, Ireland is not the only country where this issue is on the agenda.  Discrimination based on socio- economic discrimination is protected against to varying degrees in Europe and internationally.  It is important to…

On September 8th a group 5 representatives from ATD Ireland including community activists Annmarie, Lorraine and Paul travelled to France to take part in a three-day European Citizen’s Dialogue on institutional maltreatment and discrimination.  This gathering brought together 60 delegates from Ireland, France, Switzerland, Bulgaria, Belgium and Germany.   This a very pressing and relevant issue in Ireland as we are currently undergoing a campaign to have socio- economic status recognised as the tenth ground of discrimination in Irish equality legislation. Further, many of our recent projects have been aimed towards bringing greater societal awareness of the lived experience of socio-…

ATD Ireland community activist Andrew was recently invited to join the international 17 October committee as part of the Irish delegation.  He spent a week working with other members of the international 17 October committee, including ATD activists from across the world.  Andrew and Belinda Nugent from ICON flew into Paris together on Monday June 6th for the ninth gathering of the International Committee for October 17th.Belinda said of the importance of being involved in the 17 October preparations this year;“This year we come to share our knowledge and experiences in the fight against exclusion. Full participation of those who are…

On the 8th of June ATD interviewed academic Joe Whelan. He is a scholar researching peoples lived experience of poverty, particularly focusing on the Irish welfare state. This interview was conducted in light of research on socio-economic discrimination which focuses on the campaign ‘Add the 10th’ to recognize socio-economic discrimination as the 10th ground in the Irish Equal Status Act. Joe highlights that in talking about defining socio-economic disadvantage, it is important to note that it is multi-levelled. Not only are people deprived materially but also at the bottom line - people are prevented from taking part in society and we need to look at this and see how we can…