This year’s Fairtrade
Fortnight will take place from 23rd February – 8th March
2009.
The year’s campaign is Bananas and as part of Fairtrade Fortnight why not sign up and eat a Fairtrade banana and be part of the world’s biggest banana event.
Get your friends and family involved and declare your support for
Fairtrade!
To celebrate
Fairtrade Fortnight, Global Action Plan and the Ballymun Fairtrade Steering
Committee are delighted to announce our ‘Make Some Noise’ event on Friday 6th March, in axis, Ballymun. The
organizing committee will host a night of music and comedy at 8pm in the axis centre,
Ballymun. The night promises to be a great evening of entertainment with local comedian, Den Scurry at the helm. Music acts include: Andy Wilson, Cathal and Aine Holland, Dícheall and Colm Quearney aka "Q".
The evening will
also be celebrated with Fairtrade samples and goodies. Guest speakers from Fairtrade producers will also be in attendance at the event. Also organisations such as Oxfam and Amnesty International
will have information stands on the night, as well as Global Action Plan and their Fairtrade Smoothie Bike. WHat is this you may ask? Well you will have to turn up on the night to see.
So mark you
diaries and come along to the evening in the Axis centre on 6th March. Tickets cost €3.00
To avoid disappointment please book tickets from the axis centre in advance of the screening.
There will also be a number of other events held throughout Ballymun. These are:
By
buying Fairtrade products and supporting events such as this, you are
guaranteeing that workers in the poorest parts of the world are being
paid fairly. In addition, you are using your own hard earned cash to
register a vote, its not about boycotting something, it’s about
supporting something positive.
Last Updated ( Monday, 16 February 2009 )
Take a look at GAP
Wednesday, 29 October 2008
GAP have been busy producing a video that gives an oversight into our projects in Ballymun, South Dublin and Dún-Laoghaire-Rathdown. The video gives you a quick overview of our unique programmes. We hope you enjoy it!
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Ballymun is blazing a trail as Ireland’s top Fairtrade Town. FAIRTRADE Mark Ireland presented Ballymun with the Fairtrade Town of the Year Award at the Ballymun Civic Centre on Tuesday, 14th October.
Lord Mayor of Dublin Eibhlin Byrne will join Ballymun Regeneration Ltd, Dublin City Council, Global Action Plan (GAP) and Ballymun Fairtrade Steering Committee to celebrate the great achievement.
“This award reflects the commitment of the community in Ballymun to making a difference not only locally but globally. The volunteers and supporters of the Ballymun Fairtrade Initiative have shown us once again that a small group of people can change the world,” says the Lord Mayor.
The Ballymun Fairtrade Steering Committee continually promotes Fairtrade products with local businesses and through a variety of school and youth initiatives. GAP organises workshops in all 11 of Ballymun’s schools to teach students about the Fairtrade concept and to allow them to sample Fairtrade juices, bananas and chocolates. Travelodge Hotel is the flagship project in Ballymun for fair-trade products and 35 other local businesses and organisations either supply and or use Fairtrade products, with new organisations joining all the time.
“Three years ago Ballymun Regeneration Ltd and Dublin City Council decided to adopt a Fairtrade policy and we have been supporting the work of the Ballymun Fair Trade Steering Committee since then. We congratulate them and everyone in Ballymun who supports Fairtrade – this is their Award, too,” says Ciaran Murray, Managing Director, Ballymun Regeneration Ltd.
The Fairtrade Towns Awards is a national competition organised by FAIRTRADE Mark Ireland. Ballymun beat off stiff competition from towns and cities such as Belfast, which was awarded Most Imaginative Promotion of Fairtrade for using Fairtrade bananas in Belfast Zoo, and Clonakilty, whose shops and restaurants offer the widest available choice of Fairtrade produce, to win the overall award.
Ian Callanan, Manager of GAP said “We are delighted that Ballymun has won this Award, despite heavy competition from towns around Ireland. It’s a great sign of the spirit of this community and something the residents of Ballymun should be very proud of. Once again Ballymun is leading the way.”
