‘We are more powerful than we give ourselves credit for’

A Cootehill native is promoting active citizenship and encouraging people to get more involved in issues that affect their lives can ultimately enhance global harmony.

Ruairí McKiernan has been appointed Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Irish Development Education Association (IDEA). His work in this new role will help shape the future of Ireland’s engagement with global citizenship, social justice and sustainability issues.

His appointment also comes at a critical time in rising global challenges.

IDEA and its members which include Goal, Trocaire, Concern and Irish Aid, are at the forefront of efforts to equip Irish citizens with the knowledge and skills to address urgent global issues such as poverty, injustice, inequality, conflict, and climate change.

“The work has its origins in post World War 11 and post colonialism at a time when there was a great move on international development, to build democratic structures, reduce poverty and alleviate humanitarian crises,” Ruairí told The Anglo Celt this week.

“A lot of Irish missionaries would have done a lot of great work on all of this and then well-known Irish aid agencies such as Trocaire, Concern, Goal and others. The Irish government has an outward looking approach to development, particularly to overseas aid - Irish Aid would be very well regarded internationally, and so we’ve got a very rich tradition in all of this.

“But it’s not just about this. We also need to look at the role colonialism has played in the world - in places like India, Latin America, Africa and indeed many other places including our own country, and to see that it's not just about going in to save, it must also be about questioning the role that those countries have had.”

Ruairí says development spans far and wide. “Development Education - which is what we are involved in - is about supporting people to think critically and to become informed about the different issues including equality, social justice, human rights, gender, climate change, and not just become informed, aware and educated but to then to know how they can do something about it in their own lives - to ‘think global and act local’.”

This is where the Irish Development Education Association comes in. It works in schools, colleges, adult education, community work, youth work, the media and so many other different channels.

“Development education is often and increasingly referred to alongside the concept of global citizenship education - how can I be empowered as a citizen not just in my own country but in the world?  That’s about voting, volunteering, being a voice for change. And then globally: How can I feel part of this interconnected world that we are in?”

Participation

The former St Aidan’s Comprehensive student is widely known as the founder of SpunOut, Ireland’s pioneering national youth organisation focused on health, social issues, and youth advocacy.

His commitment to public service saw him appointed to the Council of State by President Michael D Higgins, which he served for seven years.

Ruairí also co-founded Uplift, a digital campaigning organisation, and is an accredited counsellor and psychotherapist, the author of ‘Hitching for Hope’, and host of a popular podcast ‘Love and Courage’.

More recently, Ruairí spent time in Australia working on Indigenous rights and advocating for reform of the gambling industry.

Active citizenship

Now his new goal is to encourage people to participate more in society - locally and globally.

“If we look at the many different issues that people are concerned about - the cost of living, housing, healthcare, ecology, the environment - many of us have a lot of concerns but what are we doing with those concerns?,” he asks.

“Are we channelling them into being part of the change? Obviously politicians and policy makers have a very important role to play but we, the people, the citizens, have an enormous role to play because we can influence change and sometimes we don’t fully appreciate how powerful our voices are.

“It’s about going beyond the ballot box, it’s at a local level and it’s not every four or five years; it’s every day of the week.”

Ruairí says that all of this is more commonly known as ‘active citizenship’.

“I think climate change is reminding us that ecology doesn’t necessarily understand borders and what’s happening in floods and fires, and in emergencies and disasters in Spain, America or elsewhere, all of this can massively impact, for example, the Gulf Stream and the rising sea levels.

“We are all sharing a very common global challenge now, which is climate change and unfortunately it’s not getting enough attention. It is going to affect food, farming, and lead to conflict and resource and water scarcities. It’s also affecting migration and is leading to mass migrations, which then creates and compounds what is often called a refugee crisis,” says Ruairí

“Then some people might seek to exploit that and that then gives rise to extremism and racism.

“So, I suppose if we look at the interconnected problems and try and understand why they are arising in the first instance, and try to prevent them, the idea is that we would have a more harmonious country where we are all rowing together rather than falling victim to social division.”

Influences

As CEO of IDEA, Ruairí aims to strengthen and expand the organisation’s reach, foster collaboration, and advocate for increased investment and support for what he calls “the urgent need to mainstream global education that fosters awareness, empathy, and proactive responses to the root causes of today’s interconnected challenges”.

But how did he get to this point? What were his influences?

“My community, my homelife, parents, grandparents, coming from a loving home, having loving parents, siblings and wider family,” he responded.

“I feel very blessed to have come from a strong community in Cootehill. I feel that when I was growing up there was so much active citizenship and volunteerism in Foróige, the Scouts and the GAA.

“I was involved in all of those things and I was involved in Cavan Rugby Club as well. I have had lots of opportunities to be involved in community work and saw my parents be volunteers as well.”

Challenges

Growing up along the border during The Troubles also left its mark on the Cootehill man.

“I suppose growing up near the border during The Troubles had an impact as well because my mother is from Donegal, and we used to cross the border a lot,” states the proud Cavan man.

“I could see young men with guns; we all were aware of the great suffering that was there; the civil rights issues, the violence, the human rights issues, and all of that would have led me as a young person to question what is all of this happening?

“You have to look to history then and suddenly you’re joining the dots.”

After school, Ruairí studied Business and went abroad.

“I met a lot of people from Latin America when I was in San Francisco. They would have told me about the history of their country - all of them colonised - and I was able to draw some parallels there.

“That speaks to the empathy and solidarity that a lot of Irish people have for people from other countries that are going through injustices because of what we faced in our country but also in relation to violence.

“We also went through a very profound peace process, which has largely held up and hopefully as a country we therefore have an understanding of peace that we should champion and cherish, and encourage on the world stage.

“Ireland has gone through a lot over the last hundreds of years and we might be able to play a bigger role on the world stage as a champion for peace and development at a time where there are so many megafones being blasted out that are all about division or hatred or efforts to scapegoat vulnerable and minority groups. I think that, if we could focus on peace as an overarching value regardless of your own politics or your own religion, that is something that, maybe, we could all agree on.”

Meanwhile, IDEA members Trocaire and Action Aid both have a presence in Palestine - a conflict that is now being regarded globally as a genocide by Israel.

Injustices

“The world has always been in flux and there are always huge challenges,” says Ruairí.

“Every generation in Irish history has faced huge challenges and there have always been people who step up to those challenges and make a positive contribution.

“I see myself as only making a modest contribution, there are much more courageous and dedicated people than me in every community; people who are doing heroic work - be it with cancer support groups, mental health or volunteering at different levels. Then there are the aid workers who are out on the ground in the crisis itself.

“A lot of those people are never in the limelight or the media and don’t want to be. To me they are the real heroes. There’s an Irish nun I heard about recently who set up an eye hospital  - Sr Margaret Coyne. She was a visionary humanitarian in Africa and many people in Ireland have family members who were involved in overseas development and aid.

“It’s also evident in every community and for me it’s about encouraging everybody to do what they can, and to remind people that we are more powerful than we give ourselves credit for.”