News

Registration is now open for The Mary Robinson Centre International Symposium 2016, organised in partnership with NUI Galway’s Centre for Global Women’s Studies. The Symposium will take place in Ballina, Co. Mayo, on 1-2 July.

Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, who currently serves as the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy on Climate Change, explains: “The Mary Robinson Centre International Symposium 2016 will bring together in Ballina an outstanding group of sustainable development champions from Ireland and around the world. It will begin a very important international conversation that puts human rights, peace, tackling inequalities, and promoting women’s leadership at the heart of our collective efforts to implement the new UN Sustainable Development Goals by 2030.”

In addition to Mary Robinson, keynote speakers and panellists will include:

• Alicia Bárcena, Executive Secretary of UN Economic and Social Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)
• Dr Paul Gillespie, Irish Times columnist and former Foreign Policy Editor
• Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi, Gender Envoy for the African Development Bank
• Heather Grady, Vice-President, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, San Francisco, USA
• Peter Power, Executive Director, UNICEF Ireland, former Minister of State for Overseas Development
• Colm O’Gorman, Executive Director, Amnesty International Ireland
• Mouna Ghanem, Member of Women’s Advisory Board to UN Envoy on Syria
• Jacqueline Pitanguy, Founder and Executive Director of CEPIA (a human and civil rights NGO), Brazil
• Monica McWilliams, Co-founder of the Northern Ireland Women’s Coalition political party
• Ray Murphy, Acting Director of NUI Galway’s Irish Centre for Human Rights.

Niamh Reilly, Co-director of the Centre for Global Women’s Studies at NUI Galway and Academic Advisor to The Mary Robinson Centre, said: “This exciting Symposium opens up global policy discussion and academic research to local communities – for anyone who is interested in issues of development, peace, human rights and equality, it is fantastic opportunity to participate in an agenda-setting discussion.”

A reduced registration fee of €75 is available until Tuesday, 31 May, which includes the conference buffet dinner. A full registration fee of €95 applies after this date. A special concession rate of €30 is available to postgraduate students and others subject to eligibility. To register visit www.conference.ie.