100 days for Equality

This came in my email this morning. Unfortunately I will be unable to attend but as usual I figured I would bring it to your attention.

--------------------------------------------------

100 days for Equality

(Campaign for equality in civil marriage)

24^th December 2007

At the Symposium “Full and Equal Rights: Lesbian and Gay Marriage and Partnership Rights in Ireland” held on the 30^th November 2007, it was agreed by those who attended that a sustained programme of action was required between now and the end of March 2008, prior to the Heads of Bill on partnership rights being published. The purpose of this action would be to send a clear and unambiguous message to the Government that the lesbian and gay community are prepared to accept nothing less than full equality in relation to marriage.

It was further agreed that the NLGF would convene a meeting early in January to help progress a series of collective actions that might be taken in this regard.

This meeting is now scheduled for Saturday 12^th January 2008 from 10.30 am to 12.30 pm in Outhouse, Capel Street, Dublin and we would like to invite you to attend this important event and to get actively involved in this campaign.

It should be noted that this initiative is intended to focus on activities that can best be advanced collectively and will not encroach on the individual roles, campaigns or activities of any of its participants. This loose coalition will however provide a mechanism for;

• Facilitating a specific set of joint activities
• Developing the agreed collective messages for the 100 day campaign
• Creating awareness amongst and mobilising the lesbian and gay community for action.

The programme for the meeting will be sent out early in January and we hope you will be able to attend.

Orla Howard Patrick Lynch

NLGF: Convenor NLGF: Convenor

LGBT Noise & Gay Civil Marriage

So today I took part in a protest with the new group 'LGBT Noise' on Sth King st. (I think, yas should know how shocking my geography is.lol). Anyways I arrived at 12ish, and firstly because it was bleeding freezing out, despite my heavy jacket & scarf, I needed a fantastic White hot chocolate from Butlers on Grafton st.(Stephen's Green end). I did eventually warm up and was beginning to feel my feet again but not until after the Carols had begun. Anyway I was amazed at the range of people who showed up today; maybe it is because I have always been involved in events in Limerick so I knew who everybody was or half-knew who everybody was. However I was genuinely amazed at firstly seeing Sen. David Norris, a man whom I have the greatest of admiration and respect for but then to see Katherine Zappone and Anne-Louise Gilligan as well, well needless to say I was very impressed. I do sometimes find it quiet hard to speak with people I don't know. Mainly because I don't know what to say, but when it is people whom you admire, for a whole host of reasons, then the walls just build and build.

The reasoning behind this protest/Carol Service was to give some momentum behind a push for civil marriage in Ireland. As the website states:

"The purpose of this event is to create an awareness of the need for FULL equality for gay people and to let the public know that Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgendered (LGBT) people no longer wish to remain second-class citizens under Irish law. The current government is promising to publish the heads of a bill for same-sex civil partnership in Spring 2008: Bullet points for discussion, not commitments to equal rights. This bill promises to demote rather than promote equality and is an insult to all who believe in human, civil and equal rights"

Doing the Masters that I am doing, has this year given me a whole new lease of life. I have begun to see things in a completely different light and also a recognition that while change is hard as hell, change is always necessary when inherent inequalities persist. While this was a view I had in the past, I think i have finally realized how hard it is to fight for something continuously when you know you should have it from the beginning.

I am Irish. I am a Constitutional Republican. I am a citizen of my wonderful Ireland. Yet my wonderful Ireland, in all her Constitutional Republican virtues, refuses to bestow all the rights and privileges which she gives to those who are married to me or any of us who identify as Lesbian or Gay. Instead, my wonderful Ireland will next year bring forward a piece of legislation which will apparently bring "equality" within my community. Well I say that this Civil Partnership/Civil Union is not equality. Equality which has restrictions is not equality. It is another institutional bloc which exists to prevent people from participating fully and openly in Irish society.

There is only one way to have equality between those who are gay and lesbian and those who are straight and that is the complete equalization of relationships in the State institution of Civil marriage. Those who argue that Gay marriage is not constitutional should examine their Government's own report on this, which says that the only way for full equality is for Gay Civil Marriage. It is also of note to point out that marriage has never been defined as one man and one women in the Irish constitution. The only piece of legislation which was brought in on this was the Social Welfare Miscellaneous Act in 2003, which specifically defined marriage as one man and one women, in order to further stigmatize and institutionalize homophobia within the Irish state.

I yet again call on those who read this blog to voice their opinions to all in their power. Make representations to your local T.D.s, get involved in a campaign, Support a Campaign, but ultimately get out and make some noise because be dammed sure that nobody else is going to do it for you. You are the only person who knows your story well enough that you can recount it. As the cliché goes "Be the change you want to be yourself". However as much as a cliché as that is, it was Mahatma Ghandi who said it.

EQUAL-L : ‘Symposium on the Distribution of Care Work between Women and Men’

The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) invites you to a ‘Symposium on the Distribution of Care Work between Women and Men’

Sharing the Care Work

SPEAKERS

Professor Dr Kathleen Lynch, UCD Chair of

Equality Studies,

Cathal Mac Coille, Morning Ireland, RTE Radio 1



Date: Tuesday, November 20th 2007

Venue: The Fitzwilliam Hotel, Stephen’s Green,

Dublin 2

Time: 10:30am to 1:30pm (followed by lunch)


For reservations : Contact Enca on (01) 8898 471 or encagc@nwci.ie.

