Photograph: Ian Maginess
To mark the 2024 United Nations International Year of Camelids, Armagh Robinson Library has launched a temporary exhibition on the subject of camelids. Featured at the launch were Library Education and Outreach Officer, Ursula Monaghan; Library Administrative Officer, Lorraine Grattan; United Nations Association Northern Ireland (UNA-NI) Committee Member, Maureen Maguire; Library Archivist, Thirza Mulder; UNA-NI Committee Member, Ruth Taillon; Library Keeper, the Very Revd Shane Forster; Accreditation Mentor, Ken Abraham; former Museum Mentor, Noreen Cunningham; Assistant Keeper, Carol Conlin and UNA-NI Committee Member, Judith Fawcett. The exhibition will run until 30 June 2024.
Photograph: Ian Maginess
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Professor Siobhan Wills, Director of the Transitional Justice Institute at Ulster University welcomed everyone to the event 'Impunity and International Humanitarian Law: The UN in Crisis' on Thursday 22 February 2024 and introduced the two guest speakers. Professor William Schabas, Professor of International Law at Middlesex University in London, was the first guest speaker to talk to the event's title. Dr Stephen Farry, MP was also a guest speaker, who spoke about the challenges for the UN in today's world. Almost 40 people attended the lunchtime talks in Ulster University. UNA-NI Chairperson, Carol Conlin, gave the vote of thanks to both guest speakers and to Professor Wills for the TJI's willingness to work with UNA-NI. From left, UNA-NI Committee members Patricia Irvine and Ruth Taillon, Professor Shabas, Professor Wills, Dr Farry and UNA-NI Chairperson, Carol Conlin.
UNA-NI thanks Kevin Cooper, Photoline plc for all the photographs taken at the event. World Festival in Derry-Londonderry UNA-NI was delighted when the Principal of Oakgrove Integrated College agreed to host an event as part of the 2023 One World Festival Northern Ireland. UNA-NI is a member of CADA, the Coalition of Aid and Development Agencies Northern Ireland and each year since 2019, CADA has organised a week-long festival to highlight particular themes. This year’s theme focussed on how climate change impacts on people around the world. It also promoted understanding of issues that affect the lives of the poorest people and inspired action in local communities towards a just, peaceful and sustainable world. UNA-NI invited Emer Rafferty to be the guest speaker at the Derry event. Hosted by the Principal, staff and students of Oakgrove Integrated College, the Principal and students from Lisneal College and a representative of St Cecilia’s College were also welcomed to the event. Emer is a second-year chemical engineering student at Queen’s University Belfast. She is also the youngest director of EcoJustice Ireland and was selected by the Education Authority to attend the One Young World Festival which was held in Belfast in early October. Her presentation was based on her experiences at that festival, including the workshops and discussions by a wide range of speakers. She also encouraged the students to act locally, no matter how modestly they may feel their contribution to reducing climate action may seem. Reference was made to the importance of using music, poetry and art in order to raise awareness of the climate and ecological crisis. Speaking on behalf of UNA-NI, a spokesperson said, “We are very pleased that Derry has featured in this year’s One World Festival, especially as it follows close on the accolade of the city being awarded UN International City of Peace. While we thank all those who attended the event from three local schools and representatives from CADA, we wish to thank Mr John Harkin, the Principal of Oakgrove Integrated College, for his considerable support in hosting this event.” Please have a look at some of the images taken at the event by photographer Jim McCafferty. Mr John Harkin, Principal of Oakgrove Integrated College, welcomed everyone to the UNA-NI event which was part of the One World Festival event. Mr Harkin is a a long-time UNA-NI member and we in UNA-NI thank him for his support. One World Festival Guest speaker, Emer Rafferty, talked about experiences as a delegate to the One Young World Festival held in Belfast earlier in October. Students from Oakgrove Integrated College and Lisneal College with their respective Principals, Mr John Harkin and Mr Michael Allen, were featured with guest speaker Emer Rafferty. A group photograph which included students from Oakgrove Integrated College, UNA-NI members from second left, Carol Conlin, Patricia Irvine, Ruth Taillon and John Harkin, along with guest speaker Emer Rafferty and representatives of CADA, Maria McLaughlin and Seamus O'Gorman.
We have been sent a link of more photographs from the Derry Journal, to be found by going to: https://www.derryjournal.com/education/11-photographs-of-oakgrove-college-climate-change-event-during-2023-one-world-festival-4383293 The 2023 AGM of UNA-NI was held online on 7 June 2023. During that meeting, we agreed some changes, while still remaining fully committed to the aims of UNA-UK.
