MEP Sean O’Neachtain this week launched the 2009 Awareness Programme for Galway County Community and Voluntary Forum (GCCVF ) stating that he felt an “immense pride” in acknowledging the success of the work of the Galway Forum.
The event included the launch of the new brochure, website and details of community offices in each of the designated areas. According to MEP O’Neachtain “Information is king and this has been evident in the forum’s structure and work to date”. He highlighted the importance of communities working together particularly in these times.
GCCVF is a network of community and voluntary groups in Galway County established by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government, as part of its initiative for Better Local Government. Community Fora now extend to all city and county areas throughout the country and are supported by each county or city council.
Galway County is divided into six designated areas, Loughrea, Oranmore, Ballinasloe, Tuam, Conamara Thuaidh, and Conamara Theas. Each of these areas has a local forum from which are elected a County Executive which meets monthly.
National Forum Chairman Tom McGettrick commented that the Galway County Community and Voluntary Forum is recognised at national level as a leading light having a regional structure that is not to be seen anywhere else in the country.”
In giving his overview of the forum, Ray O’Donoghue, Chairperson GCCVF acknowledged the support of the Galway County Council highlighting that this relationship is a vital ingredient to the success of the work of the forum. The Forum was established by the Department of the Environment, Heritage and Local Government as a vehicle through which the community and voluntary sector would have representation on policy and decision making bodies.
The Forum provides a formal structure through which the community and voluntary sector can have a shared and strong voice on issues important to local communities.
According to Galway County Manager, Martina Maloney, working together to achieve more is what has made this programme so successful and has made Galway the leader in this area.
Members of the Community and Voluntary Forum play a vital role on the County Development Board, the Strategic Policy Committees of the County Council, on each of the Leader companies and on other bodies such as the Western Regional Drugs Task Force, SIM, the Galway City and County Childcare Committee and the Joint Policing Committees.
With almost 600-registered Voluntary Groups throughout the county, the forum enables groups to share their experience and knowledge and encourages groups to harness the skills and experience in their community in order to aim for best practice in all activities. The idea being if “It’s already been done, why re-invent the wheel.”
Local area meetings provide the opportunity to look at best practice models of local area development and also provide the opportunity to meet other like minded groups to facilitate the sharing of ideas and information.
.Through the provision of community offices the County Community and Voluntary Forum seeks to provide a support network for voluntary groups. The community offices will provide support to the local area forum meetings, a godsend to the busy and very committed local voluntary and community people on the ground. The offices provide information on grants, schemes, government and local government information as well as an administration service to include Internet, fax, photo-copying and secretarial facilities. It is important in these troubled times that volunteerism is supported and nurtured and the 2009 Awareness Programme will inform groups out there that the Galway Community and Voluntary Forum is working effectively on their behalf.
Through local community offices and with the assistance of the Forum website www.galway.ie/communityforum and other administration support systems, the Forum assists in the collation and distribution of information on funding opportunities for local groups. The community offices and the website will have the most up to date information on many funding sources for the community and voluntary sector as well as valuable links to Leader programmes, the National Insurance Scheme, County Councils grants, etc. The 2009 Awareness Programme will focus groups on this support network which is being built up on their behalf.
According to Mr McGettrick “One of the Forum’s recent successes, as part of the National Community and Voluntary Forum, was the rolling out of a national insurance programme for community and voluntary groups which has achieved savings of over 2.5 million euro for its members.”