Spaces are limited, so early booking is essential.


The NWCI is hosting this event as part of the EU Year of Equal Opportunities. The aim of the event is to stimulate a more public debate on the issue of care (in particular, unpaid care work) between women and men and its impact on women’s equality.


Michelle Scanlan
Information Officer
National Women's Council of Ireland
Direct Line: 01-8898479
Phone: 01-8787248
Fax: 01-8787301
email:info@nwci.ie
web: www.nwci.ie

9 Marlborough Court
Marlborough Street
Dublin 1

EQUAL-L: Mainstreaming Equality: 3rd Annual Conference on Equality in Further and Higher Education and Training, November 22 (Dublin)

CONFERENCE NOTIFICATION:

Mainstreaming Equality: 3rd Annual Conference on Equality in Further and Higher Education and Training, November 22 (Dublin)

Promoting equality and accommodating diversity in further and higher education, training and labour market programmes

Date: Thursday 22nd November 2007
Time: 0900-1320
Place: The Royal College of Physicians, 6 Kildare Street, Dublin 2

The composition of the Irish workforce is changing rapidly. Employee diversity encompasses all of the nine grounds covered under equality legislation - gender, marital status, family status, age, disability, sexual orientation, race, religion and membership of the Traveller community. Investing in equality and diversity is key to mobilising and developing this changing workforce.

Beyond responsibilities on providers in further education and training not to discriminate, there is an economic and social imperative to actively pursue the recruitment and progression of learners from all groups experiencing inequality under these grounds. The principal challenge in this sector is to mainstream equality in learning opportunities for all people, taking full account of their diversity.

The conference is jointly organised by The Equality Authority, The Department of Education and Science and The Department of Enterprise Trade and Employment. The event will focus on understanding the implications of promoting equality and accommodating diversity for the work of further and higher education and training practitioners. Keynote speakers and facilitated workshops will:

Examine the importance of promoting equality for the diverse workplace of the future

Explore the implications of equality and diversity for students and practitioners in further and higher education and training

Identify key lessons learned from promoting equality in the Vocational Education and training sector

Who should attend?
The conference is aimed at practitioners, managers and policy makers in further and vocational education and training and all those who work in educational practice, policy and advocacy with an interest in equality and diversity. There is no charge for the conference and lunch will be provided.

For information and bookings please contact:

FET Conference, The Equality Authority, 2 Clonmel Street, Dublin 2

Call Nigel Hickey on 01 417 3376 or email: nhickey@equality.ie

If you are registering by email:

Please provide all your contact details (name, address, organisation, phone and email) and indicate if you will stay for lunch and if you have any special dietary requirements.

The second session of the conference will contain 3 workshops, please consult the conference brochure or registration form for the details of the workshop and indicate in the e-mail your 1st, 2nd and 3rd choice of workshop.

Symposium: Full and Equal Rights: Lesbian and Gay Marriage & Partnership Rights in Ireland

The National Lesbian and Gay Federation is delighted to invite you to a full day symposium: FULL AND EQUAL RIGHTS: LESBIAN AND GAY MARRIAGE & PARTNERSHIP RIGHTS IN IRELAND

Date: Friday 30th November 2007 (Time: 10.00 to 4pm)

Venue: The Royal College of Physicians, Kildare St, Dublin 2.

Who should attend: The symposium will be of particular interest to lesbian and gay equality advocates and activists; politicians; policy makers; legal practitioners; community and social work professionals; trade unionists; and those involved in the field of equality and human rights.

The aim of the symposium:To provide a forum for the exchange of information and for dialogue between interested LG national organisations, community groups and individuals, as well as legal, equality and human rights professionals, and all those advocating for change on the issue of lesbian and gay marriage and partnerships. The aim is that such a dialogue, combined with insights from best practice elsewhere, will contribute to creating a strong platform for change within the Irish LGB NGO sector. Speakers will include representatives of major advocacy initiatives and campaigns on LG marriage and partnership rights in Ireland. Keynote international speaker: John Fisher ( former director of EGALE CANADA, and co-founder and co-director of ARC International, a canadian-based NGO focussing on the implementation of an international strategic vision regarding LGBT human rights).
While the symposium is free of charge and open to all those interested, space is strictly
limited so places will be allocated on a 'first come, first served' basis.

RSVP Rachel Mullen rmullen@equality.ie

About Me

Hey y'all.
Welcome to my Blog, where you will find incredibly random stories which I have stumbled upon over the previous 24hrs. Invariably the subject matter is something which pertains to current affairs, LGBT politics, Random mutterings about Patriarchy, Feminism, Equality Issues. Also I will post information on upcoming equality conferences & talks which I get via email on the EQUAL-L list among others or via the news in order to increase the awareness of these important events.
If you have conferences, talks etc which you want to be posted, feel free to email me with the link below and I'll do my best.

Comments are encouraged & welcome : No point in me talking to myself all of the time :-D .

Also I will be commenting in this section about critical site updates etc.