The Fairtrade campaign captured the imagination of the local community in Ballymun. The Ballymun Fairtrade Committee was established in 2005 and Ballymun Regeneration Limited (BRL) adopted a Fairtrade policy. In November 2006, Ballymun became Dublin’s first Fairtrade Town. “A lot of hard work and dedication is required to gain the status of Fairtrade Town. Ballymun Fairtrade Initiative has worked to create greater understanding of Fairtrade and to ensure Fairtrade products are widely available in businesses and shops. Gaining Fairtrade Town status is a measure of commitment rather than a badge of honour.” says Melanie Drea, Project Manager, FAIRTRADE Mark Ireland.
Have a look at our launch video.
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Council and Residents Work Together to Improve Local Estates
Six thousand residents of Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown are set to benefit from GAP's new environmental project which was launched on Monday, September 29th at 7pm in County Hall, Dún Laoghaire by Mr. John Gormley, T.D., Minister for the Environment, Heritage, and Local Government.
Local residents are invited to take part in a seven-week activity-based environmental education programme including topics such as Waste, Water, Energy, Transport, Shopping and Nature. Particpants will get to sample eco-friendly projects such as energy saving devices and eco-friendly detergents, learn about home composting, and supporting local use of Fair Trade products. The newly appointed Project Co-ordinator Kathleen Donnelly will be working with participants to highlight the wider benefits of sustainable living, including cost savings.
The project operates as a co-ordinated approach adopted by GAP, the Council and community which reflects the partnership approach at the heart of the Council’s Estate Management programme.
"A core principle of ‘Better Local Government’ is to ensure greater connection between local government and local people. This initiative does just that. GAP works in partnership with the County/City Councils and communities in raising environmental awareness, promoting behavioural change and facilitating environmental projects or actions. The objective of the GAP programme is to support peoples’ ideas for improving their local area and to ensure the projects make a real difference to peoples’ lives and are sustainable. GAP aims to disseminate the successes and points of learning from the projects to a wider audience and to encourage communities to grow in more economically, socially and environmentally friendly directions." said Minister John Gormley at the launch.
Chris Furlong, the Council’s Area Community Officer, reflected on the Council’s motivation for bringing GAP to Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown: “GAP is a true success story in terms of engaging the whole community – young and old alike – in environmental initiatives. After hearing about the positive experiences other communities enjoyed with GAP, we felt this was an opportunity the Council couldn’t pass up.”
The project is off to a flying start, with two Environmental Action Teams including both adults and children already established. The Council has a long history of supporting community-based environmental initiatives, such as the recent Tidy Schools and Tidy Districts competitions, and looks forward to continuing this work throughout 2009. If you are interested in taking part in one of the programmes, then contact Kathleen Donnelly at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or on (086) 197 3666.
Last Updated ( Tuesday, 28 October 2008 )
Another great year for Ballymun in the Tidy Towns
Friday, 24 October 2008
Congratulations to all of Ballymun’s residents, businesses, organisations and schools for their success in this years National Tidy Towns Awards.
This was Ballymun’s third year entering this prestigous National competition and it was another great year, with Ballymun scooping 3 awards and significantly improving their points total!
The Rediscovery Centre Furniture Recycling Project won the Dublin Region and the National Award for Best Recycling Initiative. This award recognises Ballymun and the Rediscovery Centre as a fore-runner in tackling and implementing practical solutions to Ireland’s waste crisis (see www.rediscoverycentre.ie).
Coultry Green won the Landscape Award for the Dublin Region.
Ballymun also received an Endeavour Award for achieving the biggest percentage increase in marks in the Dublin region since the 2007 Tidy Towns Awards. This year, Ballymun scored a total of 244 marks, an improvement of over eight percent since last year.
