Archived SPIRASI News - 2007
Note: The following archived news items appear in reverse chronological order as that is how they are added to the front page of the SPIRASI web-site.
SPIRASI at the 2007 Dublin City Marathon
Congratulations to all those who ran the Dublin City Marathon on behalf of SPIRASI this October bank holiday weekend. Four members of staff, four asylum seekers and three other volunteers participated in this year’s marathon in aid of SPIRASI.
Four of the team ran the full 26.2 miles and another four of the team walked the full distance but two of the participants had to drop out around the 17 mile mark due to injury. Regardless, it was a great achievement for each of the participants - most of whom are not athletes and who were doing their first marathon.
On the morning of Tuesday 6th November the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin, Diarmuid Martin came to visit SPIRASI. While meeting the staff and observing the valuable work that goes on, he took time out to pick the winning tickets in the SPIRASI Marathon Raffle. The winners’ names are listed on the 2007 Marathon Report.
Balbriggan Research Project
SPIRASI is carrying out a survey amongst the refugee community in Balbriggan and are seeking volunteers to take part in the study. To complete the research, SPIRASI is going to conduct short interviews with refugees and those who have been granted leave to remain who are based in Balbriggan.
The research will focus on community-based services and how well refugee communities are able to access them. This will involve highlighting any gaps in existing services and identifying the areas where uptake is low, as well as evaluating if current services are appropriately designed. Both community based service providers, and users will be consulted in the research process in the interest of encouraging engagement between planners and the community and help to strengthen community involvement.
Balbriggan is being used as a sample area as it highlights many of the issues that refugees are facing in Ireland. It also has one of the largest communities of refugees per capita. A very large and representative sample group and we hope this research will be of benefit to the whole community. SPIRASI hope to have the survey completed before Christmas and the results will be published early in the New Year.
SPIRASI would like to hear from you if you are a refugee or have been granted leave to remain and are living in Balbriggan. We would like to ask you some questions about health, education, information and social services in the area. Your anonymity, confidentiality and privacy are ensured. If you are interested in taking part, contact SPIRASI on (01) 838-9664 or e-mail research@spirasi.ie
Dublin Bus donate €5000 for Survivors of Torture
We received €5,000 from Dublin Bus to buy plinths and other much needed medical equipment. The grant that we received was in the top 15 category of the awards at an awards ceremony on 6th September in the Burlington Hotel, Ballsbridge. Niall Quinn, patron of the Dublin Bus Community Support Programme and Guest of Honour, Bertie Ahern presented the award to Dr Abdul Bulbulia and Greg Straton of the Centre for Care of Survivors of Torture. We were also presented with a Japanese Maple which was later planted by Bill, our gardener on the grounds of SPIRASI.
The SPIRASI Centre for Education and Integration of Migrants also received €2000 for their Arts programme. The Dublin Bus Community Support Programme is financed by unclaimed refunds for over-paid bus tickets.
New Peer-Led Public Awareness Project
SPIRASI have launched a new Public Education project providing information to schools and universities and involves a visit and presentation from the SPIRASI Public Awareness Officer along with a team of trained volunteers, who are asylum seekers and refugees themselves. The project utilises the Peer Led Team Learning methodology of training and educating and aims to develop relevant and dynamic ways to educate the public on Ireland’s asylum and immigration issues, and on the work of SPIRASI. The information provided in the sessions will be tailored and adapted to the needs of the the audience. SPIRASI will encourage participating institutions to hold their own fund raising events or to provide volunteers to raise funds to cover the costs of the presentation and contribute to the work of SPIRASI. For more information on this peer led public awareness project, please contact Kieran Allen, the programme officer.
Singing for the Soul Intercultural Singing Sessions at SPIRASI
Singing for the Soul is a general course in vocal production, group harmony singing from around the world, chanting and vocal improvisation. The course is open to all. There is no solo singing, you don't have to be a 'good' singer to take part! Plenty of tips on vocal production and on connecting with your voice for personal development, creativity and stress-release. Suitable for beginners and those with singing experience.
