Greater Immigrant Capacity; Better Environment for All
The Integration Centre will tomorrow (16/04/11) launch capacity building manuals for immigrant organisations through hands-on workshops in County Louth in partnership with the Louth Minority Ethnic Consortium.
The Manuals:
• From Seeds to Trees: A Resource for Organisational Development
• Introduction to Financial Management For Community & Voluntary Groups: Guidance Manual for Beginners
are aimed at fledgling immigrant organisations that may need advice or guidance on how to strengthen grass roots civil society organisations.
Killian Forde, CEO of The Integration Centre, said “those who have made Ireland their home need to feel part of the social and political processes of the country. The disenfranchisement of sectors within society causes a variety of societal problems and social unrest”.
“Ireland allows immigrants to vote in local elections, which is a positive step in the right direction. However, gaining citizenship and therefore access to voting in general elections is fraught with difficulty through lengthy waiting times and high refusal rates. Our experience tells us that a strong civil society provides a political voice to those that may otherwise have none”.
“The Integration Centre, in partnership with local authorities around the country, collaborates in the production of integration plans and immigrant civil society is central to this process. County councils and immigrant groups working together enable these plans to be developed and implemented in a meaningful way”.
The manuals are freely available on The Integration Centre website www.integrationcentre.ie and have been distributed to member organisations nationwide. They were produced in collaboration with TRACS and funded by The Wheel.
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Contact: Helena Clarke on 01 645 3088 / 087-6325138; 1st and 2nd Floors, 18 Dame Street Dublin 2, helena.clarke@integrationcentre.ie, www.integrationcentre.ie
Editor’s note
The Integration Centre is committed to the integration and inclusion of people from immigrant backgrounds in Ireland. The Centre specialises in planning, monitoring and advocacy at city, local, national and international levels, and it also provides regionalized information, advice and training services. Evidence-based research influences positive change in legislation, policy and practice. We have more than 250 affiliated organisations as part of our network.