The Irish Government is funding an NGO workshop about the need to “build our collective resistance to systems of oppression and violence” in the context of climate change and colonialism, linking Ireland to Palestine in what organisers describe as “global struggles for justice.”
The event, titled Climate Justice, Militarism, and Palestine: Unlearning Empire, Rooting Resistance, is being organised by Action From Ireland (Afri) and Friends of the Earth – two State-funded NGOs – is partly funded by Irish Aid and the Department of Foreign Affairs.
According to the event notice, the workshop will “critically connect local and global struggles for justice, using Ireland and Palestine as interconnected lenses to explore how settler colonialism, militarism, ecological destruction and imperial power structures operate globally.”
Organisers state that it “aims to unsettle dominant narratives, amplify erased histories, and foster decolonial forms of solidarity.”
Participants will be invited to “unlearn empire” and “root resistance” against what the organisers describe as “systems of oppression and violence.”
The workshop is part of Friends of the Earth’s Global Citizenship Education project, which the organisers say is intended to “promote action for global solidarity.”
Irish Aid’s note on the event confirms that the Department of Foreign Affairs is providing part of the funding. It states that the agency “supports partners working in some of the world’s poorest countries” as well as “Global Citizenship and Education in Ireland to encourage learning and public engagement with global issues.”
The funding disclaimer further specifies that “content and materials in this training may not represent or reflect DFA policy.”
According to organisers, the event is now fully booked and “we won’t be able to accept any more registrations.”
Irish Aid, through the Department of Foreign Affairs, has previously funded projects in schools, universities, and community groups across Ireland as part of its Global Citizenship Education remit. These projects often include public workshops, talks, and educational resources on international development, climate justice, and human rights.
Both Afri and Friends of the Earth have hosted similar themed events in the past, focusing on what they describe as the intersections between environmental degradation, armed conflict, and legacies of colonialism.
In a previous exchange with Gript, Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe confirmed that many NGOs involved in “advocacy” still receive State funding, because of their “expertise” and “valuable” work.
Irish Minister wouldn’t fund campaign groups that weren’t in line with government plans
He further added that the Government would only fund campaigning groups that were “consistent with the Programme for Government.”
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This was also affirmed by then-charities Minister Joe O’Brien.
Irish Minister: NGOs that receive funding need to be “in line” with government policy