From 5th September, the course will be held for the first time in Spirasi, a centre for refugees, asylum seekers and migrants. The course will be free to any asylum seekers or refugees living in Ireland — Please spread the word! It is hoped these sessions will bring diverse voices together in harmony and will inspire us all to create a truly diverse and accepting society!
Dates: Each session is 5 weeks in duration, with sessions starting 5 September, 10 October and 14 November 2007 (Come for 1st, 2nd and/or 3rd of the 5 week sessions. Different songs will be covered during each 5 week course.)
Time: Wednesdays, 7-8.30pm
Venue: SPIRASI, 213 North Circular Road, Dublin 7.
Price: €60 per course, concessions available
Booking: Booking is essential, please do not arrive at the class without contacting Rachel first. To book and organise deposit, please contact Rachel Dempsey on 086 309 7232.
See also: www.dublin.ie/globalharmonies.
New Minister for Integration Policy speaks at SPIRASI Graduation
Conor Lenihan, the head of the newly created ministry for Integration Policy, spoke as the guest of honour at the SPIRASI Summer Graduation ceremony on Thursday 19th July for SPIRASI students who received their FETAC certificates and who had participated in a range of courses and programmes to assist their integration into Irish society. This was Minster Lenihan’s first public speech in his capacity as minister and he outlined his thoughts on integration in Ireland and his new ministry and its purpose.
Unlike past SPIRASI graduations, this event took place in the Ballroom of Wynn's Hotel as 200 students who had successfully completed courses in English, Computer Literacy, and Art along with the participants of the Employment Programme for Parents of Irish Born Children had been invited to the ceremony to receive their certificates. The event began with a speech from Killian Mc Morrow who was present as a representative of the SPIRASI Board of Directors. He was followed by Egide Dhala, the manager of CÉIM, the department responsible for the education and integration programmes in SPIRASI and Michael Begley, the Director of SPIRASI. The key-note speech was then delivered by Minister Conor Lenihan before he awarded the certificates individually to each of the graduates present at the ceremony. After all the certificates had been received, the assembled guests enjoyed the fine food provided by the Blue Orchid restaurant in Blackrock.
UN Day in Support of Victims of Torture
On 26th June clients and staff of the Centre for the Care of Survivors of Torture came together for a social event in SPIRASI to mark United Nations International Day in Support of Victims of Torture. Director Michael Begley welcomed everyone and along with manager Edward Horgan read out a global statement signed by the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, Manfred Nowak, together with the IRCTs President and Secretary-General. On 26th June human rights defenders throughout the world read out the message that there are no exceptions to the prohibition on torture. And that the rehabilitation of torture survivors is not an act of charity, but an inalienable right.
Guests then enjoyed music from NoNo a singer from South Africa who sang two beautiful songs one in her native language of Xhosa. Rachael Dempsey from Global Harmonies provided a singing workshop and later during a meal of Iranian cuisine guests enjoyed the music of Sofia and Emilio Arteaga from Uruguay.
Launch of SPIRASI Strategic Plan: 2007-2009, the 2005 Annual Report and new web-site
Welcome to the new-look SPIRASI web-site. The redesign of the SPIRASI web-site coincides with the launch of the SPIRASI Strategic Plan for 2007-2009 and our 2005 Annual Report by the South African Ambassador to Ireland, Priscilla Jana today (Friday 22nd of June).
SPIRASI — with the help of Development Consultant, John Grindle — has been working on the SPIRASI Strategic Plan, 2007-2009 since December 2006. The resulting document that has just been published outlines our shared priorities for the coming years. Our 2005 Annual Report was completed some time ago but we waited until our Strategic Plan was ready before publishing it. Both documents have been professionally designed and printed but are also available for download from this web-site. Meanwhile, more new content and updated material from the old SPIRASI site will be added to the new web-site design over the coming days and weeks.