We have now a General Data Protection Register for local supporters of UNA. Please have a look at the form and if you wish to complete a copy, please e-mail us and we will send you a form. This is the text: DATA PRIVACY NOTICE 1. Your personal data – what is it? Personal data relates to a living individual who can be identified from that data. Identification can be by the information alone or in conjunction with any other information in the data controller’s possession, or likely to come into such possession. The processing of personal data is governed by the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). If we hold information about you, such as your name and address, telephone number, email address, etc., you are, in the language of the GDPR, the ‘data subject’. Wherever these words appear, they refer to you. 2. Who are we? UNA Northern Ireland is the data controller (contact details below). This means that it decides how your personal data is processed and for what purposes. 3. How do we process your personal data? UNA Northern Ireland complies with its obligations under the GDPR, by keeping personal data up-to-date, by storing and destroying it securely, by not collecting or retaining excessive amounts of data, by protecting personal data from loss, misuse, unauthorised access and disclosure, and by ensuring that appropriate technical measures are in place to protect personal data. We use your personal data for the following purposes: -
4. What is the legal basis for processing your personal data?
5. Sharing your personal data Your personal data will be treated as strictly confidential and will only be shared with third parties with your consent. 6. How long do we keep your personal data? We keep data in accordance with the guidance set out, for example, Gift Aid declarations and associated paperwork for up to 6 years after the calendar year to which they relate. 7. Your rights and your personal data Unless subject to an exemption under the GDPR, you have the following rights with respect to your personal data:
8. Further processing If we wish to use your personal data for a new purpose, not covered by this Data Privacy Notice, then we will provide you with a new notice. The new notice will explain the new use of your personal data prior to commencing the processing. It will set out the relevant purposes and processing conditions. Where and when necessary, we will seek your prior consent to the new processing. 9. Contact Details To exercise all relevant rights or queries of complaints, please contact UNA Northern Ireland via e-mail: [email protected] You can contact the Information Commissioners Office (UK) by telephone 0303 123 1113; via email https://ico.org.uk/global/contact-us/email/ or by writing to the Information Commissioner's Office, Wycliffe House, Water Lane, Wilmslow, Cheshire, SK9 5AF ........... We have amended our constitution and will display that shortly. Last year, Armagh Robinson Library and No 5 Vicars’ Hill completed a project, called ‘Think Globally, Act Locally’, using it as their contribution to raise awareness of the climate emergency and to increase sustainability. This included the development of the garden of the 251-year-old former Registry at No 5 Vicars’ Hill, which is owned by Armagh Robinson Library. The project was made possible thanks to a grant from the Northern Ireland Museums Council through the Museums Challenge Climate Change Grant programme, funded by the Department for Communities Climate Change Fund and The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project has continued to interest people. Members of Dementia NI’s Armagh Empowerment Group not only helped to launch the project but also the Library gained two volunteers who helped to keep the garden in order. Members of UNA-NI, the United Nations Association for Northern Ireland, learned about the project and gave a donation to the Library for the purchase of spring bulbs which were planted by the volunteers. Representatives of UNA-NI and Dementia NI met the Keeper of the Library, the Very Revd Shane Forster and the Library’s Assistant Keeper, Carol Conlin, to highlight the gift and care of the spring bulbs. Speaking ahead of the visit, the Keeper said, “We are all well aware of the precarious position the world is in as a result of climate change and the need to act now to make a difference in safeguarding the planet for future generations. In a small way, the garden at No.5 Vicars’ Hill is symbolic of the global natural world. Through its careful maintenance and sustainable planting, we hope that it will remind all our visitors of the urgent need to care for the environment and the wider world around us.” Seated left – Patricia Irvine and on the right Ruth Taillon, representatives from the United Nations Association for Northern Ireland.
Standing from left – the Very Revd Shane Forster, Keeper of Armagh Robinson Library, Carol Conlin, Assistant Keeper, John Flack and Toni McManus, supporters of Dementia NI’s Empowerment Support Group. (Photographs by Ian Maginess) Those of us who attended the evening when Angus Lambkin was the guest speaker at a jointly held event with St George’s Parish Church, Belfast and UNA-NI in April 2022 will remember his skill at outlining his role and experience as a UN Civil Military Coordinator in Afghanistan. The day after the earthquake in Turkey and Syria, Angus flew out with the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid to the disaster area. He gave an interview to BBC Scotland, Radio 1, ‘The Sunday Show’ on his first impressions of the devastating situation. The interview can be found 1 hour and 32 minutes into the recording on the link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m001j3ll. Angus speaks in a personal capacity and not as an official spokesman of the UN. The programme is available until 7 March 2023 and is well worth listening to. The image below shows Angus at work in a supply tent as part of the humanitarian work. An update on details refers to the temperature which drops to minus 20 at night.
Donations will be greatly appreciated for life-saving work by UNICEF: https://www.unicef.org.uk/donate/syria-turkiye-earthquake/ and by UNHCR: https://donate.unrefugees.org.uk/syria-earthquake/~my-donation |
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