This article is from page 14 of the 2006-06-20 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 14 JPG
CLARE woman and head of the Ennis Branch of the Refugee Council, Orla Ní Éilí, has been nominated and shortlisted for a prestigious national award which will take place in Dublin this afternoon.
The award, which is organised by the African Refugee Network, recognises people for their work in helping to integrate refugees and asylum seekers into the general community.
Orla has been shortlisted for the Judge’s Special Achievement Award alongside Frank Edwards and Pamela Howard of the Reception and Integration Agency, who have been jointly nominated, and Nadette Foley, activist and founding member of the Irish Refugee Council.
“The awards are designed to recognise the work of people who, in a professional capacity or in their private lives, help in refugee and asylum issues,” said Mabarak Habib of the African Network. “Orla is well-known for her work with asylum seekers and refugees over the last 13 years. She has contributed greatly, both as an individual and through her work in the Ennis Refugee Council.”
In all, six awards will be handed out in Dublin tomorrow. Aside from the Judge’s Special Achievement Award, presentations will be made in the categories of Education and Youth Work, Arts and Culture, Sports and Leisure, Health and Safety and Community and Environment.
“The awards are also designed as a way of reflecting the positive interaction of people across Ireland,” continued Mr Habib. “Much of the work that is undertaken at a local level is rarely highlighted, with the media chosing instead to focus on negative issues.”
The awards ceremony is being run to mark World Refugee Day which takes place today (Tuesday). Celebrations are being organised all over the country to mark the day and a number of events, yet to be confirmed, will take place in Ennis over the weekend. World Refugee Day is an international event sponsored by the United Nations and the theme for this year’s event is hope.
Meanwhile, a new organisation launched in Dublin last week could have a major impact for the hundreds of Nigerians who are currently living in the county. The Nigerian Association of Ireland Equality Authority was officially launched by Minister Ó Cuív in Dublin last Wednesday.
The new organisation aims to forge and strengthen links between the Nigerian community in different parts of Ireland. It also aims to generate a positive perception of Nigerians within the wider community.