Members Spotlight

Profile

Adekunle Gomez is the secretary and programme director of the African Cultural Project (also known as, The Africa Institute in Ireland). The main objective of the African Cultural Project is to provide information on Africa to the Irish public. Through the facilitation of cultural and educational events featuring Africa’s rich and diverse cultural traditions, the project aims to promote an understanding of the African continent and of the countries and people of Africa. The African Cultural Project has collaborated with a variety of institutions throughout the years including the National Concert Hall, the Chester Beatty Library, the Irish Writers’ Centre, the Public Library system, Local Authority Arts Officers, Alliance Française Dublin, University Language departments, and others.

When did your organization/group join the PPN?

African Cultural Project has been an active member of the Dublin City community since joining the Council’s community forum in 1999. It continued this participation by joining Dublin City PPN in 2017.

What was your main reason for joining the PPN?

The Irish Blue Cross animal welfare charity was founded in 1945 by a group of like-minded people determined to prevent the live exportation of Irish horses to the continent for slaughter. It wasn’t long before the group realised that the plight of Dublin’s sick dogs and cats desperately needed to be addressed. The solution came when the first Irish Blue Cross mobile clinic hit Dublin’s streets in 1953, prioritising it’s presence in areas where there was highest demand for charitable veterinary services.

In 2009, our small animal clinic was established with state of the art facilities at our base in Inchicore, Dublin 8. The opening of that clinic, complemented by our mobile clinics, has made an immeasurable difference to so many communities across Dublin and without our support, many families would struggle with providing necessary care and assistance for their pets. Today, our clinic services have expanded to ten locations across Dublin each week day evening, locations such as Cabra, Tallaght, Blanchardstown, Crumlin, Ballyfermot, Ballybrack, Smithfield, Walkinstown, Finglas and Donnycarney. Where pets require more comprehensive clinical examinations and treatments, they are referred to our Inchicore clinic.

Victim Support at Court or V-SAC, is the only voluntary service in Ireland dedicated solely to court accompaniment for victims of crime, their families and witnesses. They are at the forefront of delivering a high quality court accompaniment service within the Irish judicial system.

If you have been the victim of a crime, their court accompaniment service can help you while you attend court.

In this spotlight video about V-SAC we speak with three of their volunteer coordinators and volunteers to discuss their roles in supporting victims of crime while they are attending court.

Ruth Powel and Beatriz Cintas Cantarero of the Dublin City PPN explain what a Public Participation Network is, how it works, how it benefits the local community, and how you can get involved.

The Dublin City PPN is the main link through which Dublin City Council connects with community and voluntary, social inclusion and environmental groups. The PPN will provide groups with:

• Opportunities to influence decision making
• Access to information – on finance, consultations, developments
• Training
• Opportunities to network with other groups
• Community representation and organised engagement with Dublin City Council

The PPN has made a number of videos of some of our member organisations which showcase what they do and how their organisation benefits from being a PPN member.