This cross-community, cross-border event takes place today (26th January.)
in The Diocesan Centre, 24 London Street, Derry
The publicity for the event states:
It was Mahatma Gandhi who uttered the famous words “Be the change you want to see”. These words have inspired the title for a special event to be held in Derry / Londonderry on 26th January. It is being organized by a unique and unlikely partnership between the GAA, Voluntary Arts Ireland, City Church Belfast and the Church of Ireland diocese of Derry and Raphoe. The event will be opened by Derry City Council’s Mayor Alderman Maurice Devenney.
At first glance it is not apparent what the above four organisations have in common. They represent quite different sectors of our community and the membership of each is from a different tradition. Yet these organisations have been working in cooperation over the past three years.
The four organizations were brought together by the Department for Social Development in Northern Ireland and the Department of Arts, Heritage and the Gaeltaght in the Republic of Ireland in a partnership to promote volunteering. The project was an attempt to see if very different organisations could work together and learn from one another for a purpose – to meet need in our community.
Kevin Murphy is Chief Executive of Voluntary Arts Ireland. Looking forward to the event he said “When Gandhi said Be the Change You Want he was expressing something very simple. He was saying that if we want to see our community become a better place we shouldn’t wait for someone else to do something or just complain that nothing ever changes for the better”. He continued “He was giving us a challenge. Whenever we see something that needs doing then we should be the person who does that something.”
Be the Change You Want is designed to inspire a conversation – about how we can change our communities by volunteering for the common good. It will bring together as many people as possible from different sectors of the community, including the community and voluntary sector, churches, sporting organizations, statutory bodies and funders. The keynote speaker at will be Bishop Ken Good. It is one of a series of public discussions being organised by the Joint Volunteer Project.