Roger Warburton, Ballymun Tidy Towns Co-ordinator, says, “lots of hard work goes into competing for the Tidy Town Awards and we are all thrilled to win more awards again this year. This is only the third year that Ballymun has entered the Tidy Towns competition and we have achieved phenomenal success by anyone’s standards. It’s great to win because it means that the progress being made throughout Ballymun is being recognised outside the area and it is a great reward for the hard work the residents put in over the year".
To compliment the fact that Ballymun’s is in the middle of a major urban regeneration programme creating a whole new town with wonderful new buildings, parks, services, streetscapes, etc, the Ballymun Tidy Towns Committee puts in a fantastic effort throughout the year to engage with the local population of this new town.
The response to local Tidy Towns competitions, such as the Beautiful Schools, Best Garden, Best Kept Area, Biodiversity/Nature and Best Contribution awards are an example of how Tidy Towns is developing a sense of local pride in the new Ballymun. This years local Tidy Towns competitions had over 250 entrants and the awards ceremony in the Civic Centre Council Chambers in September was a full house!
The Best Garden competiton, which is sponsored by BRL, proves to be one of the most popular annual events run by the the Ballymun Tidy Town Committee, with entrance numbers growing each year. Peter Wyse-Jackson, Director of the National Botanic Gardens, has been the lead judge for this event over the last 3 years, and he has noted a significant improvement in the overall standard of local gardens. Ballymun’s overall winner, Gerry Walsh, says that "anyone starting their garden should not be afraid to try anything cause you can not make mistakes. You might not like a particular flower when it blooms but you will learn from that and not plant that flower again. You don’t even need a big garden, I was in the flats for years and always had small pots on the balcony with herbs for the kitchen in them."
The Best Kept Area competition, which is sponsored by Nans SuperValu, is also growing from strength to strength and the committee has spent a lot time trying to encourage new resident groups to get active and involved in their own area.
Linda Harris of Belclare Ave, who were this years winners, says "we find the best way to keep the area clean and keep the plants healthy is to give all the children in the area responsibility to those plants. Lots of the kids have their own plants and they look after them very well. They do knock into the houses with their watering cans and the main thing is they take pride in what they have done. I think that’s how it works."
The main focus of the Ballymun Tidy Towns Committee’s work is to encourage greater partipation at a local level and help make Ballymun a Safer, Cleaner and Greener place to live.
Following this success, the Ballymun Tidy Town’s committee would like to invite new members throughout the community to get involved with Tidy Towns initiatives in the area. Alternatively if you would like to carry out an environmental project in your area or find out more about the Tidy Towns please contact Roger in BRL on (01) 222 8526 or Vanessa at GAP on (01) 862 5846.
Please be patient while this file loads. It may take a few minutes. Once it has downloaded click on the play button.
Ballymun is blazing a trail as Ireland’s top Fairtrade Town. FAIRTRADE Mark Ireland presented Ballymun with the Fairtrade Town of the Year Award at the Ballymun Civic Centre on Tuesday, 14th October. 
Ian Callanan, Manager of GAP said 
Council and Residents Work Together to Improve Local Estates
"A core principle of ‘Better Local Government’ is to ensure greater connection between local government and local people. This initiative does just that. GAP works in partnership with the County/City Councils and communities in raising environmental awareness, promoting behavioural change and facilitating environmental projects or actions. The objective of the GAP programme is to support peoples’ ideas for improving their local area and to ensure the projects make a real difference to peoples’ lives and are sustainable. GAP aims to disseminate the successes and points of learning from the projects to a wider audience and to encourage communities to grow in more economically, socially and environmentally friendly directions." said Minister John Gormley at the launch.
The project is off to a flying start, with two Environmental Action Teams including both adults and children already established. The Council has a long history of supporting community-based environmental initiatives, such as the recent Tidy Schools and Tidy Districts competitions, and looks forward to continuing this work throughout 2009. If you are interested in taking part in one of the programmes, then contact Kathleen Donnelly at
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
or on (086) 197 3666.