Footprint June 2018 by Griffith College Dublin

JUNE 2018

FOOTPRINT Small

steps big changes

MAKING AN IMPACT Vollpension: A

social business

changing retirement in

The

Vienna

rediscovery centre:

turning old into new

Creativity

and positivity

through the performing arts

Top 10 Ethical Beauty Brands The

extraordinary biodiversity of

The Phoenix Park

Culture . Nature . Art . Creativity . Humanity

Refflections by Carolina Hernandez

fl e Re

o ct i

lin aro C y

a er n aH

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EDITORIAL If I cannot do great things, I can do small things that are great.

Magazine are delighted

“

he creators of Footprint to present this inaugural

edition to our readers. We believe making the world a better place for ourselves, and for the generations to come, is an

reminder of small steps that you

Dr Martin Luther King Jr

can take today to improve your tomorrow.

important task and that it can

We believe sustainability and

be undertaken by ever yone, no

adaptability are key to prevent-

matter how small their actions

ing climate change as well as

are.

using the resources we have

No matter how small or big the

at our disposal: you will read

change is, if it is local or interna-

just because an issue does not

about The Rediscover y Centre

tional, if it involves one person

affect us, it doesn’t mean that

in Ballymun, who are re-pur-

or a multinational, ever y step to-

it can never affect us: the time

posing old household items into

wards making our world a better

to change is not when disaster

new bespoke pieces, how waste

place is vitally important and is

strikes us but when we can do

is being turned into energy for

key to protecting our planet for

something to prevent the disas-

80,000 homes in Poolbeg and

future generations.

ter. The green triangles you see

how grandmas and grandpas in

dotted throughout this issue are

Vienna are running a home away

It is important to realise that

from home café: ever ybody has something to give.

Remember: small steps, big changes.

IMPRINT

Editor

Angelina Niederpruem and Agha Hassan Sarwar Sub-Editor Bronwyn Molony, Ayomide Akinshilo and Barbara Debout Designer Carolina Hernández, Camila Moret, Lilia Lalaoui, Andrea Wright, Lavender Odinaka Ekweremadu and Angelina Niederpruem Photo-Designer Carolina Hernández Social-Media Fin Brennan Advertising Jackie Costa Ribeiro and Gosego Moletsane

CONTENTS Editorial Note

and Imprint

3 4

Covanta: How

Table

waste becomes useful

9 Figures: Irish artists portraits Shookrah and Cristina del Moral

Feminism

100 Dermot

than

years of fight

makes the world a better place

empathy of the

26 The

in Ireland:

12 22

Feed the Homeless: The Muslim Sisters of Ă&#x2030;ire

of content

The

rediscovery centre

importance of animal protection

and rehoming

30 Volunteering you get

Dublin: How involved? in

The

extraordinary biodiversity of

can

The Phoenix Park 34

AmnestyInternational: Defend

Top 10

ethical beauty brands

human rights

Youcan Ireland: A

The Swedish

Gender

fellowship of reconciliation

voice for young

adult cancer

The Brain Drain

Nigeria

40 48

The amazing work Red Bull Leipzig through RB

inequality for woman in

Meet Vollpension: A

is doing

social business

changing retirement in

Vienna

53 Mohammad Bin Salman: How Arabian Crown Prince?

is the new

Saudi

times musicians used their music videos

and positivity through the

performing arts

58 Five

Creativity Cultural

appropriation:

Exploiting

is no

borrowing

62 Three Billboards outside Ebbing, Missouri: A laugh every fifteen minutes

for a charitable cause

The power of Photography: Interview MĂĄrilin Ferreira

with

This magazine was produced by journalism students in Griffith College Dublin. The views expressed in this magazine are those of the authors named, and are not necessarily those of the editorial team or the management of Griffith College or any of its employees.

If you have a comment to make, want more information on the articles or would like to contact one of the team tweet @TheFootprintMag or see us on Facebook @TheFootprintMagazine.

Photo by Carolina Hernandez

COVANTA: HOW WASTE BECOMES USEFUL by Agha Hassan Sarwar

n Ireland, we produce almost 20 million tonnes of waste a year and at present most of that goes to landfill. Given that there are only 15 municipal landfill sites in the country, we will start to run out of landfill space in 11 years. Waste-to-energy (WTE) is a new technology that allows waste products to be turned into energy instead of heading to landfill. Covanta is the world’s leading waste-to-energy (WTE) company with 42 WTE facilities all over the world: its newest located in Poolbeg in Dublin. Covanta’s mission is to develop sustainable solutions for waste management. In the Dublin plant, it burns about 600,000 tonnes of waste per year, converting waste into enough energy for around 80,000 homes per year. Covanta’s new facility in Dublin is one of the most state of the art waste facilities in the world. Footprint Magazine sat down with business manager Kieran Mullins to find out more about Covanta’s operation in Dublin and how it is engaging with the community. Tell me about the process the waste goes through to become energy. Waste comes in on the trucks and gets weighed on the weighbridge. It is tipped on to the tipping floor where the waste is inspected. It is then put into the pit, where the waste gets mixed with other waste that is already in the pit and it’s loaded into a hopper by cranes which feed the incinerator grate. It takes about an hour and a half to be burned and at the end of incineration process the ash is collected. Burning the waste produces two types of ash: bottom ash and fly ash. Bottom ash is similar to what you have in your fireplace at home, whereas fly ash is blown up to the boiler and is collected through a dedicated air pollution control system, where we remove the pollutants. There was a lot of concern about the plant when it was proposed initially. Have you calmed the fears of those opposed to the plant?

The plant is 20 years in the making. We had a lot of objections to it. We had some local people down here and we showed them the plant operations. We had local politicians who were concerned about the plat down here as well. We showed them how the plant works, and they got a feel for what we are actually doing here. They saw that there is no huge environmental impact as a result of plant operations. The amount of waste that we are taking in at the moment is less than our capacity. If people want to see it, our environmental data is on our website: This shows what is happening inside the plant. We also have tours in and out of the plant, and if people pick up the phone and ask us, we respond them directly. What’s the smoke coming from the chimneys? It’s not actually smoke: what people see coming out of the chimney is steam. Our emissions from the plant are around 2% of the emission limit values, as set out in the Waste Incineration Directive and our licence from the Environmental Protection Agency.

“WTE is much friendlier than the landfill from the point of view of CO2 emissions”

Well, the alternatives to what we are doing in this plant are pay other people to take the waste or put it into landfill. Yes, in future more and more recycling will happen but also the waste volume will increase. As it stands is WTE is an integral part of making the most of the resources we have. From 2014 to 2015, over 600,000 tons of waste was exported to other countries where they turn it into energy. You also have the transportation cost associated with moving that waste abroad. So, essentially we are removing our energy sources from this country. We had to import quarter of a million tons of oil to compensate for the 600,000 tons of waste that could have been turned into energy here. By putting in a waste energy plant at home, it’s both reducing the need for landfill and issues associated with landfill and it minimizes the amount of waste exported from the country. Regarding climate change, what are the benefits of a WTE plant and can it help mitigate climate change? Benefits of waste-to-energy are threefold: we are not paying to export our waste, we are converting waste into energy instead of putting it into landfill and the waste is gone within an hour and half. Waste going to landfill take around 50 years to break down. The other thing is that WTE is an integral part of the circular economy, where materials are used

WTE is much friendlier than the landfill from the point of view of CO2 emissions. We don’t have the threat of leaks into the ground and everything that comes with landfill. It is all managed within the plant. The emissions from the plant are extremely good - It is one of the most modern waste-to-energy facilities in the world at the moment and our emissions from the stacks are extremely low. On your website, you say you have a “commitment to sustainability”: can you elaborate on that? Commitment to sustainability is a commitment to use the resources that we already have, and not use new resources unnecessarily. We generate electricity here in the plant by burning waste, which primarily comes from the Dublin area. The waste we use in the plant has already been created and if we didn’t take it, it would go to landfill where it can take up to 50 years to break down. Do you think it is important to invest in the community? Has the plant created any jobs for locals? Well, of course, it is very important. Apart from the fact that we are creating employment in the area - it is important that people do get some sort of benefits from having a facility like this in their area. In total within a 5km radius of the plant, I would say we have about 20 people directly employed and there are 10-15 people working in the plant from the immediate area of the Irishtown. Tell me about the Community Gain Fund, and what is Covanta’s involvement with it? The Community Gain Fund is a fund put in place as a result of the planning conditions for the plant. >>

Us to e le en sid ma ss p ce es, ke ap . E t h p er ve at ap : T e n ca b e ma r. P re es n tt ke rin a b e er s a t re re , us bi on fel cy e g b o l e cl pa dif t h d e d p fe . er rth at

Protecting the environment is a major concern these days. Do you think that protecting environment is important and what is Covanta doing on this particular issue?

from as long as possible. There comes a time when it becomes very difficult and expensive to recycle certain material and something has to be done – converting it to energy is the next best thing to recycling it.

“W t o - en a s t ean ma int eg ergy k is ra t h e ing t h l p ar res e m t of ou o hav rces s t of e.” we

Icon made by Freepik from www.flaticon.com

They stipulated that a percentage of the cost of building the plant is set aside for the local community to be paid in over the construction period. As the plant becomes operational, one euro per ton of waste is set aside for the fund. So, to date, we have contributed over €10.4 million to the Community Gain Fund. About half of the fund has been spent on local schools and clubs around the area. As the is plant operational now, we should be contributing about €600,000 per year for the length of the contract we have, which is 45 years long. Overall, we are looking at somewhere between €35-40 million over the next 45 years.

is for the community with large-scale infrastructure in their area and it is a kind of compensation, to some extent, for having that large infrastructure there. How can people view your emissions data or get in contact? Our emissions data is available online at dublinwastetoenergy.ie. People can pick up the phone and call us at 01-6032100, or they can email us at ENVDublin@covanta.com for environmental queries. //

The Community Gain Fund is and will be going Irishtown, Ringsend, Poolbeg and Sandymount. The fund

Photo by Keiran Mullins

by Barbara Debout

FEMINISM IN IRELAND: MORE THAN 100 YEARS OF FIGHT Feminism has played a significant role in shaping the legal and social position of women in present-day Ireland. Back on that unfinished struggle, and its challenges today.

ometimes, it’s entertaining to check out the origins of words. The word “feminism” was first used in 1837 by French philosopher Charles Fourier to describe the advocacy of women’s rights. The word feminism was first used in English in 1851 but described “the state of being feminine”. The word feminism became synonymous with the suffrage movement, and as this was only a women’s problem, feminism stuck and has been in use ever since. This year we celebrated 100 years of the vote for women: here we look back women’s rights in Ireland. Ireland at the time of the 1916 rebellion intended to be progressive. The rebellion occurred during what is known as first wave feminism, or suffrage as it was more commonly known at the time. On Easter Monday 1916, the poet and rebel leader Patrick Pearse read out the promise of equality addressed to Irishmen and Irishwomen. The proclamation declared an end to British rule, but it also guaranteed religious and civil liberty, equal rights and equal opportunities for all citizens. It committed to universal suffrage - extraordinary for the time - and two years before women in Britain won the right to vote. In 1918, women in Ireland were allowed to vote at the age of 30 if >> Photo by Morning Theft

they had qualifications or university constituencies, while men could vote at the age of 21 with no qualification. Four years later, in 1922, the government gave equal voting rights to men and women. Nevertheless, this great breakthrough didn’t last. Over the next decade, some laws concerning women rights were introduced in the constitution. Women were not allowed to work on juries, work after they were married, and the constitution defined a woman’s place as “in the home”. Taoiseach Eamon De Valera’s conservative leadership further stripped women of their previously granted rights. Groups like the Irish Housewives’ Association and the Irish Women Workers’ Union valiantly fought these attempts to restrict women to the domestic sphere, but it wasn’t until the second wave of feminism in the 1960s and 1970s that reformists and activists again combined to achieve some extraordinary changes. The Irish Women’s Liberation Movement The creation of The Irish Women’s Liberation Movement is an important starting point. In 1971, the members took a train to Belfast and brought condoms back to Dublin, however the condoms were seized on arrival. In the aftermath, they protested against the prohibition of contraceptives in the republic. In 1973, the marriage ban in the

civil service was lifted and the Supreme Court ruled that contraceptives could be used in marriage. In the following years, equal pay laws were introduced, women were allowed to sit as jurors and the Employment Equity Act banned discrimination on the grounds of gender or marital status. In 1978, Haughey’s “Irish solution to an Irish problem” made contraceptives available for “family planning or medical reasons”. They could be dispensed by a pharmacist only on the presentation of a medical prescription from a doctor. In 1985, the sale of condoms was legalised for adults over 18 without a prescription. This second-wave of feminism helped spur major developments in Irish society. Mary Kenny, one of the second-wave leaders, and an experienced journalist, once had a conversation with a group of Irish feminists about what was the greatest benefit to women during the 20th century. According to her, everyone had a different answer: “some said ‘the contraceptive Pill’, other suggestions included ‘the motor car’, ‘education’, ‘the washing machine’, ‘freedom for corsets’, and to dress as we please”, “freedom to leave an unhappy marriage”. However, she thinks that “the leading answer still must be ‘the vote’, because without the vote there is no democratic suffrage and no political power.”

Photo by Bart Everson

Seeking equality However, the 70s and 80s were not always times of progress. In 1983, the country voted in the eighth amendment, which was supposed to ban abortion. As a consequence, Ireland still has the most restrictive law on abortion in Europe: abortion is only allowed when the life of the mother is in imminent danger, including from her mental health. Amendments also had to be voted into the constitution giving women the right to travel for an abortion and giving women the right to information about getting an abortion. It was not until 2013 that the ruling from the infamous X case was put into law, after public outcry over the death of a woman in Galway from septicemia after a miscarriage. The eighth amendment still poses huge problems for doctors as they are not able to treat a woman’s medical problem if the treatment might harm her unborn child. Apart from the abortion issue, Ireland has still progress to make on equality. Apparently, Irish women have more rights than their mothers and grandmothers, but parity has yet to be achieved in many fields: at the moment, the gender pay gap is 14%. It can’t be explained away by saying women work fewer hours: on an hourly basis, women earn only 86% of what a man would. Single mothers are at a greater risk of falling into poverty because of the lack of access to pre-school education which prevents them from finding work. Despite a new strategy established in 2017, access to childcare is still unequal and seeing a more women look after the home in Ireland, men still dominate the workplace. Most decisions in business and politics are taken by men while women often find themselves lagging behind when it comes to equal opportunities and representation. In the Dáil, only 22% of seats are held by women. According to Mary Kenny, fair representation in parliament is not always a measure of a progressive state. “East Germany (DDR) also had a high ratio of women in their parliament, but they were mostly yes-women, obedient to the Communist Party, which hardly leads to independent thinking.” According to her, the only thing that Ireland can do at government level is to give every chance to stand for parliament and be encouraging and positive about a political career.

“Fre e do t o le m a n u ave nh mar appy riag e.”

