We would like to invite you to our upcoming ‘Festival of Change’ which takes place in July 26th 1- 4pm in Mud Island Community Gardens. This event concludes our ‘Leave No One Behind Project’ funded by Concern which focused on positive actions which progress the SDG’s taking place in communities across Ireland.
This event will provide an opportunity to listen, learn and connect with community groups working with a variety of different people and understand what is important and meaningful to them, in a positive and uplifting environment.
Throughout this project we have been keeping SDG 1 and 3 at the heart, No Poverty and Health and wellbeing respectively. As well with working with our own network of families experiencing poverty and socio- economic discrimination in Dublin, we have been visiting with and learning from a range of community groups across Ireland. We visited groups in Dublin, Donegal, Wexford and Longford and met people struggling with poverty, living in direct provision, those from the Traveller community, living in inner city and rural areas, those impacted by addiction and those in adult education. Through mediums such as arts and crafts, mindfulness and sharing a meal together we asked groups to reflect on questions such as ‘What is important to you’, ‘what does good health and wellbeing look like to you’, ‘what gives you hope’. We learned about the issues impacting their lives, the positive actions happening which have been a support to them and what they would like to see change.
This festival hopes to bring these groups together, to connect and learn from each other. We will give people the space and the platform to share their thoughts and ideas and promote their work. We hope that this event will inspire greater solidarity between different groups and give them an opportunity to reflect on their common experiences and shared visions for the future. Hopefully this can expel different types of public misinformation and stereotypes of certain groups/communities and instead give them space to learn from and grow with each-other.
We hope this may influence positive policy change and greater commitment towards implementing the Sustainable Development Goals in a way which is inspired by evidence- based grassroots actions and is in collaboration with those who are struggling the most.
The festival will be comprised of an exhibition featuring the artwork from our workshops, a discussion on the actions that are needed to support those who are struggling, such as the importance of intercultural events which bring people together.
The Festival of Change will be a fun day out for all the family and will include have games, arts and crafts, refreshments and music/ poetry.
We hope to see you there!
