Awards recognise commitment and contribution to community & youth work
Maynooth University has awarded two national organisations—the Community Workers Co-operative and BeLonG To—this year’s John O’Connell Awards for their outstanding commitment and contribution aimed at creating a just, equal and inclusive society.
Conferred by the Maynooth University Department of Applied Social Studies, the awards are named for John O’Connell, the teacher, organiser and advocate for the marginalised in Ireland and globally, who died in 1999.
The Community Workers Co-operative (CWC) is the national organisation for community development, with members throughout Ireland. Over the past three decades, CWC has gained a global reputation as a leader in community work. CWC supports marginalised communities and groups, advocating with them for policies and initiatives to address exclusion, poverty and inequality and to promote human rights, including the rights of women.
CWC was instrumental in accessing community support from EU Structural Funds, and more recently has worked to generate awareness of the implications of local government reform and state procurement procedures for local communities and groups. It also has sought to ensure that policies and programmes related to the Social Inclusion and Community Activation Programme actually include and empower those they are designed to support.
Speaking at the award ceremony, Anastasia Crickley, Head of the Department of Applied Social Studies said: “CWC’s courageous and constructively critical work continued through times of funding withdrawal. Now, more than ever, the contribution of CWC as an independent civil society organisation is crucial in responding to local and national issues and linking them with global concerns, including climate justice and sustainable development.”
BeLong To, the national organisation for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) young people, has worked with 4,000 LGBT youth over the past decade to build self-esteem, develop an awareness of inequalities in society, and generate ideas about how to address them. BeLong To has enabled young LGBT people to mobilise in groups and campaigns to seek change within Irish society, culminating recently in their unique contribution to the success of the Same Sex Marriage Referendum, for which they built an unprecedented coalition of NGOs dedicated to children and young people in support of a yes vote, as well as garnering support from former President of Ireland, Mary Mc Aleese.
BeLong To attributes its success over the years to work by its board members, staff, volunteers, and its founding director and Maynooth University doctoral student, Michael Barron. Ms Crickley said Barron’s vision of social justice together with his planning and enabling skills have been critical to its success.
Ms Crickley concluded: “The awards are a fitting tribute to John O’Connell, whose work continues to have a profound influence. They also are a clear reflection of the ethos of the Department of Applied Social Studies and of the commitment of Maynooth University to access and inclusion and engagement with communities.”