The opinion of Mary Kenny on the worldwide feminist movement #Metoo

t’s good to encourage women to speak out if they have experienced harassment or been pestered (and certainly to report rape or assault): although Hollywood has always been known to tolerate sleazy morals – “transactional sex” (where the actress gets the part in return for being obliging to the producer) has been a part of the practice there since the 1930s. So Hollywood’s protests seem a little disingenuous. But I also agree with Germaine Greer that the time to object to unacceptable behavior is when it happens – not twenty years later. Speak up and speak out! Margaret Atwood thinks that the sexual harassment phenomenon is partly because old rules of manners and morals (after the contraceptive Pill)

The issue of “consent” is an attempt to re-invent a new code, perhaps. In my own professional life, I never experienced any sexual harassment. Men were very nice to me, as a young girl, and were generally encouraging to my generation of feminists (from the 1970s). But there was a known distinction between men who were “gentlemen” and men who were “bounders”, and those of us who were shrewd enough seem to have been able to avoid the bounders (villains, exploiters, bad-hats). As with child abuse, I think it’s the more vulnerable women who are picked on by bounders (or charming villains). Women who have an aura of being able to look after themselves - maybe less so.

F da ew er y o u t nly we pla u e it s. a f s e stic t a Bu ew pl b t h ke t a o ey s no s e c s t i ttle ’re up b o o c b s: co to d y nd s ott Eve m 50 k n or les r y pl 0 o m f et y w i or el ea s ny t go r s t hat n e ill .

Nevertheless, for Mary Kenny, the most important challenge for feminism today is not equality within the government but motherhood.“Motherhood is always a challenge, not because of laws against motherhood, but because women, in their hearts, often feel ambivalent about whether they should prioritise their careers or their attachment to their children”. It is clear that while progress has been made in Ireland on equality and women’s rights, there is still work to be done. //

broke down, and were not replaced by new codes. I remember hearing a man say “if you’re on the Pill, and you want equality, what reason is there to say ‘No’ to sex?”

Photo by Simon Curran

FIGURES: IRISH ARTISTS PORTRAITS Ireland has always been a buzzing place for creativity, but do we really know our artists? Here are portraits of Irish artists opening up about their art and how it contributes to make a better world.

by Lilia Lalaoui

SHOOKRAH Shookrah is a 6-piece band from Cork composed of Senita Appiakorang (lead vocals), Imelda Cormican (backing vocals), Emmet O’Riabhaigh (drums), Brian Dunlea (bass), Diarmait Mac Cárthaigh (keys) and Daniel Coughlan (guitar). They play a mix of RnB and soul called ‘Future Soul’, made of soulful lyrics and a catchy groove. We had a funky chat with Senita, the lead vocalist.

hy did you choose the name Shookrah?

Siùcra is sugar in Irish but we made it phonetic. It’s just a kind of a playful way to make it more accessible to people that aren’t Irish speakers. The name came when we had an annual general meeting just to reassess things because we were initially called ‘Moustache Latte’. We were thinking about renaming ourselves ‘Shookrah’ was the only one that the seven of us agreed on at the same time. It had like a sweet, funny kinda essence, and obviously we wanted to make music that had that effect on people.

maybe studying, or interested in music, going to the same gigs, everyone has that kind of interest to make RnB. We knew each other as friends and got drunk enough with each other to say ‘hey do you want to start a band?’ So we were just playing music that we like together. At that time, we had a different bassist who was David Carey and were three vocalists at that stage. Keys and bass and drums and guitar: it was a family ‘Jackson 5’ type set up, it was really big. It took different shapes through the years you know, as we started as friends, people would move to different places, doing different things and stuff.

When did you start?

How could you describe your music? What is ‘Future Soul’?

We started in late 2013: the original members of the band were myself and Daniel, the guitarist. Then Emmet joined, it was the second generation of ‘Shookrah’ and a ‘Moustache Latte’ member. Initially we were just doing covers and gigs during the weekend in Cork. Everyone was

‘Future Soul’ is, I suppose, this kind of wave of new soul and RnB that’s taking place even now. In the early 90s, when I was an adolescent getting into soul music, you had more traditional musicians and bands like Jill Scott, >>

Alicia Keys, D’Angelo; it was new for soul music. It was more contemporary mixing influences, like hip-hop, that gave birth to the RnB from the mid-nineties. It was kind of another mutation of soul and RnB, which kinda started to start probably from 2000, with people like Erykah Badu and Janelle Monaé. Musicians like this who were doing these crazy things you know, people like Amy Winehouse, who made it very popular. You had people like Jamie Foxx and Kanye at the same time doing commercial RnB to dance to in the clubs. But there was this other stuff, more observative of the world. I think ‘Future Soul’ is RnB and hip-hop that really tried to steal some grassroots. People like Mos Def in the nineties were fresh because RnB and hip-hop was all about consumers and there was all this other stuff. So ‘Future Soul’ is pretty much what I’ve been growing up with, this introspective music that reflects the political eras as well. You couldn’t put your finger on it and say what genre it is because it was a weird time, nobody knew what was going on. ‘Future Soul’ in a sense that reflects now, and also something looking at the future and saying ‘we need to do better’. Where does your inspiration come from? What’s your creative process? Various different things. I think at the moment, because we’re writing an album, we’re kind of more or less halfway through at this stage, and it’s been different every single time. With this album I think we’re really trying to stay focused on what we want as an angle for the album, because that’s the first time we’re putting a lot of energy into it, so we’re trying to rectify etc. So, the process previously would have been that someone would have had a full song, or the skeleton of a song and we would all jam out. But this has changed different times. We can tell the difference between a song we have written intensely or if we haven’t been written in a while and then go back to a song. We all have personal demos, we have a little (demo) bank and we pick between ourselves what we want to work on first.

playing sometimes I’m kinda quiet for a long while. I write songs quite fast as well. What do you think of the music scene in Dublin?

“ t hin I k it’s rea to b l ly cool a e t i n I r ma k i ng i m e el m r ea l a n d a n d u sic ly co ol t i it’s a be i n spi m e to mu s re d by ic[... ]”

It’s been accumulating and building momentum over the last five years, even since we’ve been playing when we started. It was way more of a microcosm in terms of the general world of music but especially urban music. Then in the matter of three or four years it just exploded, and there’s so much potential all over Ireland, even recognised outside of the country. I think it’s a really cool time to be making music in Ireland and it’s a really cool time to be inspired by music in Ireland as well. There are examples of, kind of, boundless possibilities in terms of genres that you are into, and the calibre of musicianship that’s coming out of Ireland at the moment. But also in terms of the community. People are really supportive between one and other and they’re doing things to try and collaborate and bring out this scene, making something that’s noted even outside of Ireland. People like Jafaris, Soulé, Barq or Loah, are already building something towards people like Sza or Khalid from afar where it’s normalized. So Ireland could actually be a good pedestal where to look to for different kinds of music. It’s a very interesting and exciting time.

We’re still very much exploring. I would pretty much write the lyrics and the melodies, harmonies and stuff like that. Or we pick a snippet from a demo bank: I might not always play the demo and start writing songs, I might just play a little bit of it and get to the vibe of it. I’m a little bit of a reactive songwriter so whenever the guys are

So, I’d like to think that people think that there’s honesty there at the very least that they can relate to, or even if they can’t relate to, that it can cause conversation for them. People like Solange or Erykah Badu or Janelle Monaé they have maybe coded or metaphorical songs, that’s kind of I’d like to think to trigger the meanings of the songs that I write. What is the feedback from people about your music?

Picture by Miki Barlok

Generally people are very kind and into it. When people are singing back or saying that’s their favorite song, it’s always heart whelming. This kind of music that is a little bit more interruptive and playful, it’s kind of getting more and more popular. People are appreciating it from like an entertainment aspect, but also from an intellectual aspect as well, which is really cool. We supported Billy Ocean last year for his Irish tour and the audience was older. It’s funny to play for people that you don’t expect and that don’t expect you.

What has been the most challenging so far? I think that the challenge that we have, it’s an ongoing challenge, it’s something that we’re kinda still working on. It’s a challenge on one hand on backing yourself and second guessing your capacities or what you should or shouldn’t be doing. On the other hand, also balancing that with pushing yourself to being where you need to be as well. I think that in Ireland there’s a certain amount of self-deprecation that happens sometimes, I think it’s kind of an Irish culture thing. Also what this climate of music has shown is that it is absolutely possible and that you can absolutely explore every opportunity that you want and get far beyond what people expect of you. We didn’t exactly know what we wanted at the beginning, we didn’t really know if we were doing this for the craic or if there was a real scope for something. So we’ve come to that a lot more and placed our value in terms of what we do in the Irish scene. >>

We are kind of unique, it’s something that we enjoy and hopefully that reflects other people’s enjoyment as well. We think ‘Keep on trying to make the best thing but also don’t be stuck on trying to be the best thing’, because there’s always gonna be something else that far exceeds what your expectations could be and that’s a good thing as well to try to push yourself.

it affects me. I wouldn’t say that our lyrics are the most poignant things in the entire world but there are some things that I really stand strong on in terms of identity, things like being a woman or feminism, or nationality or political statuses, and things like that.

What are your plans for the future?

I suppose the way that I would think that our music would make the world a better place, is that by being close to things that I fell through my heart. For the last EP, there was a kind of looking at my early to mid-twenties which were an explorative time, that was a time probably when I was doing a lot of stupid things but also possibly to myself, like emotional and mental health.

There’s a lot. We’re probably gonna release the single in the next month and a half. We’re working on our visuals with Crooked Gentlemen, we’re playing a couple of festivals this summer : It takes a Village ‘K fest’ in Kerry, etc. We’re going to do an Irish tour towards the end of the year also. There are loads of things in the pipeline that we are working on: we are still waiting on the album and hope to be finished in early 2019, so we are going to release some tunes before for people to have a taste of it. How do you think your music contributes to make the world better? What’s your message? I’m very conscious about the lyrics I write or even the image that we have, how we perform and stuff. And also, conscious of things like where we take our inspiration from and how

e “W d of in om ek e ar , it’s s enjoy qu e at we y t hat i n u g th ll n o p ef u r p e o i h t h t he nt a nd e ct s o oy m e j refl e’s en ell.” pl a s w

Trying to figure out whether I was just having a good time, or trying to have a good time to make a lot of stuff and trying to figure out some stuff about myself, the world or relationships with people or the world at large. So it’s kind of sharing this idea of, you know, it’s good to do these things to kind of figuring out who you are and establish yourself as an adult in the world, but it’s also kind of good to realise where you’re coming from when you’re doing that. But also to make sure that the things you’re doing are not slightly dangerous sometimes, like partying for example. In my lyrics, I try to look at the life that I have, people that I know and things that I see going on. Trying to relate myself to that and kind of going: ‘Where am I? Where are politics right now? Is that doing anything right in the world?” //

CRISTINA DEL MORAL Q aka Cristina del Moral is a Spanish visual artist based in Dublin. Her last project called ‘La Santa Muerte’ can seem really dark but Cristina is a very colourful soul. We met her for

Photo by Carolina Hernandez

a chat about her art.

hy did you chose the name ‘Quene’?

My name is Cristina, it started when I was three. They were saying ‘Cristina’, and I couldn’t say it, so I was saying ‘Queneta’. And then the name stayed, they were calling me ‘Queneta’. It’s actually my name on Instagram now. I was playing basketball later, and there were so many Cristinas, so people started calling me ‘Quene’. When I came to Ireland, people were saying ‘Queenie’, but I don’t like it, so I shorted it to ‘Q’. That’s why it’s ‘Q’ now. When did you start your art? Since I was a kid. My uncle and my dad are artists as well. My dad used to paint watercolour and oil paintings. To keep me quiet, he used to give me a brush and I was painting beside him. I think I was painting before I started writing. How would you describe your art? For me, there’s no style. It’s about what mood you are in. It’s an expression of your own soul as well all the in-

spiration you have you bring it up. Absolutely everything inspires you, it reflects your soul. Who and what are your influences? I have so many - it’s almost impossible to say which one is my favourite! Everything inspires me: every song I’m listening to. In fine art, artists like Kandinsky, Mark Rothko, Peter Doig, Richard Diebenkorn, Elizabeth Magill, Sean Scully or Louis le Brocquy inspire me. In visual communication it would be artists like Stefan Sagmaister, Jessica Walsh, legends like Paula Scher, Shepard Fairey, JR, Yann Arthurs Bertrand in photography; there are so many. There is a festival for visual artists happening in Dublin every year called ‘OFFSET’. It is also a great source of inspiration in any area: animation, advertising typography, illustration, etc. Where does your inspiration come from? I do a lot of research: before I start creating any work I create mood boards, I brainstorm. There’s a lot of work already done before I start creating. It was the same >>

18 Photo by Carolina Hernandez

when I created the book, I had to research about the ‘Black Death’ period, what grids they used to make books, how the chess pieces looked at the time etc,… During college we had to gather all the research in a sketch book, I have a collection of them at home. The teachers needed to know what was your creative process, your thought process, more than the final piece. Why did you leave Spain to make your art in Ireland? I met James, my partner for 21 years now, in Madrid. I was playing basketball professionally and at 25 I decided it was enough, I needed to leave. We came here to stay here for 6 months and 20 years later I am still here. Also I wanted to pursue art and I found that in Spain it’s quite difficult, plus I didn’t go to college there. Then, I came to Ireland and I was doing different things. I applied to college five times. I saw the opportunities in Dublin in music, in art, the culture was vibrant in 1998. James and I left Ireland to travel the world only with our backpacks in 2005 visiting 20 countries. Somehow we ended up back in Dublin because back in the days it was the best place to live. So I made the choice to stay here in Dublin, I don’t know for how long. But I’m tied to this country now, I ‘grew up’ here and my son is Irish. What do you think of the art scene in Dublin? This is not going to be so positive! It was going really well but now Filmbase is closing, festivals are closing. Because of Brexit, all the (financial) companies are going to move to Ireland and we have forgotten the cultural side of Dublin and we are just doing business, it’s all about profit. So for us, for artists now, it is a really delicate moment. It will eventually force us to move somewhere else, you know. We help each other and influence each other between artists, trying to improve it and go back to the way it was. But we need space where we can actually create without really thinking about how much it costs. What does Dublin mean for you? I love Dublin because of the size. Here you go out and you start bump into friends, the size is perfect for me. In a radius of 2km you can find restaurants, art galleries, music venues, pubs , etc… In contrast with other cities you don’t have to commute for so long to get from one place to another, you can cross the city in 20 mins walk and it offers you a lot of cultural diversity. The music scene in Dublin is one of the bests, so I try to attend as much gigs as I can.

ry and the illustrations, which I’m not. The feedback has been fantastic in places like the Voodoo Lounge Market once. I am doing very well, it pushes me to keep going! What are your plans for the future?

“W are o e ar e o n e, we n a l l, w e s to r y a ft e t his m ar e shari n er g om a nd w ent i n t i me e sh o u l d celeb rat e i t.”

I’d love to have a studio and paint something really big. I have loads of side projects as well, like gig photography. I also do extras in the TV series Vikings. I’d like to do an exhibition as well, to show off all my artworks. I want to translate my book in more languages and organize exhibitions, read the book in those countries. I would love to travel around the world doing exhibitions. How do you think your art contributes to make Dublin and the world better? There are many ways to read a work of art. Literally and in a very subtle way, talking to the subconscious of the viewers in the case of my works of art, trying to give voice to the voiceless, supporting, encouraging and giving hope. For my book it’s more specific. I want to celebrate diversity through language, celebrate what it makes us different, what the rules of society use to divide us such as nationality, skin colour, accent, traditions, and use it in our advantage. We are one, we are one story after all, we are sharing this moment in time and we should celebrate it. I would use this quote to illustrate my vision : “Enlightenment is when the wave realizes it is the ocean.” If I can transfer this idea though my work visually my job is done. //

What is the feedback from people about your art?

