The PPN has been very busy lately!
The PPN’s Migrant Thematic Group (MTG) had a stand at Africa Day, at the Royal Hospital Kilmainham, to promote the work of the PPN in general, and the activities of the MTG in particular. Africa Day was organised by Dublin City Council and Irish Aid and the PPN was delighted to be present for the opening speech by the Lord Mayor, and for all the wonderful food, music, craft stalls, dancing, and drumming workshops. Our next-stall-neighbours on the day, were the Irish Blood Transfusion Service, who were promoting recent changes in criteria for giving blood. Many people, who were previously unable to give blood, can now safely do so. Please do the New Donor Eligibility Quiz to find out if you, and members from your groups, organisations and networks, can now give blood.
The PPN held its second Plenary of the year on Thursday 23 May 2024, at the Gresham Hotel on O’Connell Street. The Plenary is an opportunity for the Secretariat to share updates with member groups, and for member groups to network and get to know one another better. It’s also a chance for Committee representatives to find out more about the main concerns and challenges facing the member groups, and a time to reflect on all the hard work, and successes.
This plenary was hosted by Gavan Woods of the Secretariat, who welcomed everyone to the Gresham. The keynote speech was given by Dr Ebun Joseph, who spoke about her experiences as a volunteer, community activist and member of South Dublin County PPN. Dr Joseph spoke about the importance of the work done by volunteers and community activists and grass roots community workers across the sector. However, she also reminded people of the dangers of burn out, and fatigue and encouraged people to mind themselves and share resources and work with other groups in the network.
Rachel Rooney from the PPN Secretariat gave the Secretariat Update to the Plenary, and you can read the Secretariat Update Here.
Neo-Archaic, the PPN website management team then gave an update to the Plenary about the upgrades and new sections of the website aimed at improving resources for all the member groups. Martin and Karina gave a very detailed presentation about the Members Facilities, Members Facilities Maps, the In Dublin section and to remind people about the wonderful Members Spotlight section too. The PPN thanked Martin and Karina for all their hard work and for their constant effort to improve the PPN website.
Finally, Gavan thanked all the PPN Representatives stepping down from their roles on the SPCs (which will be dissolved before the local elections) and from some other committees. He thanked them for their time, experience, knowledge, and commitment to making Dublin city better.
The next Plenary will be on Thursday 21 November 2024.
Immediately after the Plenary, the PPN had its third annual Summer School at DCU. This year, the Summer School was extended to all four Dublin County PPNs, and to evening online sessions in addition to the morning in-person sessions on the Glasnevin Campus. The topics covered were: social media, grant applications and fundraising, Public Policy, Equality/Diversity and Inclusion, What is the PPN?, How to engage with local council, and The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Slides, and recordings will be shared on the website soon. The PPN thanks Luke, from the Centre for Engaged Research at DCU for organising the best PPN Summer School so far. Thank you, Luke!
Further Information
Cycling Ireland invite you to join their community bike rides, which are free and easy to join. Group Rides are led by trained and vetted volunteers, with a maximum of 8 places per ride. Find out more here.
Dublin City Council invite you to get involved in a Multi-Cultural Event in Inchicore on 08 June from 11.00am – 2.00pm This is in partnership with Dublin South City Partnership and St Patrick’s Athletic Club. For further information contact Ruth.
An Cosan still have some open applications for two BA programmes in the 2024/25 academic year. One is in Applied Addiction Studies and Community Development and one is in Leadership and Community Development. Further details about the application process here.
An Coimisiún Toghcháin would like to share the following resources with the PPN member groups.
Introduction/context by Art O’Leary, CEO An Coimisiún Toghcháín
How to Vote:
Accessible Voting Information:
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties (ICCL), recently released a report called, “That’s not your role” about funding, advocacy and stakeholder engagement environment, for the sector in Ireland. The ICCL gave an information session to our colleagues in Sligo PPN, and you can access both the report and the pre-recorded information session here.
The Irish Platform for Patients’ Organisations, Science and Industry (IPPOSI) invite PPN member groups to participate on the 2024 Citizens’ Jury on AI in Healthcare. If you are passionate about the future of healthcare in Ireland, are intrigued about the role of AI in our lives and believe people should help shape policy, then please read more about this citizens’ jury here.
