New assembly to encourage Limerick citizens to ‘make a difference’

A CITIZENS’ Assembly will take place next month to allocate funds to four projects which will help UL and Limerick work towards a more sustainable future.

To discuss Limerick’s approach to the sustainable development goals of the UN and to identify projects that will work towards a more sustainable future, the University of Limerick will host the citizens’ assembly on May 25.

Described as an academic cross between ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and ‘Dragon’s Den’, the initiative will see members of the assembly listen to 12 proposals, then pick four winners which will each receive €10,000 to fund their project.

The initiative marks the 50th anniversary of the university and is in collaboration with Limerick’s Public Participation Network (PPN), Comhairle na nÓg, Limerick City and County Council and Limerick Community Educational Network (LCEN).

The event aims to offer a “safe and respectful” space for citizens to come together.

Based on county demographics and principles of inclusivity, the assembly will comprise of stakeholders and citizens from across Limerick city and county.

The proposals, which will be revealed later this month, will demonstrate how they plan to address an identified sustainable development goal, explain how they develop civic engagement, as well as demonstrate the potential positive impact for Limerick.

Director of the initiative and Head of Community Engagement at UL, Dr Maura Adshead, explained: “I work in the UL engagement unit, which is responsible for developing engagement in the university. So this assembly seemed like a good way to combine engaged research, engaged teaching, engaged projects with public engagement and community collaboration. It’s a fun day for the university to get closer to communities and for communities to get closer to the university.”

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Speaking of the aim of the event, she noted: “The larger purpose is that we start to talk about sustainability, that we start to think about sustainability, and see the ways that we can make a contribution.

“So many people think that climate change is such a big problem, and that there's nothing we can do. Whereas what we're going to see at the event is a number of projects where we can do something, where you can feel that we can make a difference together.”

For further information, see ulcitizensassembly.ie/

Project collaborator and Facilitator of the Limerick PPN Secretariat, Patrick Fitzgerald, commented: “It’s lovely from the community perspective to see UL coming into Limerick.

“What we've seen in the last five years is a lot more engagement from UL, a lot more coming into Limerick rather than trying to be, and this project is just another example.”