T n ur t h ot n o t e ne f s t o k t im e d f th an ee e a e db p , s ll t lig y t he o w he ht m m e d .: s a ode t u do ev i We ve . r n n ce d en Tur e d ot s a o n l er n gy i t o n e e d l . off in an a d

My last project was on the book about the ‘Black Death’ is made for a niche market because it’s very dark, the sto-

If you were homeless, you would be very thankful that there are people in the world like Lorraine O’Connor. Lorraine is a member of the Muslim Sisters of Éire, a charity that every Friday evening feeds the homeless people of Dublin outside the GPO on Dublin’s O’Connell Street. This reporter talked to Lorraine about the great work that she does for society.

“

To make the world a better place you need to have a bit of empathy. Empathy, and a little bit of love and understanding, (as well as) the hand of generosity, the hand of kindness and the hand of giving”, Lorraine said. There are 6,052 people homeless in Dublin. This number is based on the number of people who accessed emergency accommodation in the week of 19 - 25 February 2018, as reported in the latest Homelessness Report from the Department of Housing. This figure includes 1,739 families, with 3,755 homeless children. A similar report is created every six months, and instead of the situation getting better, the number of people homeless in Dublin is increasing. There are also 184 people who sleep rough in Dublin, according to a count taken on the night of 7th November 2017 by the Dublin Region Homeless Executive. This reporter wanted to find out more information about volunteers who help homeless people and the great work that they do for society. Every Friday, a large group of homeless people gather outside the GPO

on Dublin’s O’Connell Street, waiting to be fed by a group called the Muslim Sisters of Éire. When I arrived in front of the building, I briefly introduced myself, and I explained the importance of writing about the work they are doing. I was directed to speak to Lorraine O’Connor, who is responsible for the project, and the spokesperson for this organisation. Lorraine, with a smile on her face,

“To ma ke world t h e pla ce a b ett er y to ha ou n e e d ve a em p a bit of t hy.”

Lorraine O’Connor (far right) and two assistants from the Muslim Sisters of Éire, getting ready to feed the homeless outside the GPO. Photo by Jackie Costa Ribeiro

by Jackie Costa Ribeiro

FEED THE HOMELESS: THE EMPATHY OF THE MUSLIM SISTERS OF ÉIRE

and a little bit of understanding, (as well as) the hand of generosity, the hand of kindness (and) the hand of giving”. When asked about her views on the current homeless problem in Dublin, Lorraine believes that it’s ‘increasing’. We could look after 200 or 300 people a night”, she said. “The homeless situation is increasing, and this is just Friday night that we’re here. But every night, there are soup runs in Dublin. Every single night, people are out feeding the homeless. So, the homeless situation is increasing, and not decreasing”. To combat homelessness, the government have many initiatives. As part of the Rebuilding Ireland Action Plan for Housing and Homelessness, which was launched by the Department of Housing, Planning and Local Government on 19th July 2016, it hopes to phase out the use of emergency accommodation such as hotels by homeless families and instead offer rapid-build housing. Other options are to provide them with vacant properties and to provide homeless families with a Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) to help them to move from emergency accommodation into private rented houses and apartments. A table of food, provided by Muslim Sisters of Éire which homeless people are welcome to take. Photo by Jackie Costa Ribeiro

immediately accepted our invitation and generously opened up for an interview. “Muslim Sisters of Éire is an Irish registered charity organisation made of women from all over the world”, Lorraine explained. “We have an open-door policy, it’s not only Muslim women, it’s also open to all women”. “The food project is just one part (of what we do)”, Lorraine continued. “Muslim Sisters of Éire was established in (July) 2010, so we’re eight years running. We have been feeding the homeless here outside the GPO. for the last two years. So, we come together every Friday night with four or six tables. We have food from restaurants, food from women, donations from different charities to help us to combat the dire need of the homeless situation in Ireland”. According to the Muslim Sisters of Éire website, they buy their food very cheaply through FoodCloud Hub which is a social enterprise that allows distributors and producers in the food industry to give surplus food to charities, instead of throwing it away.

As also explained on their website, Muslim Sisters of Éire is a women’s charity group that focuses on areas of integration, interfaith activities, fundraising and helping those in economic hardship. “Helping the homeless is just one part of our projects”, Lorraine explained. “We also look after some of the refugees in direct provision, we look after Muslim women who need help, we look after families who are struggling, we do conferences on Muslim women, we have a huge, diverse category of different projects that we carry out”, she said.

Another successful government campaign to tackle homelessness is the Dublin’s Housing First Intensive Case Management Team (ICM), which is run by the Peter McVerry Trust and Focus Ireland and attempts to help long-term homeless people by providing them with permanent, stable and supported housing, so that they do not have to rely on emergency accommodation. However, these schemes take time. In the meantime, the homeless people on the streets of Dublin need to be fed. Without organisations such as Muslim Sisters of Éire, homelessness in Dublin could become a tragedy. If you’d like to help people who are homeless with the Muslim Sisters of Éire, just call to the GPO any Friday night from 6.30pm to 9.30pm. As Lorraine explained “we’ve had students from UCD, Trinity College, DIT, we gave them a night, and they served with us. Put together all of your students, let me know how many are coming, and we’ll give you a chance to feed the homeless to have an experience of it”, she said. //

“We’re very involved in integration, diversity, inter-cultural (activities), we’re also involved in getting women out of their little groups and getting them out into society and mixing and getting them into a wider community”, Lorraine continued. This reporter wanted to know more about what motivates Lorraine to carry out her fabulous work for society and what she believed was needed to make the world a better place. “How to make the world a better place is just to have a bit of empathy”, she said. “Empathy and a little bit of love

Information details about the Muslim Sisters of Éire below: Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/muslimsisterofeire/ Website: http://www.msoe.ie/ Telephone: 086 7854 866

DERMOT MAKES THE WORLD A BETTER PLACE Dermot Cooney has been cleaning the streets of Dublin city for over ten years. As an experienced street cleaner with Dublin City Council, there are few others capable of addressing the issue of waste on the streets.

Dermot Cooney and his compact street sweeper. Photo by Jackie Costa Ribeiro

“Plu t h ere s, m o re is a lot du n ow, m pi ng o s t re e n t he ts la n ew a nd ays.”

by Jackie Costa Ribeiro

ermot Cooney has worked for more than 10 years on the streets of Dublin: cleaning, watching and greeting passersby with a cheerful word or two. He talked to Footprint Magazine on his break. “My area is O’Connell Street, Henry Street, Liffey Street. We clean all the streets all around Dublin city centre,” Dermot explains. As a street cleaner with Dublin City Council, Dermot and his compact street sweeper unit make a difference: they make the city a better place. He does an amazing job, and he does not criticise society for the litter that he is forced to clean up.

Council. This issue has been made a key focus area in Dublin City Council’s 2016-2018 Litter Management Plan. Dublin City Council, for example, has Litter Wardens, who issue on the spot fines and bring prosecutions against litter offenders, with the help of CCTV. Rubbish bins in the city have also been re-designed over the years, to try to prevent people from illegally filling them with household rubbish.

“The rubbish is increasing because the population is increasing.”

When asked about the volume of rubbish in the city he said: “The rubbish is increasing because the population is increasing. Plus, there is a lot more dumping now, on the streets and laneways because they privatised all the bins and a lot of people don’t want to pay for them. So, we have a lot of dumping in Dublin city centre. “People have to pay for their household rubbish now”, he continued. “Years ago they didn’t; it was (included) in their household tax. Then they got rid of that, and they privatised it all, and now they have to pay. For example, some people in the flats don’t pay, so they dump bags here and there, you know.” As Dermot mentions, the problem of illegal dumping and the use of public litter bins for household waste is a major problem for Dublin City

“Most of the dumping is in laneways and side streets, they leave their black bags and their small bags there. You wouldn’t see it on the main thoroughfares because (we have) vans that sweep and clean them,” Dermot explains.

No one likes cleaning. But it is an extremely important job. The question is who is doing the littering and dumping and how can it be prevented? Dermot believes that to address the problem; there should be “more campaigns, more posters, about litter. Both Irish people and tourists (are littering)”, he said. “Everybody does it, every day. People from the flats dump bags in the bins instead of buying a tag and paying for it. There should be more of an educational campaign about (littering and dumping) because people are not reading about it. (With litter wardens) out there catching them, and giving fines, it might get the message across to them.” Currently, if found littering in a public place in Dublin, you can receive an on-the-spot fine of €150. In spite of this, people continue to litter and dump. “It’s the ordinary people that are dumping”, Dermot said. “The retailers have their own bin companies who take away their rubbish.” As Dermot mentions, under the Litter Pollution Acts 1997-2009, businesses have to make sure that the area outside their premises is clean and is regularly swept.

Dermot believes that it is important for the government to run more anti-litter campaigns. “The government-run the country”, he said. “So you have to do what they say, you know what I mean.” Public campaigns can have great results. For example, Dublin Canvas, was set up to decorate traffic signal boxes and deter graffiti on them and has proven very successful. Citizens also can be made more aware of dog fouling, illegal dumping and littering through signage and educational campaigns like the Green Schools Programme, which educates students about the environment. As Dermot explained, this is the future. His compact street sweeper is a very impressive machine, which helps him to carry out his work. Dublin City Council has invested in more such units, as well as power washing units and leaf removers. Smart technology is also being examined, such as smart litter bins that can alert when they are full. Every year Dublin City Council organises Team Dublin Cleanup, where volunteers clean up the villages, canals, rivers and coastal areas of Dublin. Dublin City Council provides all the necessary equipment and collects the rubbish afterwards. Find out when what your local area is planning and let’s get all hands on deck and give Dermot a hand! //

THE IMPORTANCE OF ANIMAL PROTECTION AND REHOMING “The Christmas puppies are beginning to get bigger; kids are no more interested in them and unfortunately before Christmas a lot of people are moving the dog on to get a new pup.”

by Andrea Wright

or some people, our family members or best friends can walk on four legs rather than two. They are the first to greet us when we come home from a long day at work, they share our bed and like to go for walks with us. Unfortunately this is not always the case: in 2016 about 1,500 dogs were destroyed in Irish pounds; the number of dogs put to sleep in 2017 was higher at 2,896. There is an obvious problem here. The public depends on animal welfare charities such as Dog’s Trust and the Irish Society for Prevention and Cruelty to Animals, (ISPCA). I spoke to Jane Lewis, a volunteer worker for the Offaly branch of the ISPCA to find out more about the work they do and why it is so important for people to consider fostering or adopting a pet instead of purchasing one. The ISPCA is split into two main sections: the cat program and the dog program. The running of the organisation is entirely voluntary and they receive phone calls daily regarding animal welfare such as re-homing animals, helping with costs of neutering, vaccinations of young pups and ne-glect issues. “We can only do so much as we don’t have the authority from the state to enter a premises so all we can deal with is sick and injured at the edge of the road but we do help fami-lies who might have a litter of kittens or pups and help get them homes” says Lewis.

your name, full time, sign an adoption sheet, all microchip de-tails are put into the system and you pay an adoption fee which is a donation of a minimum €120 for a dog and €40 for a cat which includes and assessment, vaccines and neutered” says Lewis. Those wanting to adopt must also go through a homecheck process to make sure their home is suitable for the pet they want to adopt. “Fostering is where, we don’t have a shelter, so we rely completely on people to take animals into their own home and caring for them, they assess the animal, house train it, bring into to the vets on our behalf and while the dog or cat is in their care we put it up on our adoption page until it’s finds a permanent home and it then comes out of fos-ter care” explains Lewis. “But a lot of people fail as fosters, meaning they fall in love with them and keep them.” Lewis talked about times where she has fostered dogs, saying that although it is very reward-ing it can be very difficult giving them back too. She says that you are “saving a life” and that if someone didn’t take them in then they might end up in the pound which lowers their chances of survival. Lewis tells me about Nelly, a dog that she has fostered in the past. Nelly was Jane’s saddest case, a one year old lurcher found at a local rugby club who was suffering from a severe skin condition, extremely underweight, she had problems with her nails and sight as well as burns all over her skin. She was lucky to escape her owner and be found by the OSPCA, “She never knew kindness but she was very kind herself.”

“She never knew kindness but she was very kind herself”

The Offaly branch of the ISPCA (OSPCA) is only small and they have to refer people to other organisations such as The Donkey Sanctuary if there is a concern about larger animals. Because the branch is so small, they have only an office to work from and they have nowhere to keep animals. This means they rely completely on fostering or adoption: what is the difference? “Adoption is to take on dog into

She eventually went through a very good rescue and went to live in Sweden.” The is because Sweden has no

Organisations like the OSPCA are hugely dependent on public donations to be able to keep doing what they are doing. They receive only a small grant from the government, which doesn’t even cover the vets bill.

They raise money through online donations, fundraising events, church collections and operate a small shop, “We do receive a lot of donations, people are very good” says Lewis. She also encourages adoption to stop breeders and stop people from buying “designer puppies”. On designer puppies, Lewis said “If you buy a pup you are encouraging a breeder to breed, there’s already too many dogs in the country. There has been around 1,300 dogs put to sleep in the country last year yet people are still breeding more.”

e th in ur r es o o u t m te y f i co ollu le ct e o s ish p ol o t p bb no t. C dis . y ru o n e D m e n d er l : Th bin ron er a rop v i i tt p en n l ow

pounds which greatly benefits dogs in Ireland that need a home but face prejudice in Ireland, breeds such as greyhounds and lurchers. Sweden has a remarkable animal welfare record and in some cases is the best option when a dog has little chance to survive in Ireland.

