Insights and Reflections from SCI’s First Activist Summit

“An opportunity to take stock on the issues we face and to think about the future of activism” – that’s how SCI’s Deputy Director Padraic Quirk described Social Change Initiative’s (SCI) first Activist Summit, hosted in partnership with St Stephen’s Green Trust (SSGT).

The event brought together over 40 activists from Northern Ireland who are part of SCI’s network and activists from the Republic of Ireland who are involved in SSGT's Strengthening Democracy Through Civic Participation programme.    

Serving as a platform to discuss the challenges currently faced by activism and to contemplate its future, participants were asked to reflect on how efforts can be enhanced, skills and insights refined, and stronger connections fostered.   

Those attending had the chance to hear from various experts in the field, who shared insights about their work and spoke frankly about challenges:

• Tanya Ward, Children's Rights Alliance Chief Executive and Patrick Corrigan, Head of Nations & Regions at Amnesty International UK and SCI Mentor, spoke about their perspectives on the future of activism and the importance of keeping a focus on the purpose, collaborating with peers and building a positive organisational culture.
• Sarah Corrigan, Director of Innovation and Engagement at the Law Centre NI and Lisa Dietrich CEO of Community Relations in Schools, provided insights into what they were working on.  Sarah talked about the importance  of the Cliff Edge Coalition NI as an example of cross-organisational campaign collaboration and Lisa reminded us of the challenges faced by young people in what remains a deeply divided society.
• Teresa Buczkowska, Founder of the Migrant Vote and SCI Fellow, and Lilian Seenoi-Bar, Founder and CEO of the North West Migrants Forum hosted a conversation about migrant political participation and democracy.

A lot of ground was covered during the day and at dinner the evening before.  

As the day ended, thoughts turned to thinking about what could usefully be done to strengthen activism in light of the unprecedented challenges faced.

We only just started to think about what the future of activism looks like and how can we best support each other, sharpen our skill and learn from approaches that are making a difference in Ireland and beyond.

This Summit marked the beginning of a partnership aimed at empowering change-makers to strengthen their activism, cultivate growth and resilience, and promote sustainability across the island.

Speaking at the event, Tanya Ward said “It’s a really amazing  opportunity to take time out and listen to activists from across the country and reflect on practice, particularly because we are in such a challenging environment, we need to be better, we need to be more sophisticated and we need to be more impactful.”

We asked activists Louise Coyle (NI Rural Women Network), Joanne Vance (Community Development & Health Network), Tanya Ward and Avila Kilmurray (SCI) to reflect on the event and current challenges faced by activists, watch below: