Premiere: Social justice in a time of global pandemic
The Wednesday 9th December at 7pm we will premiere a conversation between Chiamaka Enyi-Amadi, Amel Yacef and Caoimhe Butterly, hosted by Sive Bresnihan.
Through the lens of the Covid-19 pandemic, the the conversation pulls on different threads including Black Lives Matter, #endSARS and the tens of thousands of invisiblised and preventable deaths that continue in the Mediterranean Sea. In the midst of this pandemic, is there an invitation to be present to these realities in a different way; to consider questions of social justice not as an addendum to collective life on this planet, but as central? ‘Post-pandemic’ what will people (not) want to return to? And how to navigate the present moment with humility, care and accountability?
Our Panel
Amel Yacef:
Originally from Algeria, Amel has been working in the youth and community sector In Ireland for almost 20 years; she has managed and coordinated projects with a focus on social justice, equality and human rights. She works with minority ethnic young people and young people facing injustice and discrimination and has been a voluntary board member of organisations working on migrant health, migrant Rights and migrant women issues, anti-racism and people power led social change. Amel presently works in the National Youth Council of Ireland; she describes her practice as transformative and compassionate justice. She has extensive experience in organising and mobilising the grass roots through facilitating processes to enable those voices to sit in their power, and impact political discourse.
Chimaka Enyi-Amadi
Chiamaka is a writer, performer, arts facilitator, and literary editor. Her work is published in Poetry International 25, Poetry Ireland Review 129, RTÉ Poetry Programme, IMMA Magazine, Architecture Ireland, The Irish Times, Writing Home: The ‘New Irish’ Poets anthology (Dedalus Press 2019, co-edited by Pat Boran & Chiamaka Enyi-Amadi) and The Art of the Glimpse: 100 Irish Short Stories (Head of Zeus 2020, edited by Sinead Gleeson). You can view some of Chiamaka’s work here: https://chiamakaenyiamadi.com/aboutme/
Caoimhe Butterly
Caoimhe Butterly is an educator, trainee psychotherapist, documentary film-maker and human rights/social justice activist. She has spent the past over 20 years working with refugee communities and those engaged in migratory journeys, in various parts of the world, with a focus on women. She is presently working with Comhlámh on a project focusing on resilience, trauma and psycho-social resourcing. You can view some of Caoimhe’s work here: https://vimeo.com/user49847365 Originally recorded on December 17th 2020 as part of ‘Be the Change’, a 5-week course delivered each year by Comhlámh in partnership with UCDVO.