These charity organisations are trying to protect animals and the least we can do is try and help make their job that bit easier by fostering and adopting when hoping to find a pet. “It’s more rewarding and it’s definitely kinder.” //

Picture by Jane Lewis, OSPCA

THE REDISCOVERY CENTRE by Gillian Chapman

s it emerges that global warming is becoming a bigger threat to our world, there are more initiatives and incentives than ever encouraging people to get involved in recycling. Recycling is the process in which used materials are processed and changed in order to be used for a new purpose. The Rediscovery Centre, in Ballymun, was set up as part of a regeneration project for the north Dublin area to facilitate the creative development of a new and more sustainable way to live.

centre currently has 23 permanent staff as well as a constant stream of interns that come from all over the world. The centre runs four social enterprises and I asked Margolis about the different enterprises and the day-to-day workings of the centre. “On a day to day basis all four workshops, Rediscover Furniture, Rediscover Fashion, Rediscover Paint and Rediscover Cycling, are being worked on by our dedicated and talented staff/craftsmen in order to upcycle waste and unwanted materials into new prod-

“T h e Cen Re dis cov u t re e reg p a s p wa s s e r y e a t n r e t for t h e rat ion of a Nor pro j are t h D u e ct a.” blin

Speaking to ‘Footprint Magazine’, education and administration team intern at The Rediscovery Centre, Ciara Margolis explained “The Rediscovery Centre is a creative space connecting people, ideas and resources. We bring together the skills and expertise of artists, scientists, designers and craftsmen united in a common purpose of sustainability through resource efficiency and reuse. The Rediscovery Centre supports the development of the circular economy and advocates for a more resilient, equitable society. Our main objective is to reuse, reduce, recycle and encourage others to do so as well. Instead of sending waste to landfills and ruining our landscape and environment we aim to help create an environmentally efficient Ireland where people from a young age learn to upcycle old products instead of throwing them out.“ Another important aspect of the centre is to provide education and training in the area of Ballymun. The Photo by Ciara Margolis

l: ai tr e s a od om ng eat fo c t i e at e a t m r i th me cr Ea et a of s t ca t. eg . e o er i i n v e n ar w- c m t pr go t h aw lo A foo e or a nd n t i Be os Lat on a bl ow M rb e n c om ca a y f r e i s t r v er g e hu hat a n t

ucts that can be sold in our eco store (in order to fund our enterprise),” explained Margolis. “There is always a shop assistant in our eco store ready to sell items as diverse as kids bikes to wine bottle holders to ties to handmade soaps as well as to answer enquiries about the centre. On top of this our education team are consistently providing a variety of exciting and interactive workshops that are based on hands-on inquiry and experiential learning to kids from all over Ireland both onsite and outreach. Our programme of education workshops for primary, secondary, and third level covers a wide variety of environmental and STEM topics including waste, engineering, sustainable design, water, science etc.”

policy and action are working to establish circular principles for innovation and economic development. The event was well attended by a number of key spokespeople including: Jim Gannon, Chief Executive Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland, Aideen O’Hora, Director of Sustainable Business at Sustainable Nation and Iain Gulland, Chief Executive, Zero Waste Scotland. The Rediscovery Centre is providing an important service by incorporating the move towards a better environment with training and employment. For more information on the work they do and how you can get involved, visit www.rediscoverycentre.ie, like their Facebook page or look up their YouTube channel. //

The Rediscovery Centre runs from the Boiler House in Ballymun, but this nearly wasn’t the case. In 2011, the building was under threat of demolition but The Rediscovery Centre, Dublin City Council and the European Commission joined forces to save the building. They wanted it to be regenerated and used for a new purpose and they succeeded: in December 2016 it was unveiled as the new home of The Rediscovery Centre.

“Our main objective is to reuse, reduce, recycle and encourage others to do so as well.”

As well as their day to day work, the centre runs events all year-round. Margolis says “at the moment we are offering an Easter camp, a 5 week furniture upcycling course, an introduction to home bike maintenance course, an introduction to sewing and creative fashion upcycling course and a creative waste reuse workshop among others”. As well as these events, on the 23rd March, 2018, The Rediscovery Centre held the Designs for Life: Circular Economy in Action event. The event was brought about by the organisation to bring together policy makers, thought leaders and innovators from across Europe to show how

Photo by Ciara Margolis

Photo by Dublin Volunteere Centre

VOLUNTEERING IN DUBLIN: HOW CAN YOU GET INVOLVED? Footprint Magazine talks to Dublin City Volunteer Centre to find out more about their work. Volunteering is a choice but has with many rewards.

by Gosego Moletsane

n a world where people are caught up with one activity or another and hardly have any time for themselves, somewhere there are those that are in need of help. That is why volunteering is seen as a step in the right direction to meet peoples needs. Volunteering is a matter of choice but is a fulfilling one. The independent charity, Dublin City Volunteer Centre, was formed in 2014 after the merger between the Dublin City North Volunteer Centre and Dublin City South Volunteer Centre. The organisation also works with Volunteer Ireland. The merger was seen as a positive move as it gave the organisation the capability and capacity to better serve Dublin.

Dublin City Volunteer Centre manager Edwina Dewart says “what volunteerism does is that it benefits the community, society and gives people a sense of connectedness and ownership of their local community. We connect people seeking to volunteer with non-profit organisations. It is never about financial reward”. One of the many reasons that the Dublin City Volunteer Centre believe that volunteering is necessary is that it benefits and shows good will in the community. So far, the number of volunteers in Dublin is big: there is big interest as so far about 3,000 new members have signed up this year, a big increase on previous years according to Dewart. About 109 different nationalities were represented across the volunteers last year. The biggest age group is 26 - 35 years old: this accounts for roughly 60% of the volunteers at the centre. Dewart says the reason most people volunteer is because “they want to make this world a better place”. A lot of people volunteer because they want to improve their skills and because they want to meet other people in their community and make a difference in it. The people who avail of the centre’s services have many different

needs, so there are many different volunteering oppportunities. The centre uses what they call Volunteer Involving Organisation (VIO). The VIO posts the volunteering opportunities online. Opportunities involve befriending the elderly and helping them at home with things like daily chores and socialising with them so they do not feel so lonely or isolated. Other volunteer roles include that of social work, where one can help out at homes of those seeking asylum, HIV/AIDS or substance abuse, outreach work or prison visitor centre work. There are also volunteering opportunities in childcare, where one can look after children under five, looking after abandoned animals or puppies to be used as guide dogs as well as mentorship programmes. “We provide a free volunteer matching service throughout Dublin city. We offer support and guidance to people on where volunteerism is needed the most. How one can volunteer, and why volunteerism is important,” said Dewart. The organisation is working to bring more volunteers in through their various partnerships with different groups. One such project is the Experience Counts Project: the aim is to recruit older members to volunteer, as they currently have very few older volunteers.

The organisation is also working on a major project for next month from the 14th to the 20th of May, which is the national volunteer week. For more information and to see how you can get involved, check out volunteerdublincity.ie. //

“T h rea nu m b e er so m o n we o n e wa n s t p g e o p et f ro t to l t h e volu e w h m n y o t his wa nt t e er is t wo t rld o ma k hat a e pla ce.’ b ett er ’

Photo by Dublin Volunteer Centre

THE EXTRAORDINARY BIODIVERSITY OF THE PHOENIX PARK “We have a huge interlinked biodiversity network at The Phoenix Park” - Beth Ann

Visitors Centre by Carolina Hernandez

by Carolina Hernández he Phoenix Park is a special place inside of Dublin. It is home to an extremely valuable Irish biodiversity, serving as the great green lungs of the city and as a connection between nature and men.

unique ecosystem with a place surrounded by a complex city. Beth Ann, an environmental scientist, working at the Visitors Centre in The Park, helps to understand the importance and power of nature to a human’s life “We have a huge interlinked biodiversity network at The Phoenix Park”.

Even though the Park is only a mile and a half from O’Connell Street, the metropolis still fills far away when you are immersed in its innumerable gardens and ponds, maintaining the sense of peace and tranquillity and becoming the home to a large number of the protected species of Ireland.

The Phoenix Park has been an important part of Dublin and Ireland´s cultural heritage as described by Beth Ann “It is an amazing place right in the middle of the city; 1,750 acres of parkland, grasslands, all sorts of different habitats and even unusual species that are allusive in the rest of Ireland such as the Pine Martens” the recreational activities of daily visitors, coexist harmoniously with the park´s different species of fauna and flora.

The biodiversity of The Phoenix Park interconnects a

The 4th Earl of Chesterfield first opened The Park to the public in 1747. Beth

Phoenix Park by Carolina Hernandez

and Green, where Red means priority protection. The free fallow deer are the main attraction of The Park; however, they must be respected as a wild and protected species.

“It is where the

park gets its name

Dublin City´s expansion has encompassed The Phoenix Park, virtually isolating it from its former rural settings. The Park is visited by over 900,000 people each year and recognised as Europe’s largest city park by its archaeological, architectural and natural heritage. It supports 50% of the mammal species found in Ireland, such as the large herd of free fallow deer and about 40% of bird species such as ducks and four out of the nine different species of bats that exists in Ireland.

‘FionnUisce’ which means ‘clear water’.”

Ann said: “The deer is a very carefully managed population to keep them nice and healthy´ they are used to be surrounded by humans and noise, but there is always someone throwing garbage which is very bad for the animals because they might confuse it with food.

“The environmental scientists try to educate about the Park by giving talks to stop people from feeding or touching the animals and from throwing garbage on the park and explaining the importance of these species to the Irish culture.” “People do not realise how much does as a small little disturbance can throw everything out, you disturbed one thing, and everything is a ripple effect.” >>

According to Ann, outside of the zoo, there are 420 species of which 150 are animals including mammals, amphibians and all sorts of insects; there are also 260 species of plants. The Park holds 17 Amber-listed species of birds which is a list of priority bird species for conservation action on the island of Ireland; birds are classified into Red, Amber

R ve eg ly ge ion th h ta a bl em ave ble l sh re e m s, o s o gio in b ef a n a n ppi m na ou ore y d ng et ll r s t m f is : F im y g up h e ile h r u fo es row er m y a s b usu it, od ref n a re eh a l s f ra p rk av in ro in rod et. a il d m f ro u B aa f m ce u y ar e a n . xo d t ic

Ann describes the 350-year-old historic lands before it became a park: “There was a cultural heritage of people from the city coming out into the area before it was ever a park, when it was prairie lands of Kilmainham, to visit the wholly wells. It is where the park gets its name ‘FionnUisce’ which means ‘clear water’.”

The Dublin Zoo as an educational resource attempts to “keep things as natural as it can” by helping a different kind of species with the ‘insect hotels’ or the Herons who visit the penguin enclosures, teaching people about respect for the animals all around the world. Ann also thinks the zoo should be commended for creating such a natural coexistence between the exotic and the natural fauna. “I am much in favour of a natural environment, but if natural biodiversity can thrive within a zoo, then I think they are doing a great job with successful educational purposes,” she said. A huge effort is being made to make The Phoenix Park to a positive area for diversity by giving lectures or talks and nature walks.

“People do not realise how much a small d is turban can thr ce ow eve r y thing o You dis ut. turbe o ne thin g, and everyth ing is a Ripple effect.”

There are three important grass species which are legally protected in the

“The Phoenix Park is a place for nature to thrive as well as an

“

amenity for people

Park: St John’s Wort, Meadow Barley and Hairy Violet. These protected species help people understand the importance of The Park to the community and, in Ann´s words “is an enormous opportunity to teach people about nature” adding that “he Phoenix Park is a place for nature to thrive as well as an amenity for people, it is quite balanced.” The extensive historical designed landscape of plantations and The Park´s fauna are the main connection between this natural sanctuary and humans. The Phoenix Park is a strong reminder of the interconnectedness of all living beings and of how a natural heritage in the heart of a capital city remains important through several generation. //

Phoenix Park Seagull by Carolina Hernandez

AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL: DEFEND HUMAN RIGHTS by Selin Baykara

o you know why people try to escape or leave their countries? Most of the people driven to leave their countries don’t have basic human rights, like freedom of speech or the right to a fair trial. They want to live a normal life, without worries about being tortured or arrested simply for speaking their minds or peacefully protesting. Amnesty International’s volunteers are waiting for you. If you have few minutes to listen to them, they want to tell you about the organization’s aims. Amnesty International is a global movement that campaigning for human rights all around the world. They have 20,000 members who support issues like reproductive rights, ending torture and protecting migrant & refugee rights around the world. Their purpose is to make sure

governments respect international law. They have activists around the world making a stand for the defence of human rights. “Only when the last prisoner of conscience has been freed, when the last torture chamber has been closed, when the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a reality for the world’s people, will our work be done” - Peter Benenson, Amnesty International founder. They say that they speak out for anyone whose freedom and dignity are under threat. Some of the campaigns include: • Highlighting risks to human rights defenders as a part of the ‘Defend the Brave’ campaign.

• Fighting for refugee rights in Turkey. • Sudan: 140 HRDs (human rights defenders) arrested for protesting the rise in the cost of food and medicines. • Indonesia: 12 transgender people publicly tortured. • Turkey: A dark day for press freedom and for justice as journalists sentenced to life • Campaigning to release human rights defender Nabeel Rajab. • Iran: At least six young human rights defenders arrested in coordinated raids risk of torture. For further information https://www.amnesty.ie/ //

visit

• Afghanistan: Civilian lives must be at the heart of the Kabul Process.

Photo by Richard Potts

by Bronwyn Molony

TOP 10 ETHICAL BEAUTY BRANDS Making a difference can be as small as choosing different products for day to day use.

n a world where more and more of us are thinking more about the impact our choices have on the environment, how many of us think more deeply about the beauty products we use everyday? Thankfully, more and more makeup and beauty brands are cruelty-free as well as having programs that give back to the communities they buy from. Makeup artist Laura Devides says ethical makeup is one of her favourite subjects to talk about. It can be daunting trying to navigate the world of ethical beauty online and know which brands have trusted, worth-it products that actually do what they say. Happily, with the help of some experts, we have compiled a list of the top ethical beauty brands.

2. The Body Shop

Photo by Melanie Levi

A brand that from its first years was one with a conscience. It partnered in 1996 with Green Peace for the Save the Whales campaign and has continued its social activism from there. As well as being against animal testing it has always fought to give fair prices to its suppliers under its “Community Trade” program. Among its best products are its Camomile Waterproof Eye Makeup Remover and its Vitamins C Skin Boost Instant Smoother - the latter all the more as it’s incredibly hard to put Vitamin C into a product and make it last. Photo by Karolina Mis

3. Weleda 1. Urban Decay

This brand is beloved for its ethical and cruelty-free makeup that when new owner L’Oreal tried to bring it to China, where animal testing is mandatory, there was such an uproar that the company dropped the plans completely. Urban Decay is most known for its best-selling Naked eyeshadow palettes and its amazing range of setting sprays.

Weleda is a brand that Laura says she swears by. She says “every single product is amazing” but her favourite is the skin food which gives a “beautiful glow”. Laura likes to use this as a night mask, giving skin a glowy and healthy look the next day. Weleda say they have “seven principles” that they use to guide their business, such as sustainability, fair treatment and integrity for workers and suppliers and ethical and value-creating business practices.

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4. Jason Laura says she finds the shampoos from Jason “as good as famous brands like Kerastase and Redken but without the chemicals” and their deodorants and body washes are fabulous too. Jason say their name comes from the Greek word for “healer” and this drives them to create “body loving products” according to their “code of honour” which includes using safe, gentle and effective ingredients and constant innovation and improvement.

5. Barry M.

6. N.Y.X

All of the beautiful, colourful products coming from this company have been cruelty-free from day one, and now they have partnered with the Humane Society International’s global Be-Cruelty-free campaign, the largest campaign of its kind to bring an end to animal testing. As well as having a fabulous collection of nail polishes, their Colour Change Lip Paint and Liquid Chrome Highlighter drops are high up on nearly everybody’s wish list.

Known for selling high quality makeup at affordable prices, N.Y.X have always been committed to being cruelty-free. Initially only an online business selling to professional makeup artists, they have been bought by L’Oreal who have expanded the range as well as committed to opening physical stores, while also promising to keep the brand cruelty-free. All of their lipsticks are wonderful but the Lip Lingerie range are particularly excellent.

8. Lush

7. Kat Von D This brand launched in Debenhams only a year ago but it has been a big hit since it launched in 2008. On their website, they say they are committed to “hyper-performance beauty products that are completely free of animal derived ingredients, and never tested on animals”. As they say “now beauty junkies and animal lovers can make compassionate choices without sacrificing bold, beautiful pigment and everlasting wear”. As of 2016, the line has been completely vegan. One of the standout products from the line is the Tattoo Liner.

9. 3ina Laura says she found this brand on her last trip to Selfridges. She says they have “the most gorgeous cream eye shadows ever”, and their powders are great too. 3ina say they are cruelty-free, eco-conscious and ethically sourced. They also use recycled plastic, and have a great range of colours to suit all skin tones.

Where would we be without Lush? Founded in 1976 by Mark Constantine, Mo Constantine and Elizabeth Weir, this company has always been about natural products and natural ingredients. All of their products are vegetarian and many of them are vegan too. They don’t buy from companies that carry out animal testing either. Most of their products are made in giant “kitchens” with fresh fruits and vegetables being the main ingredients. Lush are now committing to package-less products, to help reduce the amount of plastic in the environment. Laura says she loves their lipsticks “with all her heart”. She says they can be used as blush and cream eyeshadow, as well as having lovely vivid colours. Photo by Karolina Mis

10. Burt’s Bees Now, admittedly for some this brand won’t come under the ethical banner straight away because they use honey and beeswax in their products, which means they are off-limits for vegans. However, the company say they live by a phrase from one of their first catalogues: “What’s right isn’t always popular. What’s popular isn’t always right.” They say that wisdom continues to inspire them. They use 99% natural products, and ensure that they are responsibly sourcing and cultivating the products they buy and grow. They have also achieved Carbon Neutral certification from Natural Capital Partners and established The Burt’s Bees Greater Good Foundation in 2007, a non-profit dedicated to helping charitable, grassroots initiatives that support honeybee and human well being. They may not count as ethical for some but they sure are trying to make sure they are leaving the world a better place. Check out their lip balms that come in several different flavours.

Bonus Brand: Real Techniques While it's wonderful to have all these cruelty-free beauty brands, we wouldn't get very far without the tools to apply them. Enter Real Techniques! This company makes a wide range of cruelty-free, synthetic brushes and their sponges are the next best thing since the original Beauty Blender.

by Gillian Chapman

YouCan Ireland: A VOICE FOR YOUNG ADULT CANCER

ccurrences of cancer are growing in Ireland: every three minutes someone will receive a cancer diagnosis and every hour somebody dies from cancer. It is predicted that by 2020 half of the population will receive a cancer diagnosis at least once in their lifetime. Getting cancer as a young adult poses a specific and different issues. In February 2015, the Irish Cancer Society sought a new voice to advocate for young adults living with cancer in Ireland. They put a call out for young adults who had experienced a cancer diagnosis to come together and discuss the services and supports that were missing when they were dealing with cancer. Twenty young survivors came together to discuss what they had been through and decided something must be done: from that meeting, YouCan Ireland was born.

ist services required. The organisation is currently awaiting their official charity status but in the interim has been working since 2015 as an online support forum as well as organising meetups around the country for patients and survivors. Through the work with young adult patients so far, Connolly explains there are a number of issues faced by young adults with a cancer diagnosis. These range from financial issues, dropping out of college due to social isolation, loneliness and infertility. The online forum set up by a private group on Facebook allows patients to get advice and ask questions about different treatments and side effects. Connolly believes a forum is a powerful tool in allowing people to vent to those who understand what they are going through. Connolly herself is a cancer survivor. In 2013, while in the process of completing her Masters, she was feeling tired and rundown. Naturally, she put this down to her workload and busy schedule as a full-time student who also had a full-time job. The tiredness got worse, and after getting the flu vaccine, she ended up in A&E with meningitis. In A&E a chest X-ray was carried out and by chance, doctors discovered she had a large tumour in her chest. Following a biopsy, Connolly was diagnosed with stage two Hodgkin’s Lymphoma: she was 25.

The aim of YouCan Ireland is to provide age-appropriate supports and services to those dealing with cancer across the country, to educate the public and medical professionals on how to deal with younger cancer patients and to advocate for the special-

Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is a blood cancer specifically affecting cells that are a part of the body’s immune system. It most often affects those aged between 15-40. Connolly underwent six months of chemotherapy designed for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

Photo by Julen

Peer Support and Membership Co-ordinator as well as founding member of YouCan Ireland, Lyndsey Connolly, was present on that day to listen to young survivors from all over the country talk about their experiences. Speaking to the Footprint Magazine, Connolly explained the issues that came up made it impossible to walk away and do nothing. “We decided we can’t just walk away from this, we need to do something so people who experience what we went through don’t feel how we felt,” Connolly said.

She suffered many side effects on the harsh regime and recalls at one point thinking “I’d rather die because it was just so hard and I was getting so sick”. One of Connolly’s biggest fears, when she was told that she would need chemotherapy, was hair loss. “Being a girl you don’t want your hair to go which is really hard,” she said. To keep control Connolly decided to shave her head and donate her hair. Although she bought a wig she couldn’t face wearing it and decided to go with the bald look. Infertility is a huge issue among cancer survivors, especially for young people who have received chemotherapy or radiation. Connolly’s doctor made sure she had her eggs frozen before any treatment began but her work with YouCan has opened her eyes up to the disparities in how it is dealt with in different hospitals around the country. “For me, that was the worst part of treatment, because you go into this room where there are couples who are ready to have a baby and you’re sitting there thinking ‘I’m doing this and I don’t know if I’ll be alive to use these eggs’,” she said of her experience of having her eggs harvested. Not all doctors can offer this and not all patients have the time to wait – Connolly was lucky in this regard. This is a priority for YouCan Ireland: working to be able to provide correct information about fertility, links to fertility services and counselling if someone does find themselves infertile as a result of their treatment. Connolly has a number of other lasting effects in addition to infertility following her treatment, these include severe nerve damage in her leg and blood vessel damage in her fingers as well as the emotional scars: in the months following her treatment, Connolly was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Coming to terms with what had happened to her, the life-altering side effects and the abrupt loss of contact with hospital staff proved very difficult. An important part of YouCan is to try and improve after-care: Connolly thinks

that the after care “drastically needs to improve, because frankly there is none”. YouCan Ireland aims to provide services where young adults can discuss their experiences and ensuring they don’t feel alone in what they’ve gone through. Connolly was treated in a room where she was the youngest person by decades and thinks it would have helped to have someone her age who understood how she felt going for fertility treatments, losing her hair and how hard it was watching her friends move on while she was stuck. One of the organisation’s primary aims is to also create services for people when they finish treatment. “When you go through this, everything is kind of different and the support system isn’t there, you are this different person completely and you don’t know how to put yourself back out there”. Connolly wants to get the message out “T h e there a i m of t h a t

YouCa n Ir is to pro ela nd v id e age a ppro pr iat e supp o r a nd s erv ts i ce s t o t h o s e d ea li ng w it h ca n cer”

young p eople aren’t invincible. Cancer knows no bounds and can affect anyone at any age. People need to be proactive about their health and listen to their body. For more information on YouCan Ireland, like them on Facebook at https://w w w.facebook.com/youcanireland/ or join their private Facebook page by searching YouCan Young Adult Cancer Support Network Ireland.

If you or someone close to you has been affected by a cancer diagnosis visit https://www.cancer.ie/information-support or http://arccancersupport.ie/our-services-overview for advice and support. //

THE SWEDISH FELLOWSHIP OF RECONCILIATION An interview with Patricia Lazano, a peace observer.

by Mara García

chool shootings, terrorist attacks and drug wars. The human race does not need a natural disaster to see its final days. We have our own personal beast on planet Earth: homo sapiens. Despite this, there are still some people that try to make the world a better place to live. The Swedish Fellowship of Reconciliation (SweFor) is a nonviolence movement that aims for a world free of violence, oppression or injustice. One of its many programs is Accompaniment. Every year they send peace observers to countries of conflict to “participate in the work for peace, democracy and human rights”. SweFor has implemented this program in Mexico, Guatemala and Colombia among other countries. According to FOR Peace Presence, another international accompaniment organisation in Colombia, the experiences of various organisations located in Colombia demonstrates that “international presence in a conflict region can diminish considerably the risks of the civilian population that has been converted into a military target.” Speaking to Footprint Magazine, Patricia Lozano, a SweFor peace observer in Colombia, says that they a provide a physical barrier for local human rights activists, whose actions mean they often receive threats.

SweFor by Patricia Lozano

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“We have agreements with human right defender organisations or individuals and physically go with them to the regions,” says Lozano. “We ensure that they are safe while they work and if something happens we report it to authorities either locally or internationally.”

sult of this, there has been a very fast increase in acts of human rights defenders and community leaders to counter these armed movements.

The method of physical accompaniment Lozano explains that they support ethnic communities, Afro-Colombian commun i - helps to raise the communities’ profile in order to protect itself and expand the range of ties, victims, peasants, land rights action. This program represents the internaand environmental rights. Swetional concern for human rights. According to For tries to change the situPeace Brigades International, the presence of ation through their social “International peace observers like Lozano, has three efnetwork and political presence in a fects. First, it protects the activists threatinstance. They deened by raising the stakes for potential conflict region can mand the intervention attackers. Second, it provides moral supof state institutions diminish the risks of the port and international solidarity. Third, to guarantee human civilian population that it strengthens the international moverights of the people in has been converted into a ment for peace and human rights. some critical regions.

military target.”

Peace Watch Switzerland (PWS), another NGO involved in similar work to SweFor, said that peace observers “heightens the political cost of violations of human rights by putting them in the spotlight of the international community”. They put pressure on local parties who are concerned about the negative consequences such as potential economic sanctions or tarnished international reputation. No matter the nationality, we have to understand that we are all humans and therefore have the same rights. The importance of an international presence in regions affected by conflict is crucial to prevent the violation of human rights and most importantly, we must protect our integrity as humans by protecting those who cannot defend themselves. //

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Teightens the political cost of violations of human rights by putting them in the spotlight of the

“

According to Lozano, this project is important because many thought it would bring peace since the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) intervention. FARC has been the largest rebel group in Colombia for many years. These communist fighters started the war against the repression and inequality mainly by the Colombian security forces. In 2016, FARC and the Colombian government signed a peace treaty disarming FARC and turning them into a legitimate political party. Even tough FARC reduced its violence levels, other armed organisations are looking to take a piece of Colombian territory and make it their own. As a re-

international community.

SweFor by Patricia Lozano

THE BRAIN DRAIN Impacts of migration on Nigerians

by Lavender Odinaka Ekweremadu

espite having natural resources like old, oil, coal, limestone and the workforce of over 180 million people, Nigeria is struggling to establish itself on the international scene as it suffers from brain drain. Brain drain can also be described as the outward movement of a country’s highly skilled labor force. Every year, hundreds of Nigerians scramble to leave the country to the UK, US, and other countries in Europe and Asia, with the belief that social and working conditions there are better. A lot of these people are professionals in their various fields of endeavor; many hold decent jobs in Nigeria and are on the wings of high-flying careers

Statistics of brain drain in Nigeria can be difficult to find, and mostly unavailable. A lot the figures available covers Africa as a whole. They would be quoted here as well to give an idea the extent of the phenomenon in Nigeria.

outside the country who have never known what it is to live and work in Nigeria, and given the unfair socio-economic terrain of the country, these second-generation immigrants may be reluctant to return to the country. Hence, whatever skills they have which may benefit the country is lost to other shores.

As of June 2015, according to the Migration Policy Institute, about 376,000 Nigerian immigrants live in the United States, with about half of this population – second-generation immigrants – having been born in the States. The report also stated that Nigeria is the largest source of immigrants to the United States.

All over the world, it is not unusual to have expatriates working in foreign countries. However, what is lamentable is a situation where these expatriates come into these countries to take up jobs that could have been done by countrymen who are skilled.

What this demonstrates is that there are thousands of Nigerians

Every year, Nigeria spends billions of dollars to import expatriates to Photo by Cliff

These young professionals abandon these to flee to environments that seem even more favorable to their career endeavors. Brain drain is a process in which a country loses its most educated and talented workers to other countries through migration. When these talented persons leave, their skills, knowledge, expertise and career-based experience automatically transfer to new countries. Usually, in this circulation, the losing or draining countries are developing countries while the gaining countries are the developed economies in Europe, America and Asia. “Brain waste”, on the other hand, is a situation where highly skilled individuals pass to low-skilled or unskilled jobs after they move to developed countries (Kazlauskiene&Rinkevicius, 2006).

ity of its healthcare system to deliver even basic medical and social services.

There are an estimated 20,000 persons – drawn from the health sector, academia and other professional sectors – leaving the continent annually since 1990. A study by Mba Nwachukwu and Ekeopara Chike in 2012 estimates that 300,000 highly qualified Africans live and work in the Diaspora; and currently, African governments spend about 4 billion US dollars annually to employ about 150,000 Western experts performing functions which could easily have been performed by indigenous human capital if they were available. Nigeria is ranked second on the African continent as countries suffering the brain drain, beaten only by Ethiopia. It is safe to assume that a person does not leave their home country unless something more attractive is obtainable outside of it, or something worse is pushing him away from his home country. Mba and Ekeopara also claim that the economic deterioration of the 1970s and 1980s forced many African countries – Nigeria inclusive – to adopt some readjustment programs for their economies with the assistance of the World Bank/International Monetary Fund. The World Bank’s Migration and Remittances Fact book 2011 says about 21.8 million Africans left the continent in 2010. Of this number, Nigerians represented the 6th largest source of these fleeing persons. There are over 10,000 Nigerian doctors in the US which mean 77 percent of black doctors in the US are Nigerians. In the last decade, at least, the fleeing of core and indigenous healthcare professionals in Nigeria has breached the country of the abil-

It must be noted out that low-income countries suffer the most from brain drain. Going back to the push-pull factors that drive the migration of talent, people usually leave when they perceive a discomfort around the reward their careers deserve. In Africa, basic infrastructure is missing which implies that citizens would live in discomfort and face unwarranted obstacles in the pursuit of wealth, health and fulfilment.w With inadequate infrastructure also comes the lethargic growth of the economy. Every year, thousands of young Nigerian children die of malaria. In many Northern states, there remains colossal ignorance of the benefits of immunisation; and it was only in July 2015 that Nigeria marked a year of not having a recorded case of polio. The reasons for the unstoppable migration of Nigerians to foreign countries to live and work have been examined over and over again, through the years. In their seminal work on the subject, Ojo Omonijo, Anthony Ugochukwu and Ezeokena Obinna in 2011 looked at the economic factors that propel the outward movement of Nigerians from the country. In drawing a link between poor leadership and emigration, they noted that the brain drain crisis escalated in the 1980s. This (the brain drain) was when the Nigerian government of the day put out a popular television advert which many have come to remember as “Checking out fondly.” One must also remember that in the 1980s, Nigeria was right in the middle of military dictatorship, a time characterised by human rights abuses and oppression.

“As of June 2015, according to the Migration Policy Institute, about 376,000 Nigerian immigrants live in the United States, with about half of this population – secondgeneration immigrants – having been born in the States.”

Ojo, Ugochukwu and Obinna (2011) have highlighted some of the tiny discomforts that make life in Nigeria a living hell. For example, citizens migrate due to lack of employment and low salaries, and thus people are tempted to look for better salaries elsewhere for a better financial reward for their work. Only 38 percent of Nigerians have access to safe drinking water. Another reason Nigerians leave for other countries to develop their careers is the paucity of resources and facilities available to support, sustain and apply knowledge. >>

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work in the industries here. A lot of these expatriates are coming in to plug the gaps left by the frantic departure of highly skilled and indigenous human capital in Nigeria.

Nigeria currently is lagging behind in the WHO recommendation of the doctor-patient ratio of one doctor per 1,000 persons. And in 2005, nearly 2,000 physicians, who had trained in Nigeria moved to the US to practice.

Ashenafi Gedamu in 2002 claims that one major cause of migration is political instability. Sometimes this instability is related to wars, oppressive governments and exile. Several factors account for brain drain in Nigerian universities. The oil boom era ended in the late seventies with a decline in oil revenues. In 1986, the continued decline of the revenues from the oil sector led the Babangida administration to introduce the Structural Adjustment Program (SAP). With SAP, most of the lecturers found it difficult to make ends meet. Moreover, the unbearable bank interest rates made it impossible to liquidate mortgage loans they obtained after the 1973 faceoff with the government. Nigeria is a country where there is a high level of poverty and unemployment. About 61 percent of Nigerians live below the poverty line of 1 dollar per day. Many graduates come out of school and are roaming the streets for years without jobs. As of the third quarter of 2015, unemployment in Nigeria rose from 8.2 percent to 9.9 percent. And between 2006 and 2015, the unemployment rate averaged a whopping 11.45 percent. It has been suggested that the government can do well to ban the practice of public officials travelling overseas for routine medical checkups. According to Mba and Ekeopara, banning the trend would ensure that public officials and politicians no longer neglect the developmental needs of their jurisdictions, as they too would access these same health facil-

ities. This would also encourage healthcare professionals who have emigrated to return and work in their homeland – thereby ensuring that development is sped up.

“Ever y year, hu nd re d s of Niger ia n s s cra m to leave t h e cou n ble t r y to t h e UK, US, a nd o cou nt rie s in Eu ro t h er p e a nd A sia, w it h t he b e li ef t h s ocia l a n d wo r k in at g condit io n s t h er e are b ett er.”

The migration relationship between developed countries and developing ones like Nigeria must be one of collaboration and not exploitation. Deals should be made with these countries to the effect that Nigeria’s intellectuals return home after training and experience abroad, to apply their talents to the developmental goals of their home country Migration is a not an unwelcome development. In fact, the Executive Director of Columbia University’s Earth Institute, Steven Cohen, considers migration as important to national development and integration. However, with migration comes fear and dread over the integrity of a country. In a country like America where Cohen comes from, there is the fear that too many immigrants may dilute the “American dream” and “American values”. But in a country like Nigeria, the picture is a much more different. Nigeria does not suffer an “epidemic” of immigrants but one of the emigrants. In conclusion, the Nigerian government needs to declare an immediate emigrant crisis. The Nigerian land mass is big enough and can sustain every citizen. The country needs her academics, healthcare professionals, artists and businesspersons back to drive the economy, investment potential, and stamp out the high prevalence of common treatable ailments. //

GENDER INEQUALITY FOR WOMEN IN NIGERIA Shouldn’t women deserve as much chance as men?

by Lavender Odinaka Ekweremadu

igeria is a country made up of over 180million people, with three major tribes of Igbo, Yoruba and Hausa and two common religion of either Christian or Islam with over 350 ethnics groups and for a fact, both men and women are split into these tribes.

Photo by Jeffrey Zeldmann

Women play a big role, from the family responsibilities to making a successful man who he is, so leaving them out of the nation’s board is very unconstitutional. Women represent over 70% of the world’s poverty due to unequal access to economic opportunities. However, like every other country, Nigeria is responding to the clear request made by the United Nations societies of all forms of discriminations, especially gender-based discrimination. Nigeria indeed has tried to respond to this development from the international arena by articulating its policies and programmes that seek to reduce gender inequalities in socio-economic and political spheres, but the success of bridging the gap between men and women is farfetched. Since a man is the ‘head of authority’ in the home, the Nigerian culture treats men as superior to women, this is well manifested in the “masculine syndrome” that is prevalent in Nigeria. Male children in Nigeria often enjoy preferential treatment, exemption from house chores; they enjoy the unlimited right to education, while some parents traffic the girls to quick marriage for self-benefits. To an extent, the Federal Government should play a major role in this decision for women. On the 2nd of October 2016, a bill was moved by >>

the Nigerian Senate to “protect Nigerian women from the violence and provide them with the same marital rights as their male counterparts including the rights of widows to inherit their husband’s property.” The Nigerian senate moved a motion to support the Gender bill so women can get a fair share both in the political arena and in the workplace. However, the motion was rejected due to Islamic rights by some Islamic senators and it resulted in many misunderstandings between the Islamic cleric and Christian Association of Nigeria. Nigeria’s most senior Muslim cleric has rejected a new gender equality bill, and says that “Muslims would not accept the violation of Islamic law guaranteeing men a greater share”. Due to the Islamic rights, he went on to say “Our religion is our total way of life. Therefore, we will not accept any move to change what Allah permitted us to do.” However, on the other hand, the Christian Association of Nigeria, which is the highest authority board of the Christian board went on to say that “it did not find anything wrong with the bill because Christianity inheritance is shared equally between male and female.” In March 2018, Nigeria’s Senate rejected an earlier

version of the bill, saying it was incompatible with Nigerian culture and religious beliefs. The question here is what does religion have to do with the welfare of others if keep looking at the sight of religion then this situation would get worse in Nigeria due to religious beliefs.

“I n March 20 18, Nigeria’s S enat e r eje ct e d a n earlier ver sion o f t h e bil l, s ay it wa s in c om p at ible ing w it h Nigeria n cult u r e a nd r elig iou s b eliefs.”

Nigeria needs to treat half of its population, and a significant part of the productive force, as an inferior being. We need to give our women a chance to participate in all sectors of society. The roles of women as home makers cannot be downplayed. To achieve gender equality in Nigeria, economic and political powerlessness of women must be addressed. Our governments should, therefore, realise that intelligence and ability are more relevant to solving the problem of any society or nation than gender classification. On political terms, in Nigeria, a woman has never been given an opportunity to rule in the top positions aside from the previous offices held by women in the likes former Minister of Finance; and ‘former Minister of petro-

Photo by Malcom Manners

A perfect example to explain this in details was the abduction of 108 girls by the terrorist group called Boko Haram. A woman was the first to rise to the challenge against the Federal Government by setting up a campaign movement on how to mount pressure on the FG to bring back the abducted girls and the campaign protest was titled “Bring back our girls” ‘BBOG’.

“They of our take care d control n a s e m o h we but once , e m o h t they us a e power h t m e h t f give control o e k a t d l u wo g.” everythin

Women contribute a great strength in the sphere of the world today as they raise children to be the best amongst the rest, so it would only be fair to give them some credit in partaking in the workplace as well. By making gender equality balanced, both the male and female gender doesn’t classify anyone as superior or inferior, but can only be judged from a personality perspective. Nigeria’s president Muhammed Buhari, before his inauguration had promised that he would fight for the gender equality, but again that has been turned from the Senate due to mixed religious beliefs. Professor Dele Owolawi says that “The only means of redressing this grossly skewed situation is for the man to seek the light of reason and wisdom which only comes through genuine spiritual understanding. To go mundane in my analogy, the ‘tail’ of a coin or paper money is never inferior to the ‘head’ hence there’s no inferior gender-all are equal and must have equal rights under the law.” The question should be if women feel some sense of discrimination, it means that women should stand up for others instead of waiting for a gathering as that would attract attention and a stir. Nigerian writer Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie is a known feminist worldwide, who always stand up for the rights of women. If we have more women like this speaking up, then

we on track in bring back the dignity of women both in Nigeria and worldwide. With that being said, a female child must be given rights and equality as a matter of course without demanding it and to women. One of the fastest ways of seeking equality with men is to build the capacity needed to compete with men in the corporate environment and elsewhere. Governmental and religious legislation to encourage this in Nigeria is needed in this area. Federal governments guide every country and that is the beginning of democracy in a civilised nation. In the current eighth National Assembly, women accounted for eight out of the 108 senators that were sworn in and this results to 8.6 percent of the entire senators, an indication that men dominate the red chamber. In the house of representative women only account for 21 out of 360 members which is a very low number. Promoting gender equality can be an economic game changer. The IMF’s latest economic review of Nigeria’s economy says closing the gender gap would mean higher growth and productivity, and greater economic stability. IMF economist and co-author, Monique Newiak in a podcast also says, “Nigerian women could help transform the economy given a chance.” In conclusion, women deserve as much a chance as men, and that must start from a young age, so no gender sees itself as superior, for this to happen they need more jobs and credits given on merit. Women should also be encouraged to join on more women empowerment program, and with the help of the government to establish them, so a young girl who gets either raped, discriminated or abducted can know that she is worth a whole more than the incident later in life. //

R ou trav eno e r pl n l: un w ace eig Yo ce a u t a ys s to hb o r o long nc ha re u w -d m e ve la r s n a k fli to x. a l co ista e gh b It s o un nc i t t. e d h t r e a If t h o e av y s o it e s e or cia d lo no ni l j o es ng t a ce ou , - d lr n t he isey n .

leum’. A member of the house of representative Hon Gudaji Kazaure says that “They take care or our homes and control us at home, but once we give them the power they would take control of everything.”

THE AMAZING WORK RED BULL IS DOING IN LEIPZIG THROUGH RB RB Leipzig is hated by football fans in Germany for one reason: Red Bull.

by Ayomide Akinshilo

he football club finished second in the 2016/2017 Bundesliga season. The club has been criticised because of its private ownership model which contradicts the model used by other football clubs in Germany. Why is RB hated in Germany? Traditionally, football clubs in Germany have relied on voluntary registered associations, with a large number of members, and the 50 + 1 rule has ensured that club members have a formal controlling stake. RB, however, is owned by co-owner Red Bull, co-owner Dietrich Mateschitz, and is controlled by Red Bull GmbH. The club was bought by Mateschitz, who was looking to invest some of his 20 billion dollars in a football club that will challenge the power in German football. Germany football legend (with one of the most excellent defenders ever) Franz Beckenbauer, a personal friend of Mateschitz, advised the company (Red Bull) to invest in Leipzig. Before, Leipzig was financed. Clubs like FC Pauli, Hamburger SV, FC Sachsen Leipzig, Fortuna DĂźsseldorf were all contacted, and neither of them were ready to have a name change and get sponsored from the outside. Leipzig was eventually seen as the most viable option to invest in because of its rich football history; it was the meeting place for the founding of the German Football Federation (DFB), and the home of the first German National Football champions (VfB). What makes RB so special for the people of Leipzig? Another reason why Red Bull decided to invest in Leipzig was that no teams from the city had played in

Photo by Acid Pix

ay w inh e t a er s t u s t h en It’ s e h h l: nd tog d t it ve a o ul w ra n g co re t. o l t at i not ou a su en y le t m cia ac o So is: v ty d Bu t e p m i i t i l i l l. t h o m a b we i n e a l c b s o om oci s c

“Leipzig was eventually seen as the most viable option to invest”

the Bundesliga since 1994, and no teams had played in a professional league since 1998. Leipzig had a population of 500,000 inhabitants, and it was seen as a city with an economic strength and fan potential.

“We are here to play football and to celebrate football. We want to achieve great things.”

The city had a large airport, motorway connections and a large modern football stadium; the Zentralstadion which was a venue at the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and the second largest football stadium in the east of Germany, after the Olympiastadion in Berlin. Red Bull would eventually buy SSV Markranstädt, fifth division side from a village thirteen kilometres west of Leipzig having deemed it too expensive to buy a club higher up the football pyramid.

Reports claim Red Bull paid a compensation fee of around 350,000 euros after purchasing the playing rights of SSV Markranstädt. The club was renamed RasenBallsport Leipzig e.V. and shortened RB Leipzig. Red Bull could not be used due to restrictions by the German football federation regarding corporate names. RB Leipzig became the fifth football commitment in the Red Bull sporting portfolio, following FC Red Bull Salzburg in Austria, the New York Red Bulls in the United States, Red Bull Brazil in Brazil and Red Bull Ghana in Ghana. The projection was for RB Leipzig to play first division Bundesliga football within eight years following the model previously used Red Bull GmbH in Austria, and the US. However, the club was set to emerge and quickly rise through the divisions and would be playing in the Bundesliga in seven years having qualified for the 2016/2017 season after finishing first in the second Bundesliga season the year before. The economic impact of RB in Leipzig in eastern Germany According to Goal.com, Leipzig are the only team from what was East Germany to be competing in the Bundesliga this season, and during the 2015/16 campaign, there was no representation at all.

Leipzig is now the 10th most populous city in Germany and reports claim almost 600,000 people live in the city. Player recruitment has also benefitted people of Leipzig. Whereas years ago, prospective footballers would have been thinking of moving to West Germany to secure themselves trials for a chance to make in football, players can now join the youth team controlled by RB Leipzig. On the club website, its achievements are stated thus: “Along with the success of our first team, we also place massive focus on the development of youth. With a total of 16 youth teams (three of which are girl teams), we’ve built a complete youth structure with teams of every group of age from U8s to U19s. All of them have the opportunity to use the beautiful facilities at our training centre.” “Besides, we’ve had a women’s team since the 2016/17 season. They head into the 2017/18 season as undefeated champions of the Regionalliga.” “We are spurred on by massive encouragement in the city and throughout the region, finding fewer and fewer obstacles in our way”. “We are here to play football and to celebrate football. We want to achieve great things.” //

MEET VOLLPENSION: A SOCIAL BUSINESS CHANGING RETIREMENT IN VIENNA How this small brunch restaurant is improving the lives of both their elderly and younger staff.

by Mika Moret

alking down the city centre streets of Vienna, you might see a lovely grandmother baking some delicious treats through the window or even be tempted to come in to this place from its welcoming scent of delicious cakes. This is Vollpension, a brunch restaurant and coffee shop in Vienna, Austria, which works as a social business to employ elderly professionals and help to give them a better quality of life. Once inside, it is hard not to feel instantly at home - a friendly grandpa will welcome you with a warm smile and you will be mesmerised by the home-like decorations. Vollpension works as a home away from home for everyone - the customers and the staff. With a team of Opa and Omas (German words for “grandfather” and “grandmother”, respectively) as well as younger staff, this establishment combines the warmth we remember from our grandparents’ houses with the youth of a modern business. The customers can enter in to this welcoming atmosphere and truly feel like that are at home with their loved ones. Even some of the decoration come from the older staff - the table numbers are printed on childhood portraits of them, which is a great way of starting a lovely conversation with some Opas and Omas. All the cutlery and mugs have different colours and designs, just like the way we accumulate eccentric home decor with an emotional attachment. Every time you go to Vollpension, you are in for a surprise: the cake and pie menu is always changing! The daily specials depend on whoever is the Opa working on that day and what family recipes she wants to use. Vollpension is more than a restaurant or coffee place - it is a way of changing lives and shows that every interaction matters.

