Congratulations to Dr Michelle Maher, Maynooth Sociology PhD alum, on being selected as a finalist for the prestigious European-level Innovation in Politics Awards 2021 in the Democracy category for See Her Elected (SHE) programme.
Michelle is the Programme Manager with SHE - a feminist, community-led, rural initiative to support women into politics in the Midlands and NorthWest of Ireland. It is grounded in rural grassroots women’s community organisations which draws women from different socio economic/ethnic backgrounds into the programme. SHE wrote Ireland's first Guidebook to Running in the Local Elections as part of a toolkit of practical supports for women inspired to run for election. This new guidebook is expected to be launched in November 2021. SHE has also worked with the political parties and Independents to create a series of videos which will be available on their website (www.seeherelected.ie) in order to help women decide which political party they should run for in the Local Elections, or whether to be an independent candidate.
The annual Innovation in Politics Awards recognise creative projects from across Europe which break new ground to find innovative solutions for today’s challenges. The awards are presented to politicians in recognition of their innovative projects based on European values of social balance, democracy, and human rights – regardless of their party affiliation or level of government. A citizens’ jury comprising over 1,000 Europeans evaluates the projects to determine the finalists and winners in the Awards’ nine categories. SHE beat off stiff competition from over 400 European entries to be selected as one of just ten finalists in the Democracy category.
Dr Michelle Maher graduated from Sociology Department at Maynooth University with her doctoral degree in 2017.