President Michael D. Higgins paid tribute to the INGO for its tireless work over the past half a century.
He said: “Trócare’s dedication to alleviating global poverty and suffering have made a significant impact on countless lives. The compassion and empathy it has shown over these five decades demonstrates the positive change that can be achieved through collective efforts that support long-term development, as well as educational and advocacy work about the root causes of poverty and injustice.”
He added: “The distinctive work of Trócaire, however, is its willingness to go beyond immediate humanitarian relief, desperately needed, and to challenge the structural sources of poverty and exclusion.”
Trócaire CEO, Caoimhe de Barra said: “Poverty is more than the absence of basic needs, it is the absence of opportunity, voice, power, and control over one’s destiny. Over the past 50 years, Trócaire has supported millions of people to use their own power to fight injustice and poverty.
“Trócaire’s history is owned by the people in Ireland who together for 50 years have demonstrated unyielding solidarity with people who are marginalized and discriminated against. It is also owned by our courageous partner organisations overseas, who are at the centre of positive change for their communities.
“Today, Trócaire works with local partners in the world’s most at-risk communities and with people in Ireland to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and injustice – and to respond to the crises they create.
“As leaders on localisation, (where we shift the power to people in the Global South) we believe the time is right for the sector as a whole to shift its mindset and operations towards a partnership model that gives local communities greater power over the decisions that affect their lives.
“Our speakers from across the globe will today shine a spotlight on climate justice and closing civil society space through a lens of localisation.”
Mary Robinson, Former President of Ireland, Chair of The Elders and Adjunct Professor for Climate Justice in Trinity College Dublin said: “I’ve long appreciated Trócaire’s commitments to and indeed understanding of, climate justice. Both themes for this conference, closing civil society space and climate justice are important and very timely.
“I particularly welcome that the discussion will be through the lens of localisation. I know that the title, ‘Local Power, Global Justice’ is also the way Trócaire describes its organisational strategy. And I’ve seen this personally, in the way it successfully operates through local organisations.”
The keynote address will be delivered by Heba Aly, CEO of The New Humanitarian, which is a globally recognised news service focusing on humanitarian issues that are under-reported, misunderstood or ignored. The panel discussionswill draw from speaker experiences in Malawi, Somalia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Central America, Zimbabwe, and Myanmar. Trócaire’s 50th conference aims to actively listen to the voices of experts from the Global South and identify changes that are needed within the aid sector to bring about positive change.
To find out more about Trócaire’s 50th Anniversary conference ‘Local power, Global Justice’ visit trocaire.org
PHOTO: Mark Stedman
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