The main idea behind Vollpension was to work as a second home for people away from their home cities. “We all missed the baking skills and great cakes from our grandmas. We are all from the countryside and missed the daily interaction with older people in the city,” said Hannah Lux, Vollpension’s representative. She regards the restaurant as a “granny’s public living room;” a safe place in the city centre to make everyone feel like home, no matter where they are from. The project started in 2012 as a popup store. In 2014, the team behind it decided to take a chance and turn the project into a permanent and financially viable social-business. “The reception was from the beginning on always extraordinarily positive,” Hannah said. Whenever you go there, you will always be surrounded by happy and smiley customers sitting on the sofas and drinking a heart-warming cup of hot chocolate - more than that, you will be around joyful staff that genuinely have a passion for what they are doing, knowing they are providing a great service for both the customers and the employees. However, running a financially soluble social business with the knowl-

edge and understanding needed to deal with an older staff who have different requirements. “We run Vollpension as a social business which means for us that we do not only have financial and gastronomy goals but also, have social goals to follow.” Half of the team are older than 55, with the average age of 65 years old for the omas and opas, and live on low pensions and/or alone. This could help alleviate the challenges that come with living alone, such as depression and illnesses that come with old age. Hannah believes that communication among the staff members is essential to deal with everything “communication and social work are key, everyone is unique and we give this uniqueness a special focus because we believe otherwise we could not create this homey feeling for us and our guests.” Vollpension has a unique atmosphere and working ethic and this is what makes it such a great project and successful business. It is an innovative way of helping people and it shows that every small idea can grow into a bigger social change. //

A t vo ha he id co nd cof pap to ffe e in fe e er f il s t he is cu l t ho p b o ps t h he ps ap e ugh : Q u e co a r e r br ff c t o ic ou e e qu up. n t k ly gh di it e M h e t c re re a n up ct l a d y . yi y n

by tos Pho

Mika Moret

MOHAMMAD BIN SALMAN: WHO IS THE NEW SAUDI ARABIAN CROWN PRINCE? The rise to power of this young heir has many in Saudi Arabia wondering if progress and reform is coming

by Agha Hassan Sarwar

n June 2017, it came as a shock to the world when King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz of Saudi Arabia removed his half-brother, the Crown Prince Mohammad bin Naif from his post and appointed his 32-year-old son, Mohammad bin Salman (also known as MBS) as the new heir to the throne of the country. It was surprising: traditionally in Saudi Arabia the transition of power is be brother to brother, this time it was father to son, which broke the implied protocol. Overnight, Mohammad bin Salman became the second most powerful person in Saudi Arabia after the king. MBS was born in the city of Riyadh on 31st August 1985. His mother, Fahada Bint Falah, is the third wife of King Salman and he is the eldest of their children. In 2008, bin Salman married Princess Sarah bint Mashhoor bin Abdulaziz Al Saud and they had four children. MBS graduated in law from King Saud University and started working in the private sector until 2009 when he was appointed as special advisor to his father, the governor of Riyadh. In that time, he began to rise from one powerful position to another such as secretary general of the Riyadh competitive council, special advisor to the chairperson of the board for the King Abdul-Aziz foundation of research and archives, and a member of the board of trustees for Albir society in the Riyadh region. His political standing increased exponen-

Mohammad Bin Salman Photo by James N. Mattis

tially in 2012, when he became chief of the crown prince court of Saudi Arabia, where he started remaking the court in his own image. King Salman took the throne in January 2015, aged 79. MBS became the defence minister of the country and then the secretary general of the royal court. He was the youngest defence minister in the world at the age of 30. He mobilized the pan-GCC (Gulf Cooperation Council), which is a regional intergovernmental political and economic union consisting of all Arab states of the Persian Gulf, to in-

tervene in the Yemen war. MBS was appointed the heir to the throne on 21st June 2017 when his father demoted Mohammad bin Naif from the position of crown prince. His appointment came as a surprise as sceptics worried that he was too inexperienced for such a high-profile job. It was a very unusual move by King Salman as traditionally the transfer of power is from one brother to another brother in the Saudi monarchy. His appointment was taken as a positive step because it was for the first time someone so young has

been in this role, and Saudi society is happy that a younger generation is coming to the power.

It is u nu s ver y h ei r ua l for a to ho n l d s enor u m ou ch s p ow er

MBS has accused Iran of supporting Houthi rebels in Yemen and Syrian president Bashar al Assad. Speaking to the Guardian in 2017, he said “we won’t wait for the battle to be in Saudi Arabia, without elaborating on policies. Instead, we will work so that the battle is for them in Iran, not in Saudi Arabia”. He has been criticized for his statements and actions against Iran as it was thought this could start a war between the two countries.

MBS holds a non-negotiation policy on corruption. In a press conference in Riyadh in May 2017, he publicly stated: “I confirm to you, no one will survive in a corruption case - whoever he is, even if he’s a prince or a minister.”. On 4th November 2017, Saudi media reported the arrest of 11 princes; including the richest Saudi billionaire Walled bin Talal, along with other government officials, military’s top brass, and businessmen on corruption and money laundering charges. Some analysts saw the arrests as a move to consolidate MBS’s power: King Salman had decreed the creation of a new, authoritative anti-corruption committee headed by the crown prince mere hours before the same committee ordered the arrests. It is speculated that those who were arrested were only released after paying billions of US dollars in fines: as the media is state controlled, these reports could not be confirmed. Mohammad bin Salman is now the new centre of power in Saudi Arabia. It is very unusual for an heir to hold such enormous power. His father King Salman is aged 81 and not in the best of health and it is thought that he might be considering abdication in near future. Mohammad bin Salman’s power is ostensibly unchallenged in the country right now since his father has transferred most of his powers to his son. He has vowed to reform the country’s social and economic situation and bring the country to “moderate Islam.” In an interview with The Guardian newspaper, he

said “The ultra-conservative state had been ‘not normal’ for the past 30 years”. Saudi Arabia, an absolute monarchy, is now seeing a huge change in its society, where social taboos are being tackled head-on.

MBS rescinded the ban on woman driving: until 2017 women were not allowed to drive a car in Saudi Arabia. This decision was widely praised all around the world. He has also scaled back the guardianship laws that restricts women’s role in society: now women can go out alone, they can show their hair in public, they can go to football matches to watch the games: change has begun in the country. MBS has clipped the wings of the religious police also known as ‘Mutaween’ and prohibits them from making arrests – Saudi religious police’s job was to enforce sharia laws in the country and stop people from breaking sharia law. They had the power to arrest unrelated couples that were caught socializing, closing shops during prayer time, stop prostitution and enforce Islamic dress code, among other things. MBS has also called for entertainment in the country for younger generations: as part of this he has lifted the 35-year-old ban on cinemas in Saudi Arabia. The General Entertainment Authority (GEA) chief, Ahmad bin Aqeel al-Khatib told the Guardian newspaper that, “we are investing $64 billion in entertainment industry over the decade.. We are already building the infrastructure and God willing, you will see a real change by 2020”. MBS established an authority that has hosted comedy shows, pro wrestling events, and monster truck rallies. >>

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He enjoys a very good relationship with the USA: he has said that without America’s cultural influence on Saudi Arabia, the country would have ended up like North Korea. Donald Trump, president of USA, called and congratulated him on becoming heir and both shared their thoughts on security and economic issues. The prince is creating new ties between the House of Saud and President Trump: the US President’s first foreign trip was to Saudi Arabia, where he signed deals worth billions of dollars.

He is the driving force behind the “vision 2030” which plans to bring wide social and economic change, and to reduce the kingdom’s dependence on oil. The plan includes an economic zone focusing mainly on industries such as energy as well as water, biotechnology and food among other things.

Saudi y is s ociet t a t ha y p p a h rat ion e n e g er you ng i ng to t h e is com wer po

It will extend over nearly 10,000 square miles near the Red Sea, spreading across the Egyptian and Jordanian borders. Saudi Arabia is now open and encouraging foreign investment: in a gathering with investors in Riyadh, MBS said “We try to work only with the dreamers; this place is not for conventional people or companies.” He also plans to sell ARAMCO’s 5% share in the open market which would raise about 100 billion US dollars. ARAMCO, formerly Arabian-American Oil Company, is the Saudi Arabian national petroleum and natural gas company, one of the largest oil companies in the world (in terms of sales). Inevitably, bin Salman will soon hold the title of “custodian of two holy mosques,”- one in the city of Mecca and the other in Medina. These mosques are considered to be the most sacred mosques by Muslims. The title is only given to the King of Saudi Arabia as it is his responsibility to look after these mosques. This title will make him one of the most powerful individuals in the Muslim world. He will have the ability to change the Muslim world and can join them for the improvement of society. Mohammad bin Salman has the weight of the Muslim world on his shoulders, as well as the fate of his country but the future looks bright for him. //

Photo by Alexander Lyubavin

n Fi

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“Yo ca n u e a b s x pres s a ny olu t el t hin y g”

Ph ot o

reativity and the arts is something that can make the world a better place. After being involved in the world of arts for many years, I have become friends with creative people who are heavily involved in it. One of these is Kieran Walsh: a 22 year old semi-professional actor and writer from Waterford, Ireland. His earliest memory as an actor was back in primary school, where he performed in a Christmas nativity play. It took a slightly different approach to the usual nativity play: it focussed on three actors playing the wise men. “I was Caspar” Walsh says, “I was delighted I was the one named after the ghost!” This was his first ever stage experience. Walsh likes to challenge himself as an actor: it gives him more to do and more things to explore. “When you’re dealing with one-note characters, there’s only so much

you can dig into,” he says. In relation to playing complex characters, according to Walsh, gives the feeling that you’re playing more than one character. “You know you’re playing the one character” Walsh says “but it feels like you’re getting into the mind of another.” Yet, Walsh isn’t a one trick pony when it comes to the arts: he writes plays too. “When I was a child … I was always a big reader,” he says. “More so stories, rather than any book on any subject.” Walsh is a particular fan of fantasy books, such as ‘Lord of the Rings’ and ‘Harry Potter’. “I got a taste of how it was done on a regular basis”, says Walsh. “I kind of realised that this is something I can see myself being heavily involved in for a long time.” Something Walsh found incredibly important about these drama classes was meeting likeminded people. >>

by Fin Brennan

CREATIVITY AND POSITIVITY THROUGH THE PERFORMING ARTS

“It made me feel comfortable. It was very easy to fall into the rhythm there”. The classes at ‘Waterford Youth Arts’ cemented what Walsh believes was a “distant notion” that was becoming more and more realistic. Since attending these classes in 2010, Walsh has performed in many of Waterford Youth Arts’ productions and this means Walsh has some trouble trying to narrow down his favourite role. “This is one of those questions that you can never get a good answer for, because whatever you say you’ll always think of something afterwards.” However, Walsh says he always comes back to ‘Reverend Hale‘ in ‘The Crucible’. “Nine times out of 10, the first one that always comes to mind when I do think about it is ‘Reverend Hale’”, Walsh says “not to disparage any of the other roles I’ve done.”

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Walsh reckons that this role was part of the first ever “proper” stage show he was a part of. Walsh has talked about how exhilarating the whole experience was: “to be on such an impressive set, working in period costumes, with period furniture, to be totally immersed in a whole world properly for the first time felt fantastic.” He says that ‘Reverend Hale’ is one of those characters he wants to remember. As an actor, Walsh likes to challenge himself: he believes it gives you more to do and more things to explore.

According to Walsh, “when you’re dealing with one-note characters, there’s only so much you can dig into.” He believes that playing complex characters gives the feeling that you’re playing more than one character. “You know you’re playing the one character” Walsh says “but it feels like you’re getting into the mind of another.” Walsh says reading a lot as a child has had a big effect on him. “Because of the fact that I read so much when I was younger, it had influenced me.” While in primary school, Walsh won several class writing contests. Talking about these contests, Walsh said “It was a contest where you’d write a little paragraph, or a very short essay or poem.” Walsh says that these contests reinforced in him the notion of telling stories, a concept that he particularly enjoys. In school, Walsh’s favourite subject was English. In relation to the over-analysing and critique of writing that comes with secondary school English in Ireland, Walsh feels it is both useful but also not very useful at the same time. “It is definitely a good thing to know how to do, but I am not someone who wants to critique someone just for the sake of it,” Walsh says. “I don’t believe in outright attacking someone’s work.” In his opinion, nothing hurts

your case more than being sloppy when it comes to critiquing someone’s work. “It has to be neutral. It can’t be a case of ‘I didn’t like it.” Having worked with Walsh in the past, I was delighted to learn that his first completed written work was going to be put on stage. It is a short scene he wrote called ‘A Night in the Trenches’, written as part of Waterford Youth Arts’ ‘Works in Progress’ event. This event involved members of ‘Waterford Youth Arts’ writing, directing and acting in pieces written amongst them. ‘A Night in the Trenches’ centres on two soldiers during World War 1, who are standing watch outside of an army base. Not only was this his first piece of completed work, it was also the first written piece of Walsh’s to be performed live on stage. This short scene would become a small stepping stone into the world of playwriting, as more of Walsh’s original plays have since been showcased. Walsh believes that the arts are certainly a way forward for making the world a better place. “You can express absolutely anything” Walsh says “there are a medium and a platform for every opinion.” It is clear from this statement that creativity means a lot to Walsh. “It is probably the best therapy ever, obviously not as ideal as going to a doctor and seeing someone about it, but at the same time it is fantastic.” Walsh feels acting and writing is cathartic and it allows you to “get weird”. Walsh sees the arts as a form of escapism. I’ve always been blown away by how talented and humble Walsh is when it comes to his writing and acting. As he is only 22 years old, I can safely say that he is the future of arts in Ireland, be it acting, writing or directing. It is clear from talking with him that he has immense passion for acting and writing. Walsh’s humbleness always makes him come across as a kind, passionate and down-toearth person. These traits are hard to find in many creative people and I feel certain that Walsh will have a lot of success in the creative world in the future. //

Photo by Colin Shanahan

FIVE TIMES MUSICIANS USED THEIR MUSIC VIDEOS FOR A CHARITABLE CAUSE Traditionally musicians have been generous to charitable organisations; donating millions of dollars as they look to impact the world. However, rarely do musicians use their music videos to promote a good cause.

usic videos are not used to promote singles, showing off stunning visuals and increase filmographies. These musicians used their music videos to promote a good cause either by giving out money to citizens, highlighting the talents of others or notifying the world of the need to help others:

by Ayomide Akinshilo

Drake - Gods Plan

Michael Jackson - They Don’t Care About Us

On Friday, February 16, 2018, American rapper Drake dropped the video for his chart-topping single ‘God’s Plan’. Anytime Drizzy (Drake) drops a music video it makes headlines given his ability to create trends; remember ‘hotline blink’, ‘YOLO’ (the Motto), ‘Headline’, ‘Take Care’ and ‘Started’ from the bottom. However, ‘God’s Plan’ while not as catchy as the song above, it is set to top the Billboard Hot 100 for weeks to come according to the company itself and it all because of the music video. The Canadian born rapper revealed at the beginning of the music video that he was given $996,631.90 for the shoot, but instead, he gave back the money to people in need in Miami in an amazing philanthropic effort.

‘They Don’t Care About Us’ was released on March 31, 1996, and remains one of the most divisive songs the king of pop ever released. It is the fifth single from Jackson’s album ‘HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I’. Jackson used the music videos to reinforce the lyrical content of the song. ‘The King of Pop’ produced two music videos for the song; they shot in two locations in Brazil, in Pelourinho, the historic city centre of Salvador, and in a favela of Rio de Janeiro called ‘Dona Marta’. The state authorities in Brazil had tried to ban all production over fears the video would damage their image. They did so because Rio de Janeiro was in contention of staging the 2004 Olympic Games.

The rapper took to Instagram to call the video “the most important thing I have ever done in my career.”

The residents of the area were happy to see Jackson as they hope, his problems would highlight their problems to a wider audience.

