All Ireland Community Campaigns Gathering

This is an open invitation to all community led campaign groups. By coming together
we can share our experiences and find out how we can support each other to win.
You and your group are invited to come together for a day with other community led
campaign groups to:
• Learn about each other’s struggles and find common issues
• Share what we have learned in our campaigns & hear from successful ones
• Discuss how we act in solidarity with each other
• Participate in a skills workshop around a common challenge (For workshops
see full programme below)

 

Programme

10:00-11:00 Opening

Introduction to the day and a chance for groups and individuals to introduce their own local situation and to hear some reflections from other campaigns.



11.00 – 12.00 ‘Dealing with the Media’

Share experiences of dealing with the media and get practical advice on writing and sending press releases, preparing for radio interviews and using alternative media. With Mimi Doran and William Hederman. Mimi Doran is a communications practitioner and media lecturer with interests in social justice and participatory approaches to learning, research, and communication. Mimi has completed research on media literacy with St Michael’s Estate Regeneration Team, at the Equality Studies Centre. Mimi has provided strategic planning, PR strategies and professional media training to a variety of businesses and organisations. William Hederman is an activist, photographer, graphic designer and journalist. He worked as a journalist and editor at The Irish Times and subsequently as a journalist at Village Magazine. He has also lectured in journalism at DCU. He is part of the collective that runs the Seomra Spraoi social centre in Dublin.

12.00-12.15 Tea and Coffee



12.15 -13.15 ‘Basic tools for working together’

Share your experience of working together in a community campaign group and learn basic tools that can be used to make decisions, facilitate discussions and keep working effectively. Facilitated by Paula Leonard

13.15-14.00 Lunch



14.00-15.00 ‘Dealing with the State’

A chance to hear about the experiences of one community campaign group in dealing with state agencies, government departments, the legal system and the Gardai, and to share your own experiences that others may be able to learn from. With Eoin O'Leidhin, activist at Rossport Solidarity Camp. Eoin has been living in Mayo for the past four years and will be sharing experiences of engaging with state agencies, regulators and the legal system. Facilitated by Mark Malone, Seomra Spraoi.



15.00 – 16.00 ‘How to Keep Going’

This workshop is a space to look at how community organisers can cope with mental and physical stress of long term campaigning, how we can support each other and keep campaigns going in a sustainable way for our communities. Facilitated by Aoife Cooke



16.00-16.15 Tea and Coffee



16.15 – 17.00 Closing

A chance to hear what people got out of the day to discuss how can we support each other and act in solidarity in the future, with the option of creating a short statement expressing solidarity between the different community campaigns for media release.

Facilitated by Paula Leonard


17.30 -18.30 Light evening meal
The event is being organised by people active in a number of different campaigns
including supporting the community under threat from Shell in Mayo. This event will
be a neutral space and the aim is to support each other and share strategies. It is not
a space for winning people over to specific campaign agendas or any party political
groups. Discussions and learning from the day will be gathered and disseminated
online to participants other community campaign groups after the event.

Venue: Seomra Spraoi, 10 Belvidere Court, Dublin 2. Seomra Spraoi is inspiring
example of a community centre run entirely on donations.
Directions: Walk north along Gardiner St, past Mountjoy Square and turn right at the
next laneway(Belvidere Court). Seomra Spraoi is about halfway down the lane on the
right hand side(number ten).

Food will be by donation, 5 euro or what you can afford. Please
contact communitycampaignsgathering@gmail.com if you have any special dietary or
mobility requirements. Let us know if you will need child care for the day as this can
be arranged at the venue.

Please contact communitycampaignsgathering@gmail.com or call Jerrieann or Kate (087 6686644 / 085 1171140) if you have questions, are interested in attending or to book a place.