Development Blogs.com

from The Irish Times by Jason MichaelMinister for Lifelong Learning Seán Haughey today outlined the Government’s strategy in fighting social and educational disadvantage.Speaking at the opening of Combat Poverty’s national conference Overcoming Barriers to Educational Disadvantage , he said the Government’s commitment to addressing social exclusion and educational disadvantage is evident in the social partnership agreement, the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion, and the National Development Plan. “ Towards 2016 and the National Action Plan for Social Inclusion adopt a life-cycle approach in addressing these issues. Working with the social partners the Government has set a number of long-term goals which aim to significantly improve the educational opportunities and...

In a seminar I imparted in January — Fostering the Information Society for Development in the Web 2.0 framework: from push to pull strategies — the case of Spain — I suggested that the most developed countries had reached sort of a threshold of installed infrastructures. Of course, this threshold could be pushed up and more infrastructures (or better and cheaper ones) could be installed, but the development of the Information Society would barely rely on that. According to the data available, I wondered whether the solution might be shifting from push to pull strategies, parallel to the shift that we’ve been living in the web landscape towards the so-called Web 2.0. This is the chart I then presented: [click to enlarge] Now, with data from the World Bank we can draw another...

Assessment on Returns to Iraq Amongst the Iraqi Refugee Population in Syria (UNHCR Syria, April 2008) [text] Because I am a Girl: The State of the World's Girls 2008. Special Focus: In the Shadow of War (Plan International, May 2008) [text] Beyond the School Gates: Supporting Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Secondary School (Refugee Council, May 2008) [text] Hidden Cork: Perspectives of...

Conor Byrne has a great new blog on fundraising. Finally, the beginnings of an Irish fundraising blogging community! Technorati Tags: conor byrne, fundraising, blogs, ireland, charity...

from the AFPDUBLIN (AFP) — Irish Prime Minister Bertie Ahern and his Vietnamese counterpart Nguyen Tan Dung signed a development cooperation accord in Dublin on Monday, a joint statement said.Dung is on a three-day official visit to Ireland accompanied by a high level delegation, including senior government ministers and prominent business figures.A joint statement heralded the first official visit by a Vietnamese head of government to Ireland and the first face-to-face discussions between the two as an "effective strengthening and deepening of Vietnam-Ireland relations."Their talks also dealt with UN reform and human rights. Vietnam is a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council.Ahern briefed Dung on a conference on cluster munitions which Dublin will host in May. He also paid...

from Innovations ReportA new report published by Save the Children shows that Northern Ireland has higher levels of persistent child poverty in comparison to Great Britain. Here, one in five children is living in persistent poverty – that’s double the level in the rest of the UK.The research – Persistent Child Poverty in Northern Ireland - which was carried out by Save the Children in partnership with ARK, a joint project between Queen’s University, Belfast and the University of Ulster, found that the study of poverty over time is important to understanding how many children are affected in Northern Ireland.For over a quarter of children, poverty is a short-term issue - but for 21% of children in Northern Ireland, poverty is a long-term experience.Marina Monteith, Child Poverty...

I spent the holidays this year visiting the charming Emerald Isle keeping up friends from Kinshasa. First we went down the coast in search of Fungi, the friendly dolphin. He was no where to be seen. Then we went up the coast to check out the famous Cliffs of Moher. They were no where to be seen. We braved the Shannon River for the Christmas Day Swim to raise funds for Limerick’s Marine Rescue. Had some close calls. And saw some stunning spots. But mostly we hung around in pubs. I can now say with confidence that I’ve seen the real Ireland. Slainte!...

from RTE NewsThe Society of St Vincent de Paul said it is dealing with an increasing number of people who have fallen into poverty because of excessive mortgage commitments.President of the Society Mairéad Bushnell said poverty in Ireland has now become a hidden problem because people may live in their own home but cannot afford to eat.She said some of the people experiencing problems are in good jobs, but the mortgage repayments are crippling them.Ms Bushnell said they should not have been given the home loans in the first place.She said she would not be able to put a figure on how many are in that category because it is a new phenomenon for the charity and a problem they never thought they would have to deal with.Launching its annual appeal for public donations for Christmas, Ms...

from the Belfast TelegraphBy Linda McKeeMore than 40,000 children living in poverty in Northern Ireland will only be 48p a week better off as a result of the Chancellor's pre-budget report, according to Save the Children.The charity said it is angry that the government is behind schedule on its 2020 deadline for eradicating child poverty.The charity's chief executive said Northern Ireland was playing a crucial role in protecting children in some of the world's worst war-torn blackspots.Jasmine Whitbread paid tribute to Save the Children volunteers whose efforts help the charity raise over half of its £820,000 annual spend here, bringing in around £500,000 a year."Northern Ireland and its Save the Children workers have an important role to play in our global network," she said.And she...

from The Belfast TelegraphBy Claire McNeillyA group of local Ulster singing and dancing stars have pledged to bring the curtain down in a bid to help tackle world poverty. Fortwilliam Musical Society will host two concerts in aid of the charity Serve, which runs outreach projects throughout the world.Two performances of A Selection from West End to Broadway are due to take place this week in Ballymena and Belfast, as part of a sustained fundraising initiative.Both concerts, celebrating songs from popular shows, will be sponsored by the Council of the Knights of St Columbanus as their project for 2007.Belfast man Des Doherty, who is a council member, said that all proceeds from the concerts will go to Serve as a much-appreciated boost to their coffers."We have travelled throughout the...

from Ireland On LineNearly a quarter of a million people at risk of poverty were unable to get a medical card because their incomes were slightly above the eligibility threshold the Combat Poverty Agency (CPA) claimed today.Access to medical cards, the CPA claimed, is the most immediate and effective measure to reduce health inequalities and improve access to health services for low income groups.Research showed that in 2005, 229,000 people at risk of poverty did not have a medical card. Of these, 43,000 people were living in consistent poverty.The Director of the CPA, Helen Johnston, said: "There is a need to ensure that the medical card threshold is indexed to the poverty line so that people on low incomes can attend their GP when they need to, regardless of their ability to pay."We...