Drake donated $25,000 to a high school which has been identified as ‘Miami Senior High School’. The name of the ‘University of Miami’ Student that Drake donates $50,000 to is Destiny James.

The second video was shot in a prison and contained video footage of multiple references to human rights abuses.

Drake appeared in a grocery store and said all the customers would have their goods paid; that store has been identified as the ‘Sabor Tropical Super Market’ in Miami. The singer visited a women’s homeless shelter called ‘Lotus House of Miami’ and donated $50,000 and different gifts. OVO sounds revealed that Karena Evans, a protege of Director X directed the video. She also hails from Toronto, Canada like Drizzy.

It also contains real footage of police attacking African Americans, the military crackdown of the protest in the ‘Tiananmen Square’, the Ku Klux Klan, war crimes, genocide, execution, martial law, and other human rights abuses. The media accused Jackson of antisemitic lyrics which force the musician to issue multiple apologies.

USA for Africa - We are the World This charity song which has been remixed numerous times was originally recorded by the group ‘United Support of Artists’ (USA) for Africa in 1985. It was written by Michael Jackson and Lionel Richie and produced by Quincy Jones for the album ‘We Are the World’ as they looked to provide relief for Ethiopia who was suffering from famine. The song which brought together some of the biggest musicians in the 80’s sold over 20 million copies. The song was promoted with a music video, a video cassette, and several other items made available to the public, including books, posters, shirts and buttons with the proceeds going directly to the famine relief fund. All of the merchandise article sold well; the video cassette - entitled ‘We Are the World’ and the Video Event - documented the making of the song, and became the ninth best-selling home video of 1985.

Michael Jackson – Earth song

All of the video elements were produced by Howard G. Malley and Craig B. Golin along with April Lee Grebb as the production supervisor.

‘The King of Pop’ features once again. ‘Earth Song’ was the third single from Michael Jackson’s album ‘HIStory: Past, Present and Future, Book I’. Jackson used ‘Earth Song’ to address environmental and animal welfare issues. The music video which received a Grammy nomination in 1997 showed the destruction and rebirth of the Earth. French Montana - Unforgettable On April 7, 2017, American rapper French Montana released ‘Unforgettable’ through ‘Epic Records and Bad Boy Records’ as one of the lead singles from his second studio album ‘Jungle Rules’. The video, which has over 650 million views on YouTube was shot in Kampala, Uganda. It was directed by French Montana and Spiff TV and includes Ugandan young dance group known as the ‘Triplets Ghetto Kids’. Following his trip and shooting of the video, Montana set up a campaign foundation to help build a medical centre in Uganda. The Weekend soon matched his starting donation of $100,000. //

Sa y t h tha in nk gs y in ou ev : F er or yd t h ay e lif litt e. le

Photo by Warren Rachele

CULTURAL APPROPRIATION: EXPLOITING IS NOT BORROWING Worldwide human rights activists ask for decades recognition and sanctions regarding the day-to-day cultural affront they suffer.

li “A s a ndn e i n t h e it d ob e cau s e s t a n esn’t d sti l l.”

by Alexia Klingler

ay 2014: “Our culture is not a costume” Cinco de Mayo students protest in Mexico City. November 2014: “I am a descendant of warriors who survived Genocide, I am not a Mascot” - Native Americans demonstration in Minneapolis. October 2015: “Not your History, not your Name, Change it now!” - Vietnamese-Americans blockade Viet Cong show in Seattle. June 2016: “Stop teaching racism to your children.” - African-American community demonstrate in Cleveland. Cultural appropriation is constantly driving protestors and social networks that are now referees of hairstyles, photographs or a dresses inspired by traditional cultures. Borrowing, inspiration or sampling: these concepts are at the heart of creativity. Artists are used to conceiving their work from their predecessors, the world around them, and the culture that stimulates their minds. But recently, a wave of outrage is stirring different cultural minorities. They feel that the dominant cultures usurp their heritage and traditions and that they are being exploited by people who don’t understand them. In particular, these minorities have turned to social networks to express their alarm when a brand, a magazine, or a celebrity falls into the trap of cultural appropriation. One of the biggest outcries over cultural appropriation recently was model Karlie Kloss wearing a huge Indian headdress for the final of Victoria’s Secrets 2012 show. Apropriating Native American culture is common: western Europeans wear it as a Carnival costume, American pop-stars use it to attract attention at Coachella festival. The week following Karlie Kloss’ apparition, CNN organised a debate around an interrogation: “is it so bad to use our ancestor’s symbols?” In a country built on immigration, it could have been a relevant debate if they had not concluded that the “evi-

Photo by Dominic Alves

“A culture not a costume” is a poster ad campaign launched in late October 2011 by a student organisation at Ohio University named ‘Students Teaching against Racism in Society’ (STARS). They initially created a Tumblr blog to raise awareness about racially insensitive Halloween costumes, but despite the visibility, it has inspired a series of photoshop parodies depicting animals and fictional characters with photos of people wearing their respective Halloween costumes. The Tumblr blog is now irrelevant and has few followers. In 2005, Susan Scafidi’s released a book on cultural appropriation called “Who owns culture? - appropriation and authenticity in American law”. She has tried to explain a Geisha Halloween costumes is not perceived as a real offence. More generally, four key rules to different cultural appreciation and appropriation. - Does the source group or culture have a history of exploitation, slavery, or genocide? - Are the people/the culture from whom this imagery, item, or custom comes benefitting? - Has the source community invited you to share in this? - Is it about commodification or making a profit? Susan Scafidi has simplified her theory with a rule of thumb: “I always come back to what I like to call the rule of the ‘three S’s’, which stand for the source, significance and similarity.” The author also adds that it is not an absolute rule but anchors in the time “it’s perfect to describe the line between appropriation and appreciation, or perhaps misappreciation, as a line in the sand because it doesn’t stand still. It shifts with time and space. In the sense that culture itself is very fluid and it is constantly shifting.” Naturally, the more controversial point over the four defined is the first one. If so, there is already a social power dynamic at play regarding the use of their culture. Among recent examples, the Valentino house has been caught in the crossfire after the presentation last October of its spring-summer 2016 collection imagined around the African theme. The scandal is not so much born of the beautiful clothes inspired by traditional African dresses, in a respectful and original manner, but rather of the too

. le op g, pe i n e th ts th e a n e v m p to s o he e ha hes t n t io os n t on lo re? nt e l o y r c e b e te n er a n ei t h ill at yo p s t h g y a n z ip o e n l o n r w Pa s e r d o b e ge Ha s t h n o ing ot t ra n ul. i e t h n s ef op me do he rat s o at , t g t h y it Sa

dence” shows that naturally all cultures were belonging to the USA. But if Americans were so close to their ancestors they should have known that Indian headdresses have never been bought but only deserved by the leader of a tribe; a sacred award, not an attraction.

literal cornrow braids and the insufficient number of black models on the catwalk. The onnline community based its disclosure on the fact that none of the models was suffering from discrimination in their real life. “Years ago when Venus or Serena Williams braided and beaded their hair, people referred to them as ghetto, or unkempt or not suitable for the tennis courts. But the second someone else does it; if they are a different race, it’s trendy now. It’s cool,” said Chandra Brennen, the Fashion Editor at ‘The Los Angeles Post’. It is also important to notice that people and companies usually don’t have bad intentions, and this means there is an opportunity for education and communication. “We went through a twenty- or thirty-year period where people of colour were embarrassed to embrace their ethnicity and their culture because we were demonised, we were made to feel like a marginal culture,”said the highly respected fashion photographer Tamu McPherson. “But I think that some stylists can get swept away with the romance of an idea and not see its full implications.” The final benchmark people can look to for guidance in this issue is how similar a project or object is to the original. If something has merely been used as an inspiration and has been significantly transformed from the source material, then there is a smaller risk of it being labelled as cultural appropriation. When an artist reinterprets a style through the prism of their unique aesthetic, then it is impossible to argue that it is too literal or a direct copy. “We are in a very sensitive period right now,” confirms Ritu Upadhyay, a fashion journalist for ‘Women’s Wear Daily’ based in Dubai. “There’s just this lack of an acknowledgement of the heritage.” And that is truly what this issue of appropriation boils down to: the simple recognition of and respect for the cultures that inspire acts of creative or commercial borrowing. Last June, a UN specialized international committee within the ‘World Intellectual Property Organization’ (WIPO) convened in Geneva to work on three pieces of international law that will protect indigenous cultures from being misappropriated - laws delayed for 16 years. //

“ d es cI a m a of w end a nt ar r w Genhoo su rviior s not a cid e, Ive d Ma s a m cot”

Photo by Mรกrilin Ferreira

by Mika Moret

THE POWER OF PHOTOGRAPHY: INTERVIEW WITH MÁRILIN FERREIRA

Brazilian photographer uses documentary photography as a way of changing our view of the world.

In 2016, she started Dupla Face (Portuguese for “Double Face”). She worked together with people who collected recycleable materials in Brazil and using the materials they collected, they built surreal scenarios for the collectors to pose in, creating surreal fine art photography. “My first work with the collector of recyclable materials was challenging because they had never seemed themselves that way, so they had high hopes for the project,” says Ferreira.

árilin Ferreira is a photographer using her art as an instrument of social change. She has developed different photographic projects that aim to use the visual art from to improve people’s lives - either teaching photography as a craft to young people or giving them a new way of seeing themselves. Ferreira started to photograph when she was 16 years old, living away from home. “I documented my daily life to spend my time and cope with my homesickness. Every shot has love and dedication and, for me, it is impossible not to deliver yourself the same way,” says Ferreira. “Since the beginning, photography had an emotional impact in my life”. Now she sees photography as a way to provoke social change in society. “Just documenting it seemed so little, but with time I realized that little goes a long way”, she said.

The goal of this project was to present the collectors within a completely new reality - a fantastic world they helped to create through recycling products. However, the project grew bigger than that: it also showed them a whole new life perspective. “I was very worried about using their images and I wanted them to feel like the protagonists of this whole thing. So I had the idea of producing everything using only the recyclable materials they collected. It was an amazing experience because each of them saw the transformation from something that was considered trash into a work of art. They knew exactly how the image was produced”. At the end of the project, she was able to make an exhibition with all the photographs taken and rented a van to bring everyone involved in it. Dupla Face was more than just the images that resulted from it; it was about union and representativeness.

“We live in a world with a lot of criticism but not a lot of people willing to help”

Most of her work is highly focused on portraying female power and struggles in modern society. “I came from a family of five women and my father was the only man. He always raised me to be free and independent. Because we lived in a sexist-free house, I had a big shock when I realised the chaos we are living in. Me and my sister, who is a filmmaker, always wanted to do something to change that”.

Through photography she found a way to portray this strength but also to give voice to those whose daily fights are constantly ignored. “We live in a very sexist society, where the woman is supposed to always be strong - the mom, the housewive, the one that has two jobs. Women are expected to deliver more and more, and that was too much. That is not the life that I want - I can either fight now or it will be too late.”

When asked about the way photography can change the world, Ferreira believes that it opens a door to a new reality people are not properly seeing. “We live in a world with a lot of criticism but not a lot of people to help. People are missing their humanity.” Her work is her way of fighting back, for her beliefs and on behalf of those who need to be seen. // To know more about Márilin Ferreira’s work: https://www.ferreiramarilin.com/ https://www.instagram.com/ferreira.marilin/

A LAUGH EVERY FIFTEEN MINUTES by Fin Brennan

‘

Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri’ was one of the most hotly anticipated films in the lead up to and indeed after this year’s Academy Awards ceremony. The film took home two awards on the night for Best Supporting Actor and Best Actress. After a single viewing, it’s clear to see why there’s such a buzz around the film. Three Billboards (as it will from now on be referred by) is described by the media as a drama. While it does have its very dramatic moments (sometimes to the point of un-comfortableness), there is some humour, however dark, at times. When we first encounter protagonist Mildred Hayes (played by 2018 Oscar winner Frances McDormand) we perceive her as a tough stern woman. However, later on in the film we can see that her toughness is also peppered with a surprisingly laid back attitude. Not all of the time, of course. This surprising comic relief is most noticeable in scenes opposite Game of Thrones actor Peter Dinklage, who plays James, as well as scenes

“There is hope for all of us, even the most lost of causes.”

opposite crooked police officer Jason Dixon, played perfectly by Sam Rockwell. One should take their hat off to director Martin McDonagh in the casting of these actors. Being the writer of this film as well, McDonagh knew exactly what he was doing in envisioning the look and feel of the film and he executed it perfectly. The film was directed by Martin McDonagh, who has written for both stage and screen. Raised in London, born to Irish parents, McDonagh has written many plays set in Ireland. Some of these award-winning plays include ‘The Cripple of Inishmaan’, ‘The Beauty Queen of Leenane’ and ‘The Lieutenant of Inishmore’. McDonagh’s talents eventually made it to the screen and he now has several successful films under his belt. These include ‘In Bruges’, ‘Seven Psychopaths’ and ‘Six Shooter’. Three Billboards marks the second collaboration between McDonagh and both Rockwell and Wood Harrelson. Another aspect of the story that should be noted is the simplicity of it. The film tells the story of the mother (McDormand) of a murdered girl who decides to get the attention of the local police by renting three billboards outside of her town to display

messages directed at local police for their lack of action on her daughter’s murder that eventually gains media attention. McDormand’s character is obviously grief-stricken, but we learn throughout the film that the other characters are fighting their own personal battles. Each character’s story is told both visually and vocally very well. With such a small cast, there was plenty of room for every named character to have their moment. Two actors with the least amount of screen time stood out in particular. Firstly, we have Caleb Landry Jones; who plays Red. Red is a worker in the company who owns the billboards. Mildred deals with him directly when trying to rent the billboards. Even though he was in a handful of scenes; Jones plays Red perfectly as a passive aggressive but also weak character that is enjoyable to watch and, at the end of the day, likable. Secondly; Samara Weaving, who plays Mildred’s ex-husbands young girlfriend Penelope. Penelope contributes to probably the majority of the comic relief in this dark and, at times, violent film. In some very intense scenes, the actress knew exactly what her character was meant to do. Weaving emphasised her char-

Most importantly, the world in which this film takes place is very distinct in its creation. The town it’s set in is a very small, close-knit town where everyone knows everybody. This only helps the film as it allows for the cast to be uncluttered. This minimalist attitude and approach by McDonagh makes it very easy for the audience to follow along with the story and allows for each character to have their moments to shine. What makes this film so distinctive also is it’s unpredictability. There are several distinct moments of the film that occur with little or no warning whatsoever. Some of these moments

happen very early on in the film, which could be seen as McDonagh’s way of keeping the audience’s attention. Three Billboards is ostensibly just a tale of a mother and what she will do for her daughter, yet by joining the journey McDormand’s character takes we get to see how everyone is affected by the event that precipitates the billboards and how the subsequent events gives everyone a sliver of hope, no matter how small. This violent, dark and at times, humorous film left the author with a feeling of hope: that we are not constrained by the actions that we have done in the past and that we can move on. There is hope for all of us, even the most lost of causes. //

“fighting their own personal battles.”

ev Be er k y i yo on nd u e y an w o d an u t t me bra o et ve be i : T t r n t h rea ea e t te w d. ay

acter’s immaturity and awkwardness excellently: yet another perfect performance.

Photo by Paul Sableman

Dublin leafs by Carolina Hernandez