The inaugural meeting of a forum established to encourage interaction in relation to integration issues in the City and County of Kilkenny took place in City Hall last week and was hosted by Mayor Malcolm Noonan.
The Kilkenny Integration Forum was set up in response to efforts to reach out to Kilkenny’s many communities from other nations and to foster a spirit of integration and intercuturalism in Kilkenny City and County.
Mayor Noonan said that over the years, Kilkenny has become home to people from many nationalities, the most recent being Sudanese families who moved here as part of the UNHCR Resettlement Programme. All of these communities have added greatly to the economic, social and cultural life of the city and county. This forum represents a renewed focus on ensuring that the generosity of spirit here which welcomed people from other nations down the years is built upon and enhanced.
Lindsey Butler of Kilkenny County Council who was instrumental in setting up the forum welcomed the involvement of a wide variety of groups and notes:
“It is vital that we celebrate our diversity, particularly during these challenging years, as the whole vibrancy of Kilkenny flourishes through interculturalism and the interaction of people from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures.”
Mayor Malcolm Noonan added, “I am delighted that Kilkenny will have a focal point for our many diverse communities, and that we can harness the talents of these people to make Kilkenny even greater. Such efforts offer a chance to those who are new to our community to share insights from their cultures while adding to the richness of ours.”
Seamus O’Leary of Integrating Ireland helped facilitate the establishment of the Kilkenny Integration Forum and has been involved in similar projects throughout the country. He pointed out that:
“This is a tangible way in which communities can come together to express their experiences about the changes taking place in society, each from their own perspective, and about the needs and opportunities that arise in that process.”
The launch of the Kilkenny Integration Forum this month is the culmination of many months of work by the steering committee. The forum will also include representatives from the Gardai, Kilkenny LEADER Partnership, business groups, the Kilkenny Sudanese Association, Dochas Kilkenny, Ossory Youth and other stakeholders involved with or representing different nationalities in the City and County