If you haven’t yet seen Political Thicko’s youtube response to Mary Harney, then have a look at it on VoteTube. Aontas are calling for fees for part-time students in higher education to be abolished. Go sign their petition. Feed your inner psephologist with Elections Ireland Politics.ie has had a shiny new makeover and relaunch in preparation for the general election. Could this be the most slimy, nasty piece of legislation to emerge from our current leaders? OPEN are campaigning against it. Support the Right to Read Campaign. And if you’re planning a direct mail campaign, remember that all of An Post’s bulk mail services (including Postaim and Publicity Post) will be suspended during the election. Technorati Tags: election2007, politics, ireland, right to read,...

from The Irish TimesFamilies living in poverty benefited financially in this year's budget, according to a leading poverty group.Analysing Budget 2007, Combat Poverty Agency found it delivered gains of up to three times the average for low-income groups.Director Helen Johnston said the main driver for the rise was increases in social welfare payments — of €20 per week — and in child income support payments, including child dependant allowance, family income support, and clothing and footwear allowance.She said the positive state of the public finances enabled an increased in the tax and welfare package of €2,748 million, up €362 million on the previous year.However, with inflation raising annually households across Ireland are still struggling to meet basic needs. Around 7 per...

from the BBCA new training programme aimed at helping community groups to tackle poverty in their areas is being launched in Belfast.The course is free and uses a mixture of face to face training and multi-media resources.It shows how thousands of low-income families struggle to pay key household bills such as rent, food and clothing.Frances Dowds, of NI Anti-Poverty Network, said poverty is often beyond a person's control."Northern Ireland has some of the worst poverty in the UK," she said."Disadvantaged communities have told us they want to become more involved in local level anti-poverty work."The Poverty Awareness Programme (PAP) will enable them to do just that, to explore how poverty affects them and their communities and to identify ways of working for change."At the launch on...

Good to see what I believe is the Institute of Fundraising’s first event in Dublin taking place on 27 March next. Fundraising and Donor Development in Ireland 2007 is a one-day conference featuring case studies from Barretstown, Irish Red Cross, Barnardos, Trinity Foundation, Durham University and Sightsavers. And the opening plenary is by the ever-excellent Alan Clayton. The cost is €235 for charities (with substantial discounts for members of The Wheel and the Institute of Fundraising) Technorati Tags: fundraising, ireland, charity, institute of fundraising, the wheel...

from Yahoo News IrelandSir Menzies Campbell will make a grab for Labour's traditional heartlands as he pledges to make the fight against poverty central to the Liberal Democrats' approach.The party leader will launch an assault on Gordon Brown's means-tested benefits in a deliberate strategy to take on the Chancellor in preparation for the next General Election.Alongside a benefits shake-up, he will also risk angering one-parent families by suggesting they should return to work when their youngest child is 12, rather than 16.Sir Menzies will tell the Institute of Public Policy Research: "I am determined to take the fight for a fairer Britain into the mainstream of British politics, and into the heartlands of the Labour Party."The Liberal Democrats must be a party not only of the affluent...

Unlike the UK, we don’t have any National Fundraising Awards (Anyone know what happened to the Acorn Awards?). Heck, they’ve several sets of awards, including Most Admired Charity. In the absence of a big put-on-you-tuxedo-and-party-dress style awards ceremony, I thought I’d just throw open this blog to anyone who wants to make a nomination. There’s no judge or jury and definitely no prizes, just the chance to slap a colleague on the back or indeed, boast about your own achievements. Now, don’t be shy, just click on the comment button and tell everyone what you think. To get things rolling, I’ll suggest some categories (modelled on the UK version): – Best e-Media Campaign – Best Direct Mail Fundraising Campaign – Best Face-to-Face Campaign –...

A comment I left on the Irish Blog Awards site (about a charity/non-profit category for next year’s awards) got me thinking about which charities in Ireland are using blogs. Oxfam had been doing a bit during the war in Lebanon but don’t seem to be doing anything now. Concern have a blog running from the Democratic Republic of Congo - but disappointingly they don’t allow any commenting, for some reason. Trócaire have an impressive set of blogs running on their site. Most are either the blogs of staff based in places like Nicaragua, Lebanon and Palestine, or reports from Irish-based staff on trips overseas. Some of them are very good indeed and really capture a sense of what life is like in each of the very different countries Trócaire s working in. As I’ve...

Just imagine if there was an Irish version of this. The Charity Sleuths have finished their work and the Intelligent Giving site is live. And pretty impressive it is too. Sure there are gaps and glitches (if you’re a Mac user you’ll find it doesn’t work properly in Safari, but Firefox seems fine) but overall this is a hugely valuable resource for donors, providing overviews and reviews of hundreds (thousands?) of charities. Each charity is ranked on its accountability and the quality of its reporting. Whether or not it has an ethical investment policy. How long its reserves will last. How much they pay their highest staff. There’s a section that tackles some common charity myths, links to charity awards and a range of articles. And it’s all written in...