An account of the launch along with a copy of the Ambassador's speech on the theme of violence and photographs of the event are now available.
First SPIRASI Newsletter - June 2007
This year, SPIRASI has decided to produce its own quarterly newsletter to keep you up to date on what's been happening over the past few months, and to let you know of upcoming events that SPIRASI has planned. The newsletter is available as a PDF of four A4 pages so that it can be easily downloaded and printed. (If you have a good printer, you can print the document with the double-sided "booklet" option on A3 paper and just fold it over.)
In the next few issues, we will experiment with the design and layout of the newsletter and we would greatly appreciate any feed-back you may have to offer are seeking to improve the quality of the publication. If any skilled graphic designers out there would like to donate some of their time and labour to helping us with this newsletter, we'd love to hear from you! Please be sure to let us know what you think of the newsletter and if you have any suggestions for content for the next issue, please get in touch with us. Feedback and queries can be emailed to Anthony at sduadmin@spirasi.ie.
World Refugee Day Awards - June 2007
Each year on 20th June, World Refugee Day, awards are given to celebrate Ireland as a country of welcome for asylum and refuge seekers and to highlight the positive contribution that asylum seekers and refugees have made to the local communities where they live. The awards highlight the positive contribution that asylum seekers, refugees and the local community have made in the integration process and are a way of reflecting the positive interaction between people across Ireland. Last year a dedicated and hard-working SPIRASI staff member, Deo Ladislas Ndakengerwa received an award in the "Health and Welfare" category and Catherine Butler, another member of staff received an award in 2006 for her dedication and commitment to survivors of torture.
The public are invited to nominate individuals they know who are residing in Ireland who have made contributions at a local level whether working on their own or as part of an organisation. Examples of people who could be considered for nomination include local community and youth workers, teachers, business people, health workers, service providers and volunteers. The closing date for all nominations is Wednesday 16th May. The awards ceremony will take place on the 20th of June in the Civic Offices, Wood Quay.
Also, each year SPIRASI help with the organisation of the Awards and we would greatly appreciate the help of volunteers on the night itself.
SPIRASI at the 2007 St. Patrick's Day Parade - March 2007
A group of SPIRASI clients participated in the 2007 St Patrick's Day Parade. With a group from the Rainbow Neighbourhood Project, they took part in the City Fusion project — an intercultural community arts project. The SPIRASI group participated as Chameleon drummers in the parade.
Mosney Open Day - 25th March
To coincide with Intercultural and Anti Racism Week, an Open Day will be held in Mosney Accommodation Centre on Sunday 25th March. The theme for the day is Cultural Connections.
There will be information on the transition of Mosney from a holiday centre to an accommodation centre and on the array of different cultures living here. The day will consist of a variety of events covering cultural foods, dress, dance, music (Adorons L'Eternel from the DR Congo), children's activities among other things. There will be a football match (Mosney Utd vs. Drogheda Gardaí) and the FAI will be hosting a coaching clinic for kids. The events will be rounded off by a performance from the Dublin Youth Orchestra who will perform at approx 6 pm that evening.
All are welcome and invited to drop in any-time throughout the day - the event is Free. For more details, or if you would be interested in participating actively in any of the events please contact Audrey on 087 694 9988, or just drop in on the day.
Each year on 20th June, World Refugee Day, awards are given to celebrate Ireland as a country of welcome for asylum and refuge seekers and to highlight the positive contribution that asylum seekers and refugees have made to the local communities where they live. The awards highlight the positive contribution that asylum seekers, refugees and the local community have made in the integration process and are a way of reflecting the positive interaction between people across Ireland. Last year a dedicated and hard-working SPIRASI staff member, Deo Ladislas Ndakengerwa received an award in the "Health and Welfare" category and Catherine Butler, another member of staff received an award in 2006 for her dedication and commitment to survivors of torture.
To coincide with Intercultural and Anti Racism Week, an Open Day will be held in Mosney Accommodation Centre on Sunday 25th March. The theme for the day is Cultural Connections.
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