Time to have your say: What World Do You Want?

A blog post outlining some of the many opportunities for ordinary people to have a say, and to contribute to a shared vision for a better future.

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Change is unavoidable, so we must choose the change we want

Ireland is in bad need for positive news. The weather is disappointing, and our football team has failed to lift the mood of a nation that is reeling from economic crisis as well as a sense of loss of independence and of identity. The financial crisis, which has left thousands of people across the country struggling to make ends meet, is compounded by a profound feeling of national self-doubt, as the “Celtic Tiger” has gone from a supposed model for other European countries to becoming the ultimate symbol of hubris and wastage.

Our Government and President have both been elected on a platform of change, and on the back of a promise to re-invent the Republic. And this is only right: It is very obvious that the way we did things in Ireland no longer provides a useful, or desirable, model for the future.

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Why Ireland invests in overseas aid

Anyone wondering why Ireland continues to spend money on overseas aid, take your pick from these quotes from the last week: Speeches by Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore

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Singing the praise of the humble potato

Today is National Potato Day in Ireland – a country that knows the link between hunger, poverty and the potato all too well.

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Famine in Somalia – Lessons learned from other droughts

Over many years of responding to droughts, Irish NGOs have learned a number of important lessons about the complex relationships between drought, food scarcity and famine.

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Starvation Photography – The ethics of capturing human suffering

The famine in the Horn of Africa has revived the debate on the ethics of famine photography.

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Horn of Africa faces worst drought in 60 years

In the Horn of Africa, famine yet again threatens the lives of millions of people as the region is experiencing its worst drought in 60 years. Yet again it’s the Horn of Africa that gives us these images of drought, famine and starvation. Immediately, one recalls the famine of 1984 when similar images from Ethiopia shocked the world.

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Irish NGOs and SPHERE standards for humanitarian aid

On 14 April, Plan Ireland and Dóchas launched the revised SPHERE standards for humanitarian assistance. This blog explains why, and sets out how Irish NGOs work together to set – and apply – professional standards for their work. And it argues that we need everyone to insist that NGOs do adhere to those codes.

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Key questions to ask any charity

Here is a list of key questions to ask any “Charity” / NGO when you are considering making a donation.

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Pakistan Floods: Lessons learned from other flooding disasters

As people in Pakistan struggle to recover from the catastrophic flooding in many parts of that country, and Irish aid agencies are assisting the most vulnerable people, we list a few of the lessons learned in the past, in the hope of informing future relief programmes.

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